"The European Championship is a major objective" - France and Italy join federations with limited entourages to Kigali

The first road cycling World Championships in Africa will be a big even for the whole continent, however the cycling federations of some European countries have their hands tied by budget costs related to the journey to Rwanda. We already know that for example Denmark and Netherlands will be represented in Kigali by very small teams. Now they're joined by France and Italy as well.

Only a total of 12 riders will wear French colours in the junior and under-23 races, even though France could nominate more young riders. "Mathematically, that’s three riders per category, but it’s not certain; the distribution key will be a little different depending on the potential," Julien Thollet, manager of the French team, told DirectVelo.

"It’s possible that we’ll have, for example, four riders in one category and two in another. We’ll learn from races with difficult courses, like the Classique Alpes or the Tour du Gévaudan. Those who do the time trial will necessarily be entered in the road races," he adds.

With home European Championships in Rhone-Alpes, the French team will be extra-motivated to do well in front of home crowds. Placed right the next week after World Championships, it will pose some logistical challenges that the federation is working hard on overcoming.

"We have some girls with very high potential, especially in time trial, so they will be competing in both the World Championship and the European Championship. The advantage is that there is no time difference, even if there will be travel fatigue. For the young athletes, we will see what is done because the sequence is still not easy."

While the selection for Rwanda will be reduced, French team will appear in full strength in front of home crowds. "The European Championship, at home, is a major objective. We will have full squads. But the World Championship remains the World Championship, so we will also go to Rwanda with great ambitions despite the reduced squad among the young athletes..."