BMC (France) - In his second year in the Elite category, Titouan Carod won the French National Championships and will be the proud holder of the blue, white and red jersey for the next twelve months.
After two frustrating World Cup results, Carod wasn’t necessarily on the short list of top favorites. But the young rider managed to overcome his disappointment and tackle the National Championships with good spirit. “I arrived in Lons-le-Saunier with no pressure. I knew things couldn’t go worse than at the last two World Cups and I wasn’t the strongest on paper so I tried to take it easy and it worked!”
Five riders took the lead very early in the race. With Carod were also Maxime Marotte (Cannondale Factory), 2017 French Champion, Jordan Sarrou and Victor Koretsky (KMC Ekoi SR Suntour) and Hugo Drechou (Massi). “The course was tough but there was no long climb so it made for a very strategic race” Carod explained. “It was only decided in the last lap. I started it in last position and had to work hard to get into a better position. Sarrou who was very strong flatted in the rock garden so I took advantage of it to take the lead. Koretsky managed to close the gap and we arrived together in a sprint. We spent quite some time working on sprint configuration on Saturday so I knew exactly how to handle things whether I was in first or second position.” Carod followed the plan to the letter and crossed the finish line in first with much happiness and relief.
A couple of minutes after the finish, Carod confessed not being able to realize what he just achieved but everything became more real when receiving the blue, white and red jersey on the podium. The young rider knows the feeling already as he won the National Title in the Junior category (2012) and in the U23 category (2015) but the Elite title has much more flavor. And Carod is looking forward to wearing it for the first time in two weeks in Mont-Sainte-Anne, his favorite World Cup.
Results:
- Titouan Carod: 1:28'17''
- Victor Koretsky: +0'01''
- Maxime Marotte: +0'07''
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