Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: a chocolate medal for Millavois Elie de Carvalho in the road race

Elie de Carvalho et Mickaël Giuchard étaient engagés sur la course en ligne ce vendredi. Paris 2024

Le Millavois Elie de Carvalho (29 ans) était engagé ce vendredi sur l’épreuve de la course en ligne. Un pépin mécanique dans le dernier tour l’a empêché de ramener une deuxième médaille de ces Jeux.

After the silver on Wednesday, Elie de Carvalho from Millau, accompanied by Mickaël Guichard, his pilot, had set the tone. “Friday it will be gold or nothing! When we started a year ago we would have signed, we are happy, we think about Friday and we hope for the gold medal." The ambition of the talented cyclist was therefore set and he knew that he had every chance after having already been on the second step of the podium in Glasgow (Scotland) in 2023. It was destroyed in the last lap of the race due to a mechanical problem and he took 4th place in this road race. Frankly, the Millavois did not hide his disappointment on France Télévisions at the finish. “We felt really, really good the whole race, I don't have the words, I'm disgusted, we had great feelings and good chances of winning… We're unlucky, he admits. The Dutch were really, really strong but we don't know what would have happened if we hadn't gone off the rails. We felt very good, it was win or nothing and in the end it was nothing."

At home, on the Games course set out in Clichy-sous-Bois where the Blues made a real raid during the time trial. The French duo was the first to toughen up the race, three minutes after the start.

A France – Netherlands match

Very quickly, it turned into a match between France and the Netherlands with two tandems from each nation in the isolated leading group. Alexandre Lloveras and Yoann Paillot were the first to be left behind and to yo-yo. The Millavois found himself isolated in the middle of the orange combinations, suffering successive attacks from Tristan Bangma and Vincent Ter Schure. The former had done everything at the start of the race to allow his compatriot to come back after a puncture and for the race to take this configuration, inevitably to his advantage.

A track-style end of the race

Then, in the last lap, it was up to the French to attack, particularly on the descent where Mickaël Guichard, Elie de Carvalho's rider, showed his technical qualities. In the final moments, the four tandems played it like track riders. The pace dropped significantly, and each looked at the other to monitor the attacks. The race had definitely plunged into a strategic match. No one wants to take the initiative to avoid burning cartridges too early before the finish line.

“We had planned to put a big bag”

It was at the worst possible moment that Elie de Carvalho and Mickaël Guichard had bad luck and went off the rails in the money time. The Dutch didn't expect so much to launch an attack and fly towards a double.“It's disgusting because we had planned to put a big bag before this technical part, we don't know how they [the Dutch] would have reacted…, Mickaël Guichard ranted in the mixed zone. I think we were on an equal footing and we would have raced for gold or silver, we're missing out on a medal because of a mechanical problem, it's the bike. Trying to do too much doesn't reward you, it's cruel.”

1'37 late at the finish

It's the other French duo, composed of Alexandre Lloveras and Yoann Paillot who take the bronze medal. The Millavois and his rider arrive 1'37 behind the Olympic champions, Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos, the favorites, also crowned in the time trial. They had no trouble breaking away from their compatriots in the sprint. “We will remember the silver medal, it is still a games with a nice silver medal but we wanted a gold medal…, hammered the Millavois. The goal will be in 4 years, I will take the time to think about it, I am a little disgusted."  Infuriating certainly, but encouraging for the future of the tricolor duo in the discipline who can hope to play for a rainbow jersey of world champion in the coming years.