Junior Célia Gery concludes perfect cyclocross season with World Championship title: "Winning today is a real relief"

Bronze medalist from last year's World Championships, Célia Gery crowned her perfect year in the field, during which she already won the European Championships and the Juniors' World Cup, with a rainbow jersey. After the race, she talked to DirectVelo about her relief after this victory.

"I expected a battle. We saw all season that the three of us often competed for victory and the podium. It was predictable. But I won! I hadn't created any scenario, all races are different. Last week's race made me doubt. I wasn't calm all week. Winning today is a real relief."

"I had doubts during the race. In the first two laps I felt good in technique but not in physics. It's windy, but the mud is more difficult, it's stickier. All the small hills become difficult. It was in the last half lap that I felt as I passed in front that I was widening the gap. It was full force, I didn't have to turn all the way, I didn't sit on my saddle until the finish."

"I doubted myself a lot. Those around me supported me, they didn't put pressure on me. I put it on myself. But they told me that I had already achieved everything this year, that only that remained and that the others had won nothing. For me it would have been a failure."