In the last century, when the road world championships took place at the end of August and were reserved only for road races, the challenge for time trialists was that of GP of Nations, mainly on the French Riviera. It was a highly anticipated event, over a distance almost unheard of in cycling, always over 80 kilometers. The great specialists were never lacking. Coppi he won it twice as gimondi, Moser He tried often but without success. With the advent of the specialty world championships, the Nations GP lost its appeal, to the point of being cancelled from the calendar in 2004. Meanwhile, however, a similar event was becoming more and more popular, the Chrono of NationsBorn in 1987, it grew progressively until entering the UCI calendar in 2005.
Over the years, the race has taken on the role of a true revenge of the world race., also because unlike almost all professional races, here the riders are hired directly by the organizers, with significant sums of money, and only subsequently are the teams involved.
For Italy only 4 successes
The race takes place in Les Herbiers, a town in the French department of Vendée, which is quite difficult to reach. For one day the city hosts a real chronometer festival. It starts early in the morning with the races for the little ones and continues until the trials for professionals in the early afternoon.In history, considering the various categories, Italy has won only 4 times: Maria Canins she won the women's event in 1988 and '89, Gianluca Moi the under 23 one in 2002, Filippo Ganna triumphed among the juniors in 2014 (opening photo).
As you can see, we have never won the main race. Ganna himself, who was surprisingly beaten two years ago by Dutchman Jos Van Emden, wanted to try again this year..
The world champion had been invited by the organizers to give life to a great revenge with Remco Evenepoel, third at the world. They spared no expense in setting it up, but three days before the challenge, Ganna declined the invitation. The fall at the last minute Bernocchi cup, cost him a crack in one of his ribs was still too recent to require him to make such an expensive tripAnd knowing what was at stake, namely the track world championships, he preferred to give it up.
An almost… lucky renunciation
His trainer Dario Cioni had already traced the path of the trip: «Our participation had been decided during the road world championships, precisely considering the main objective at the end of the season. We had made ourselves available, I would have started with him, the mechanic Matteo Cornacchione with all the equipment and the masseur Piero Baffi, but midweek Pippo communicated his decision to us, which is not meant to do any harm…».
Cioni explains the reasons for his statement: "Filippo is doing quite well, he's recovering, and avoiding the trip is a further aid to his recovery. It also allows him to work more on the track. He would have had to miss an entire session with his teammates. This way he has the chance to complete the planned training cycle and have the same number of hours of preparation in his legs as the others.. I think in the end it will be a small advantage."
Evenepoel favourite?
The French race thus loses one of its main interpretersi. Sunday's race will be held over a "normal" distance, 44,5 kilometers, with the only changes from 2019 (the 2020 race was canceled due to Covid) being the first and last 500 meters.
«It's a track that suited Filippo's characteristics quite well. – says Cioni – not flat like the one at the World Championships, it has an overall difference in altitude of 400 metres, let's say it is the classic up and down of the French plain. It would have been a good test also because it is likely that the Olympic path of Paris 2024 It will have similar characteristics. It will mean that we will go there next year."
The media had The event is heavily loaded with the focus on the challenge between the world champion and the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, third in Leuven. For Cioni, however, Ganna's absence doesn't mean the Belgian will have an easy time.
«If I were him – he explains – I would pay close attention to the European champion, the Swiss kung which might be the best fit for the track. It's hard to say who the favorite is, it depends a lot on how much fuel is left in each person's legs rather than on their own ability.».
A race that deserves the WorldTour
The "construction" of the event, as mentioned, is a bit particular: Lefevere, for example, in his statements did not seem enthusiastic about Evenepoel's participation., while understanding the economic appeal. Cioni insists on having his say on this: «It's a wonderful event, precisely because It is dedicated to all categories and not just professionalsIt has a strong French participation but this is normal, just consider that the Lotery will send 20 athletes across the various categories. It's a shame to me that it doesn't have the media coverage it deserves. Considering that the WorldTour does not include time trial races, should definitely include it».
Ganna is absent, It will then be up to Alessandro De Marchi, European champion in the Team Relay and fresh from his victory in the Tre Valli Varesine, try to dispel the blue tabooIn the other categories there will be 8 Italians, including Marta Cavalli, Elena Pirrone, Vittoria Bussi, and Federica Piergiovanni in the women's elite race where, given the absence of the main Dutch athletes, everything points to Swiss Reusser as the main favourite.
