European Cycling Championships: France hopes to disrupt Dutch domination

It is a fight that is a priori unbalanced, even lost in advance, as the European champion's jersey has had orange accents since its introduction in 2016. The Netherlands have made the continental event an almost exclusive preserve - nine titles in ten editions. Saturday October 3, around Ljubljana, Slovenia, the Dutch will once again be the team to beat, with Demi Vollering in the lead. Faced with the neo-world champion and her armada, France acts as an outsider, with solid arguments.

The Tricolores assumed their role as spoilsport a week earlier in Canada during the World Championships. Cédrine Kerbaol and Maeva Squiban hosted the first part of the race. Then Juliette Berthet, also lined up this Saturday like Kerbaol and Squiban, slipped into the good group before finishing fifth. Three of them finished in the Top 10 (Célia Géry 7th, Maeva Squiban 9th), an illustration of "the density of the team" which will allow "the European Championships to be considered with several cards" says the French Cycling Federation.

Demi Vollering as a scarecrow, Juliette Berthet as a candidate

“Juliette Berthet, with the form she has shown, may be the most dangerous candidate to follow Demi Vollering for as long as possible” believes our consultant Lilian Calmejane. "She's really the runner who finishes the season best. And on bumps like that, when she's in good shape, she's gifted. She's still quite light too. She knows how to handle herself very well. So, I think she's going to have a nice European Championship. I can see her being rewarded with a medal."

Berthet or the French collective, it will take no less to thwart the Dutch plans on a demanding Slovenian route. And prevent Demi Vollering from making history by becoming the first cyclist to retain her continental title, as well as to do the World-Europe double. The winner of the last Tour de France is at the heart of a gargantuan season and is not satisfied. “The Dutch are almost guaranteed, if Demi Vollering has a good day, to have the title,” considers Lilian Calmejane. "It's clear and clear. We just have to hope that Vollering is having a bad day, that's all. There's not much more to say. Because on the pedals, she showed that she is really in the best shape."

The example of the 2025 Worlds

Last season, on the hexagonal roads of Drôme and Ardèche, the Netherlands had, as usual, wiped out the competition. And Vollering took off by starting alone 39 kilometers from the finish.

Saturday's circuit should not be as favorable to such a scenario, with 130 kilometers on the program, but only two passages over the only difficulty of the day, the short but severe Možjanca hill (2.1 kilometers at 10.2%), the last 15 kilometers from the finish. "The Dutch will control the race well, envisages Lilian Calmejane. The roles are well distributed. They will padlock the race. They will arrive on this bump, there will be 90-100 terminals to control. Then, Demi Vollering will take action. If they show solidarity that Demi Vollering is in good shape, there is no doubt that the scenario is written in advance."