Get to know Flamanville!
Tuesday 11 January 2022
On Sunday 16 January 2022, the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup will be held for the first time in the French town of Flamanville. After the mud of Besançon, the snow in Val di Sole and the Camiels Carrousel in Rucphen, this is the fourth new arrival in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. Normandy as a backdrop for a cyclo-cross, we are already looking forward to the penultimate event!
The site around the beautiful castle of Flamanville is not unknown to French cyclists. This site has seen the Coupe de France four times and the Coupe de Normandie twice. It has also hosted the Normandy championship twice and, in 2020, cyclists competed for the French championship jersey around the castle.
On a course of 2960 metres with a 30-metre difference in altitude, a fast race awaits riders and spectators who will ride through the woods, paths and garden of Flamanville Castle. In this beautiful setting, the riders must not lose their concentration, because with stairs, planks and a footbridge, the necessary obstacles are also present.
"The course is very flat, so we will have some fast laps," says Michel Morieux, who is responsible for the course. "This means that there will be very little recovery time for the riders. The course requires a bit of technique, but the rider with the most power in their legs will win here." You shouldn't expect the course to be very muddy, even in the rain because "the ground is granite", says Morieux.
"We are also very happy to be able to welcome spectators; currently up to 5,000," the course manager says enthusiastically. "It is also something that the riders look forward to. They love to ride in front of the public, especially after the last Belgian and Dutch rounds without spectators.
Morieux finds it difficult to compare the Flamanville course with a previous round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. "The race at the Citadelle of Namur is the closest to our course because of its particular setting. But the course itself is completely different; the Flamanville site is more rapid. We can expect a unique World Cup round in a beautiful setting on the Normandy coast," concluded Morieux.
© Studio de Com'
