First Race First Wins

The first World Cup is fast approaching. Three weeks before the first round in Lourdes, the best riders in the world met this past weekend in Tarouca, for a Portuguese Cup round which served as a mini World Cup. Our  COMMENCAL teams were there en masse - COMMENCAL Muc-Off, COMMENCAL/100%, COMMENCAL Dorval AM, SR Suntour COMMENCAL Racing and COMMENCAL/Schwalbe. The race served as the perfect opportunity to fine-tune the final settings on their bikes before the start of the race season, but also to find their bearings and compare themselves physically and mentally against the best riders on the circuit.

In their first race of the season, COMMENCAL riders and the COMMENCAL Muc-Off team in particular, won it all! In the women’s race, Myriam Nicole showed her technical wizardry and race pace by winning the final with more than two seconds to play with! Camille Balanche finished in a great 4th place.

In the men’s category, Amaury Pierron certainly needed to rebuild his good form after two seasons plagued by crashes and injuries. And it looks like he’s doing just that as he won this first race of the season and his commitment on the bike showed only one thing; he’s going to be one to watch this season! He said after the race, “I love racing! The best way to start the season, we’re starting on the right path.”
Same thing for Benoit Coulanges. He reached several World Cup podiums in 2021 and has shown that he will be a contender at every race this season. He finished in 3rd place!

It was also great preparation for Baptiste Pierron (11th), Thomas Estaque (12th), Dan Slack (13th) and Jack Reading (15th). Back from injury but suffering a little off the back of a bad bout of the flu, Hugo Frixtalon finished 25th. Thibaut Daprela punctured in the final, but he showed he had the speed throughout the weekend.

Finally, in his first race with the COMMENCAL Muc-Off team, Hugo Marini won the junior category.

See you in a week for the DH Cup in Brioude before the return of the World Cup!