Rémi Cavagna was crowned French time trial champion on Thursday in Cassel (Nord), winning his second national title in the specialty after that of 2020. The Quick-Step rider swallowed the 31.3 hilly kilometers between Hazebrouck and Cassel with 32 seconds ahead of the outgoing champion, Bruno Armirail. Pierre Latour, third at 1 minute and 13 seconds, completes the podium. This is the 11th victory among the professionals of the “Clermont-Ferrand TGV”, almost half of which won in lap times (5). Benjamin Thomas, double French champion in the specialty (2019 and 2021), third in the intermediate times, was knocked down on the final climb, that of rue d’Aire, more than 1 kilometer uphill at almost 8% medium slope. Already titled in the road race in 2021 with Cavagna then in 2022 with Florian Sénéchal, Quick-Step could well keep the tricolor knit with Julian Alaphilippe, who will be the favorite on Sunday on a very selective course.
