Duathlon: La Rochelle and Saintes in Eure for the epilogue of the season

Brilliant so far, La Rochelle (D1 men and women) and Saintes (D2 women) want to finish in style on Sunday August 31, in Conches-en-Ouche

La Rochelle Triathlon had a great penultimate weekend in August with Vincent Migné's third place in the 40-kilometer Grand Raid des Pyrénées (2,400 meters of elevation gain), and Valentin Rouvier's amazing time in the Ironman Thun in Switzerland (4th in 8 hours 05 minutes). After such efforts, these two club veterans deserve a breather and therefore let Rémi Delagarde and Grégoire Gaucher, winner of the Trélissac triathlon on August 24, take on the group leaders' jerseys in the final of the French Division 1 duathlon championship (4.8 km running, 19 km cycling, and 2.4 km running), Sunday August 31 in Conches-en-Ouche (Eure).

Currently seventh, the men's team will be completed by Sacha Vallet, Léonard Ollé, and Titouan Charron. If the team stays in the top 10, a top-10 finish seems reasonable for La Rochelle. It's worth noting that Léo Starck, ranked 7th in the world in June, is in first place in the French championship with Meaux.

In the women's D1, La Rochelle Triathlon boasts a team that looks great with Lisa Delagarde, Audrey Angibaud, Jessica Leroux, Estelle Migné, Julia Guichard, and Roxane Copin. Seventh overall like the men, the La Rochelle team can maintain its position. "In terms of performance, it looks better than last season," says sports director Lionel Roye. "The great satisfaction is that the girls have all improved in running." Progress that is useful in triathlon, which will be the case next month during the final stretch of the women's D2.

Finally, Saintes Triathlon is also having a historic season in the women's D2, as the Saintonge team sits in 6th place overall heading into the final. It's night and day for the Saintes team, who have been used to fighting for survival in recent years. The performances of Cognac's Laurine Avinio have lifted the team, which is otherwise more consistent. Saintes is only two points behind Poitiers, who are in 5th place.