The 2009 French Championships took place this weekend in Oz en Oisans, 1350m above sea level in the heart of Alp d’Huez and 55km south of Grenoble. The sections, which were of a very high quality, were set by Jean Flambard, who organised the World Cup in Saint-François Longchamp a few days before. Laurent Grillon, who was there, has sent us this report and photos of the Elite competition...
The Elite Final took place towards the end of the evening between 18:00 and 19:30 and riders had to complete two laps of six sections. Although the rain had been coming down in the morning, the weather forecast came good and the sun was out by the afternoon. The sections were dry and the spectators were many on the Saturday. The two K-124 super riders pitted themselves in a tense battle for the top spot. They were the only two riders to take the difficulties of the competition head on, while the rest of the riders had to go around or find easier routes. Super-Elite indeed... Both riders are in peak condition. Vince showed himself to be incredibly impressive on the sections and kept up with Gilles for most of the competition. He came second in the end, but vowed on the podium to take the victory again sometime soon: "Gilles was untouchable last year! This year he was just very, very good!" Atomz rider Marc Caisso took third place following a well managed competition, getting through the sections gracefully. The Ozonys team leader Guillaume Dunand finished with the same number of points as Marc but just lost out on the most cleans rule!
Full article: French Championships 2009 - Results & photos
A big thanks to Laurent Grillon, who sent us this series of photos of the Elite competition.