Ahead of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships, Cyclingnews is taking a deep dive into the key teams for the elite road races. Here, we put France under the microscope.
History
The triple is on: Julian Alaphilippe has gone two in a row in the elite men’s road race, triumphant in Imola and Flanders with his late solo attacks. Romain Bardet was also second at Innsbruck in 2018. It’s been a rosy story in recent years for les Bleus but before Alaphilippe, their last rainbow jersey winner was Laurent Brochard in 1997, making it a long wait.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was a surprise champion in 2014, which is also the last time the French had a podium finisher in the elite women’s race. They haven’t finished in the top ten since Roxane Fournier sprinted to sixth in 2016.
Overall, the French men and women have both won ten elite road race titles, making them the third most prolific nation in history behind Belgium and Italy.
However, Jeannie Longo is the most successful individual in history, with five victories (in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1995).
Line-up
Men elite
- Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ)
- Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)
- Romain Bardet (Team DSM)
- Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)
- Christophe Laporte (Team Jumbo-Visma)
- Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ)
- Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ)
- Florian Sénéchal (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)
- Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers)
Women elite
- Aude Biannic (Movistar Team)
- Coralie Demay (St Michel-Auber93)
- Juliette Labous (Team DSM)
- Marie Le Net (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope)
- Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope)
- Gladys Verhulst (Le Col-Wahoo)
- Jade Wiel ( FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope)
Key riders
Men
Julian Alaphilippe needs little introduction: he’s the defending champion, a swaggering puncheur with the looks of a medieval troubadour. He should excel on the climb and descent of Mount Pleasant, which defines the Wollongong city circuit. However, a crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège blighted his season, suffering a collapsed lung, fractured shoulder blade and broken ribs. He didn’t race for three months following the late April incident.
Falling on stage 11 of the Vuelta a España and abandoning with a dislocated shoulder was another blow. Alaphilippe was quickly back on the bike, but it was another setback for a man racing against time to get into his best shape.
He has a strong supporting cast. Christophe Laporte is coming off…
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