The 8th Pau Grand Prix took place on Sunday the 19th of April, constituting the 4th leg of the Pyreneen Trophy. It was run at the trials park near the Leclerc shopping centre, with tough sections and glorious sunshine. There were 72 entrants, including invited riders Nicolas Luque and Vincent Hermance, as friendly and approachable as ever.
In Elite, the laws of logic were obeyed, with Vincent Hermance taking top spot ahead of Nicolas Luque and Yannick Duteil (BTS) in the supercharged atmosphere of the final. The spectators followed the Elite riders from section to section, offering them all the encouragement that they needed. After the day’s trial, Maxime Tolu (Cahors) leads the series, just one point ahead of Yannick Duteil and Alexandre Fabregas (BT66), but the others aren’t far behind...
Here are a couple of photos of Vice World Champion Vincent Hermance in action on the sections at Pau (thanks to Vincent-Hermance.com for the photos)
In Expert 1 Laurent Albouy (Créon) took the win, one point ahead of Category leader Jordy Vedere (VTL), 3rd place went to Jérôme Catois (Pau) despite completing the best lap of the day with just 3 dabs.
In Expert 2 the Fabrègues two were in battle as usual: this time Clément Méo finished ahead of Paul Danière, putting him in the lead in the series, ahead of Paul Danière and Pierre Gil, who also took third place at Pau.
In Expert 3, victory went to Lucas Ferrera (Fabrègues) with just one point after three laps, ahead of Jérémy Descloux (VTL) and Gabriel Bergé (VTL). Gabriel takes the "fighting spirit award" for riding a whole section on his back wheel following a puncture at the gate! Jeremy still leads the series ahead of Gabriel and Lucas, but nothing’s set in stone yet!
In Senior, Patrice Capparoz, riding on his home turf, didn’t give Thierry Merlette (Montauban) any chances, and consolidated his place as series leader.
In Confirmé, Pau local Pierre Beloscar also gave no quarter to take the lead ahead of Nicolas Puglia and François Torné. Francois still leads the series, but his lead is shortening!
In Promotion, Léo Billerit (VTL) took a second victory despite a mediocre first lap (but an excellent second!), ahead of Cédric Gambino (VTL) and Alexandre Mathière (Cahors). Léo still leads the series But Cédric took back second place from an absent Antoine Rinaldi.
In Initiation there weren’t many entries, but victor Julien Hot (VTL) and second place Ludovic Pavy (VTL) are constantly progressing, as you can see from their scores.
In Espoir 1, Tony Visentin (VTL) took his third victory, dominating the series ahead of habitual podium placer Tony Estve (BTS). One more victory, and he may well have the series in the bag! Third place went to Thomas Billerit (VTL), a first podium place for the youngest rider in the category, who seemed to like the sections at Pau! Pierre Olivier Colliou finished fourth and remains in third place in the series.
In Espoir 2, victory went to Kelly Savoyen (Montauban) with a perfect score of zero for all three laps! He came in ahead of Thomas Marcou and Guilhem St Paul, both from Cahors. Thomas retains his series lead, but Kelly is very close now!
In Espoir 3, Jules Delanaud (VTL) took first place with 6 points, putting him in first place in the series, ahead of Mathieu Arnaune (Pau) and Florian Puglia (Cahors). Jules leads the series ahead of Florian and his twin sister Jeanne (who came fourth at Pau) in third position. Party time in the Puglia household!