“This win is a great revenge but my career is ruined”

En Starting his sprint at the bottom of the National course in Saintes, Gauthier Navarro, rider of the Béziers Méditerranée cycling team, knew he had no room for error. U23 Cycling Project Team and Velo Club without a teammate in front of Dolois, who each managed to slip two riders into the breakaway…

En Starting his sprint at the bottom of the National course in Saintes, Gauthier Navarro, rider of the Béziers Méditerranée cycling team, knew he had no room for error. Without a teammate in front of the U23 Cycling Project Team and Velo Club Dolois, who managed to slip two riders each into the final breakaway, had to try it at exactly the right moment: “I knew I had a good ‘squirt’. And he can do it. »

The 2024 winner continues, “The end of the race was very nervous. Even in our group, it spreads over my back wheel. » At the entrance of the final circuit in Saintes, only 14 remain who can claim the final victory. 14 of 174 starters for this first round of the Coupe de France for National Division 3 teams. The stakes are high as even the slightest point scored kicks off the rest of the season. Hence the fight is started as soon as the race director’s flag comes down.

But the first attempts were short-lived and we had to wait till the 25th kilometer to see the three daredevils embarking on a somewhat crazy adventure. Axel Rome (UC Briochine Bleu Mercure), Lucas Segui (Plouay Cycling Club) and Lomig Le Clec’h (Sport Breizh Tydor Armor Lux) overtake the main body to take a 3’30” lead at the Plaine Selvae crossing. Despite his courage, his determination would get the better of him climbing the hills of Saint-Thomas-de-Conac, Magalup and Mortagne.

Three borders

The gap narrows with each pass on the counting odds for the classification of the best climber and it is the wind that will surely end the separation. At the Boutenac-Touvent crossing, the riders turn right and the peloton breaks into three borders. All three are taken and those not in the first 40 have already lost their race.

In this game, the first peloton loses units every kilometer and there are only ten left who can claim victory when they come to the final circuit. “The race was very difficult to read,” Navarro said. I didn’t know how to react. I let myself be carried by the wave. »

In 2019, the Narbonne native turned professional at the Interpro Cycling Academy training: “It was the Continental team. We didn’t even get paid…” Returning to the amateurs in Dijon, he finished 10th at the 2022 Ronde de l’Isard but tested positive for EPO. Initially suspended for two years, last year by the AFLD (French Anti-Doping Agency) His sanction was revoked which could never prove that it is synthetic EPO, and therefore not natural: “This victory is a great revenge but my career. Destroyed unjustly. » At 24 years old, Gautier Navarro Still hoping to return to the professional peloton.

the podium

1. Gauthier Navarro (Béziers Méditerranée Cycling) 3 h 37’42”; 2. Maxime Renault (VC Avranches); 3. Alan Moulin (Ploy Cycling Team) all mt