Paul Brousse sees the French team growing towards Sallanches

“This is a team that is taking shape and will mature by the time we reach Sallanches”: Paul Brousse sums up the project behind the French team, whose core he wants to strengthen from one competition to the next. At the European Championships in Ljubljana, that cohesion is reflected in shared cues and spontaneous communication between riders.

The group has developed its own codes in recent weeks, in a process Brousse has shaped from Canada to Ljubljana. The beaver, the werewolf and the tortoise are part of that private language, while the riders have also learned to communicate through signals in the race. Célia Le Mouël and Émilie Morier, called up as replacements, were quickly introduced to those customs and the group’s hotel games.

Juliette Berthet, road captain in Montréal and then a protected rider in Slovenia, says that racing without earpieces has led them to communicate naturally, “with a look, a small gesture”. The selection has also maintained continuity since the World Championships: Célia Géry, who is taking a break to prepare for her cyclo-cross season, is the only rider not present at the European Championships this Saturday.

Brousse stresses the long-term approach. “The leading seven will change, but we’ll find the same backbone,” the coach says, recalling that the team wanted to learn from the mistakes made in Kigali before performing better in Montréal. He sees the Sallanches event as a milestone in the group’s development. With the World Championships in France a year away, he is also considering the likely return of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. He plans to speak with her at the start of winter to learn her ambitions, while noting that she has a place in the French team when in form.

Until then, the French riders will take an attacking, collective approach to the European Championships’ Elite race. It is scheduled to start this Saturday at 13:30, with coverage on the L’Équipe channel beginning at 12:50.