Cross-country skiing : the FESA Cup once again smiles on Les Bleues
Just a few minutes after Margot Tirloy and Annette Coupat completed a stunning double in the U20 mass-start classic, the senior women cross-country skiers took their turn to claim the final victory of the third FESA Cup weekend of cross-country skiing.
In Oberwiesenthal (Germany), it was another Frenchwoman who stood out. Cloé Pagnier was always at the front of the field, and she pulled out all the stops at the end of the course to take victory. In a duel with Italy’s Veronica Silvestri, the rider from Doubs made an effort on the final climb of the course to pull away from the Italian and win by a margin of more than 6 seconds.
A fine victory at the end of a difficult 20-kilometre race run under intense snow flurries. And the 22-year-old Frenchwoman could have had a team-mate on the podium if Gina Del Rio hadn’t decided otherwise. Building on her excellent start to the winter season, the Andorran rider got the better of Dauphinoise Justine Gaillard in the very last metres of the race.
The Méaudra native nevertheless put in a solid performance, confirming her excellent start to the international season. Behind her, her compatriot and fellow Team Vercors Isère member Juliette Ducordeau finished ninth.
A few seconds behind the Villardienne was Liv Coupat, eleventh on the day and less than 10 seconds behind the tenth place held by the Swiss rider Désirée Steiner. Clémence Didierlaurent was also not far behind in fourteenth place, while Mélina Berthet crossed the line in twenty-second. Haut-Alpine rider Léonie Besson was well represented at the start, but did not finish this Sunday’s race .
Read also
- FESA Cup in Oberwiesenthal: another victory for Margot Tirloy, winner of the U20 mass-start classic ahead of Annette Coupat
- FESA Cup in Oberwiesenthal: Ivan Essonnier triumphs in the classic sprint, Julien Arnaud fourth
- FESA Cup in Oberwiesenthal: Switzerland’s Isai Naeff dominates the U20 classic sprint, Gaspard Cottaz and Quentin Viguier semi-finalists
- Oberwiesenthal FESA Cup: Julien Arnaud, Ivan Essonnier and Gaspard Rousset in the top 30 of the classic sprint qualifier
- FESA Cup Oberwiesenthal: Quentin Viguier, Victor Lafrasse and Gaspard Cottaz pass the U20 classic sprint qualifier
- Oberwiesenthal: Verena Veit wins the women’s classic sprint at the FESA Cup, with the French out of the running
- FESA Cup Oberwiesenthal: Daphné Patois triumphs in the U20 classic sprint, Anouchka Neuville third
- FESA Cup in Oberwiesenthal: Léonie Besson magnificent second in the classic sprint qualifier, four other French riders qualify
- FESA Cup in Oberwiesenthal: Margot Tirloy best Frenchwoman in the U20 classic sprint qualifier, five Frenchwomen go through
- Twenty-six French players selected for the FESA Cup in Oberwiesenthal
