Cycling, 4th round of the French Cup N3: CCPD finishes third overall

A hold-up. That's how Yohan Poirier, sports director, described his team's race during the fourth and final round of the N3 French Cup. This Thursday, the Périgueux Dordogne cycling club was in Indre for the Grand Prix Christian-Fenioux. On the menu: 148.7 kilometers and all possible scenarios. The goal for the Périgord club was clearly stated before the race: win.

And the riders had the means to do so, as the current great form of Théo Laffineur and Thomas Carreau attest. But it was Aurélien Pasquet who stood out, also in great form. The latter took second place in the bunch sprint, one wheel behind the winner Théo Sabatier (Antibes-Alpes-Maritimes). Laffineur finished 4th. "We finished as the first team of the day," rejoiced the sporting director. "We scored 72 points and as a result, we moved up by seven points to third overall," continued Yohan Poirier.

"It's my week"

Although set to win, the CCPD ultimately had a successful day, despite what the DS said. "Sportingly, it wasn't deserved. We didn't have a great race," explains Yohan Poirier. "There were several important breakaways that we weren't part of, so we had to push hard," he adds. Against the clock all day, the CCPD managed to come back each time, eventually finding themselves in a bunch sprint and taking second and fourth place.

"It's my week," assures Yohan Poirier. After his daughter Thaïs's two French junior championship titles, the CCPD climbs onto the podium with a third place overall (behind Morlaix Cyclisme Performance and Team EliteOrga-US Saint-Herblain), even though at the start of the French Cup, the Périgourdins would never have imagined this. "I'm going to be able to play the lottery, everyone tells me so," smiles the DS.