A year ago in Roubaix, Timmy Gillion, Sébastien Vigier and Rayan Helal opened the World Championships with a fine silver medal in team sprint.

They wanted to do at least as well this year on a track where the goal of their lives will take place in less than two years: the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The French chasers had also finished in silver in 2021 and also cultivated big ambitions, like the whole team, after the successful European Championships in August with fifteen medals, including six gold.

But nothing went as planned for the two tricolor collectives.

After controlled qualifications, the trio of speed came up against Germany in the quarter-finals in a frustrating duel that was biased by the false start of the German starter.

When it stalled, Timmy Gillion, who started in the lead for the Blues, did not hear the shot interrupting the race.

He kept pushing hard, almost half a lap, before he slowed down.

So much wasted energy that the French paid dearly for the second start.

"It changes the game. I was a starter, it happened to me myself not to hear the firecracker and when you have to leave quickly behind it's almost a lost race", commented Grégory Baugé, quadruple champion of the world became a national sprint coach.

"A bitter taste"

Germany eventually finished fourth, losing the bronze medal to Britain.

In the final, Australia created a small sensation by dominating the Netherlands, undisputed masters of the sprint and four-time defending champions.

A few minutes later, the French pursuers completely fell apart in their duel against Italy's Filippo Ganna, the new hour record holder.

Especially since Benjamin Thomas, who has chained a lot in recent weeks, suffered from dizziness on Wednesday morning and was not on top.

Italian riders Filippo Ganna, Francesco Lamon, Jonathan Milan and Manlio Moro during the 1st round of the Team Pursuit at the Track Cycling Worlds on October 12, 2022 at the Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Paris.

Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP

"It shows that there is still work to do. It hurts, we were expecting something else, but maybe it's a kick in the ass that will do some good for the future. We have to go back to work", reacted endurance coach Steven Henry.

The fact remains that these two setbacks constitute a real blow, while the president of the French Cycling Federation (FFC) Michel Callot again recalled after the opening ceremony that he was waiting for “results and that we are starting to show color, particularly in the Olympic disciplines" with a view to 2024.

"This first day leaves a bitter taste. We necessarily hoped for better. These are the World Championships, we are at home, there was their family, the French public. We are disappointed", summarized Grégory Baugé.

On the other hand, he appreciated the performance of the French women who failed at the same stage of the competition as the men in team sprint, but beating their own record, in the face of formidable competition.

In particular that of Germany which improved its own world record twice to win its third consecutive title.

The first gold medal of these Worlds was awarded to the Italian Martina Fidanza who retained her title in the ladies' scratch, a discipline which is not on the Olympic program.

© 2022 AFP