This is one of the sensational teams at the start of the season, taking the leading roles in the French Cup, the Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais! Historic club of the family Leader and partner of excellence for a sixth year of collaboration we no longer present the Rhone training! In the running for a second star on the jersey, today we take the wheel of one of the strong men of the team and actor in this success, Antoine Raugel.
After three seasons in the professional ranks, Antoine makes his return to the amateur peloton in a pack more united than ever. After a year 2023 grayed by a leg injury, the 25-year-old Alsatian returns motivated, far from being a stopping point, this adventure is a new beginning for him:
“Mentally, I feel good, the fact of not finding a contract with the pros was complicated to accept, but I quickly got back into it. I always enjoy doing this sport which has given me so much. Physically, I still hope to regain my sensations in my left leg following my iliac artery operation a year ago now. »
Arriving late in the winter at his new club, the Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais, Antoine was able to get his bearings at the start of the season by adopting a new role, that of captain, despite his young age:
“My integration into the team went very well. The staff and runners welcomed me with great motivation and good humor. It's a very nice club and I'm very happy to have signed with them. I gained a lot of experience among the professionals which today allows me to better feel the race and to be placed in important moments. In the team I have this role of captain and I appreciate it. The squad is rather young, I hope I can bring them everything I learned during my years with the big boys. »
And this rather young team is learning well and quickly. With a nice collective with Antoine as captain or Théo Thomas in very good shape after his winter in cyclo-cross, the Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais is currently second in the Coupe de France N1. Often on the attack at the start of the year, like his Circuit des Ardennes (wearing the best climber jersey), Antoine's objective for the second half of the season is to continue in this vein: “ My goals remain the .2 classes where I would like to be at the front. The French Cup is the objective of the season for the club, we had some good first rounds, I have an important role within the collective. For the moment I have managed to score in each of the rounds, the objective is to continue this momentum . Without forgetting a race that he has already won among the juniors: “I also have a thought for the French championship” .
Winning, again and again: “I'm a competitor at heart, when I was little I really hated losing but now it's okay because in cycling you have to realize that you lose more often than you lose. won " . A rage to win that he acquired from a young age within VC Eckwersheim, another member club of the Chef de File family. A family story also for Antoine, who has this passion through his father, a former cyclist.
In a training team which is used to taking its athletes to the next level, Antoine's objective is quite clear, to return to the professional peloton: "the objective is to return to the pros, but before that, I also have to treat my leg problem (Editor’s note: imbalance between the two legs following an iliac artery operation) . ” Hoping to see him again on his favorite race: Paris-Roubaix!
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Thanks to Antoine Raugel, member of the Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais, for the time given and to the various photographers (Patrick Berjot, Cassandra Done, Eric Marie...) mentioned for the photo credits.
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