Cross-country skiing : all the French in the U20 quarter-finals
The 2024/2025 edition of the FESA Cup in cross-country skiing kicked off this Friday in Schlinig, Italy. On the programme for the first day of competitions was a sprint skate with qualifying rounds held early in the morning. And it was the ladies in the U20 category who got the ball rolling in the province of South Tyrol.
And it was a French rider who shone in the first heat of the day. Margot Tirloy dominated the first lap, relegating her compatriot Ariane Pignot to the finish line more than two seconds behind her. Italian Beatrice Laurent completed the top 3.
Other French cross-country skiers also shone in the U20 category. Annette Coupat from Forézienne came fourth, closely followed by her team-mates Daphné Patois and Agathe Margreither, sixth and seventh respectively in this inaugural round. Last but not least, Romane Nappey also secured her ticket to the finals by finishing fourteenth.
Julie Pierrel in the top 5 seniors
A few minutes later, it was the turn of the senior athletes to take to the track. In the first heat, which was dominated by Italy’s Federica Cassol and her compatriots Nadine Laurent and Virginia Cena, Julie Pierrel was the first Frenchwoman to top the rankings. In fifth place, the Haut-Savoyard will be playing in the finals.
Behind La Bornandine, four other girls also managed to secure their ticket for the rest of the competition. They include Clémence Didierlaurent in fifteenth place, Léonie Perry in seventeenth and Liv Coupat in eighteenth. Cloé Pagnier rounded off the French ranking in twenty-fourth place.
However, the adventure came to an end at this stage of the competition for Léonie Besson, the first to be eliminated in thirty-first place, Justine Gaillard, thirty-second on the line, and Julie Marciniak, thirty-fourth.
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