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France delegation under fire as men's Elite team flies business class to Australia unlike remaining riders
CyclingSaturday, 17 September 2022 at 14:00
The World Championships are right at the door, and for the team set to defend the men's Elite World Title the flight to Australia hasn't gone unnoticed, as differences in the flight conditions were commented upon and have brought relative controversy.
With lineups that include the men's Elite, under-23, women's Elite and several other categories, several dozen people have flown in to Australia from the French delegation. It was reported yesterday that whilst the whole men's Elite team was flown in in business class, the remaining participants were on the regular economic class. "Effectively, we confirm. It was a choice of the Technical Direction and the French Cycling Federation. A confirmed choice. Everyone travelled in economy class, apart from the elite men," a member of the delegation confirmed today when asked about it by Ouest France.
"Why did we do that? Because the men are going to defend their title this year, once again. And above all because economic choices had to be made," was given as the justification. Flight prices have caused trouble to many nations, with the likes of Ireland deciding to not participate in the World Championships, and examples such as Portugal taking limited lineups likely due to the lack of financial capabilities to make the trip to Wollongong.
However the French have taken many riders. Over on social media there was a lot of controversy and criticism regarding the decision to have the men's Elite team travel in a different position.
The French spokesperson also pointed out: "The journey being very long, it costs an enormous amount, and if we wanted to take everyone, we needed to make choices. And if everyone were to be be in business, many people would have had to stay at home."
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