Giro Next Gen 2024: from Aosta to Forlimpopoli in 8 days, touching six regions

Could the creation of a DN3 division serve as a springboard for amateur runners? We cannot create an additional division, we do not respond to requests already made. These are not questions of human or financial resources. We have a structure with the N1 which has been maintained for several years and which is very supervised. We have a DN2 for which we ask ourselves certain questions concerning its sporting and structural relevance. And a DN3? With which teams? It is clear that the N1, in terms of number of clubs and financial capacity, is holding up relatively well. If we want to allow clubs to insert themselves into the hierarchy, it is not additional divisions that must be created but existing divisions that must be moved up a level. For example, if clubs, which today are in N2, have the means to create a real DN, they should organize and structure themselves in this sense. We will therefore no longer have an N2, but an “N2” structure with real sporting interactivity with the N1, with subsidies and financial aid of the same type.

Are competition organizers, particularly Class 1, receptive to a return of France Espoirs teams? There are several answers to give. The first is that the organizers respond above all to their regulatory obligations. They are therefore committed to welcoming the professional teams from the French calendar, which is normal. For foreign teams, it's a little different since an organizer makes a request, invites the team, who has the freedom to come or not. Then, between this simple regulatory obligation and the fact that the organizers invite a team, there is an evolution to be defined. And I myself don't really know how to describe this development. Is it marketing? Is it to avoid attracting sanctions from the League? Is it to please the public who want to see French teams in Class 1? There is a real question to ask regarding these successions of invitations. When the French teams came to the Coupe de France round, we were subject to regulatory obligations. There, we are sure of the will, somewhere, of the organizing committee.

“FOR ORGANIZERS, IT’S ALSO KNOW-HOW”

Is there a quality criterion for inviting a French team? Selection is made based on sporting criteria. The quality of the 2023 French hopeful team is undeniable. But it’s also know-how. It may not be easy for some organizers to have a French U23 team, which is made up of 60% of the group, assisted by the French U23 team and its supervisors. On that day, we must have all the people who must follow, who must provide care, who must ensure the logistics of the selection. Afterwards, it can be financially burdensome for some organizers. So it’s true that there is a real question, and we understand it, for the organizers.

The French team participated in several stages of the Tour de l'Avenir this year. Can this participation be an alternative for amateur runners? I come back to this famous quality criterion. We know that the French team is at the level of the Nations Cup. These are also sporting criteria that are at stake. These sporting criteria are precisely what we ask of the Continental teams, through the Continental circuits. So the question of the French junior team, in the years to come, will also arise with regard to other foreign teams and leaves less and less latitude for amateur clubs to be invited. This was the case this year, a bit special, since we took some people from the pro selection to the Tour de l'Avenir. But I am not sure, in the long term, that it will be a viable solution to invite a French team or even two French teams, leaving less room for Continental teams.

Could the creation of a French Espoirs Cup be a solution to remedy the absence of the French team in these races? No, it's not in the League's project. Now, the League can support projects carried out by others. If there are clubs that want to take this initiative, they have the freedom to do so. But these must be initiatives taken by cycling players and not by the League. We can help them, support them. Then, on the principle of a Coupe de France: there might be questions to ask. Is it a Coupe de France with Continental teams and DN1 teams? Or is it a Coupe de France reserved for amateur clubs? Wouldn't it be logical to have a real French Espoirs Cup with the best amateur clubs? In 2024, there will be 21 clubs in N1, aren't these clubs the ones who should organize this Cup? And isn't it logical to create a French Espoirs Cup accompanied by lifts, descents and places reserved for Continental clubs? But again, it's a discussion we can have.

Comments collected by Nicolas Gachet