French rider Amandine Fouquenet finished fifth at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hulst and criticised the aggressive riding she encountered, labelling the atmosphere in the chasing group "a little bit anti-sport".
Lucinda Brand led an all-Dutch podium ahead of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse. Fouquenet crossed the line 58 seconds behind Brand and just seven seconds adrift of bronze.
Before the start, the French rider crashed during a morning reconnaissance lap, injuring her neck and chest and receiving treatment from the team kinesiologist. Then, at the start, she unclipped from her pedal and dropped to the back of the field while the Dutch favourites established an immediate gap.
"I had some pretty rough opponents," Fouquenet told DirectVelo. "I was really pushed around quite meanly. I don't know if it's the tension of the event, but in any case, I didn't find it very respectful to jostle so much to the point of putting people on the ground."
Fouquenet said her physical form was strong throughout the race, particularly on the more open second half of the course that suited her power profile. However, she described repeated interference on the short, steep mounds where maintaining momentum is critical, with rivals cutting into her line and disrupting her rhythm. "Someone grabbed my wheel on the climb, so I really didn't appreciate that," she said.
In the same chasing group where Fouquenet was fighting to regain positions, Belgian rider Marion Norbert Riberolle was disqualified after a physical altercation with Czech rider Kristyna Zemanova, as described in our full race report.
Fouquenet crashed late in the race while attacking for the podium and did not manage to overhaul Pieterse for bronze. She finished two seconds behind fourth-placed Kata Blanka Vas.
Fouquenet entered the World Championships as one of France's brightest prospects, having had an excellent World Cup series - taking a string of podium spots - and having won Superprestige Gullegem.
Cover image credit: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
