Para-cycling World Championships: Léauté, Vergnaud and Bouziani at the top of their game!

After their outstanding performances at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, Alexandre Léauté, supported by Banque Palatine, and Loïc Vergnaud, supported by Caisse d’Epargne Loire Drôme Ardèche, rediscovered their motivation virtually undiminished for the Para Cycling World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. The championships also gave Florian Bouziani, a para cyclist supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation and absent from Paris 2024, an opportunity to triumph over fate.

Léauté gets back on his bike

It’s true that he didn’t spend the night sharing his joy with thousands of supporters at the Club France venue as he did during the Paralympic Games; it’s true that the setting wasn’t quite as breathtaking as it had been this summer but, all the same, the world champion title won by Alexandre Léauté, supported by Banque Palatine, still stands as an immense achievement! This is because he had to come back down to earth, get back on his bike and go out in pursuit of this new achievement. It was a tough call considering the tightness of the calendar. Alexandre had been swept up in such powerful emotions at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, had given so much of himself to win his four medals, including two golds, that it seemed extremely difficult to return to competing so soon. After experiencing such intense emotions, there inevitably comes a moment of decompression combined with a simultaneous, and sudden, collapse in motivation. However, for these World Championships, it was preferable to put aside the euphoria of the Paralympics in order to refocus on the new challenge and get back to training. Once this first hurdle had been cleared, Alexandre also, and above all, had to rekindle that inner passion essential to summoning the colossal effort required to be first across the line.

Alexandre Léauté first won a silver medal in the time trial before proceeding, a few days later, to capture the world title in the road race in the C2 category, thereby keeping the rainbow jersey of the reigning world champion that he won in Glasgow in 2023. Léauté now boasts an unprecedented list of achievements, as this victory adds a 26^th world medal to his collection, not to mention his eight Paralympic medals and four European medals, all in gold!

Loïc Vergnaud keeps the rainbow jersey

Loïc Vergnaud, supported by the Caisse d’Epargne Loire Drôme Ardèche, also had to come down from cloud nine and return to the harsh reality of training to be competitive at the Para Cycling World Championships in Switzerland. He, too, perfectly kept his end of the bargain, which was by no means easy for the French para cyclists after their summer of euphoria! Vergnaud had contributed significantly to the French team’s medal bonanza, becoming Paralympic silver medalist in the H5 time trial, before repeating this feat the following day in the road race. In Switzerland, he continued in the same vein, winning silver in the time trial and, subsequently, silver in the road race. Vergnaud consequently proved that he’s still at the top of his game, delicately balanced on that fine line of putting up outstanding performances while maintaining his Paralympic form.

Revenge was sweet for Bouziani!

Florian Bouziani, supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation, enjoyed a magnificent triumph over fate. He won the time trial event in the C3 category, but missed out being selected for Paris 2024 owing to the quota system. This was a huge disappointment for him, all the more so as he had already suffered the same fate in Tokyo 2021. This bitter frustration was undoubtedly one of the major factors motivating him to win this title, the second rainbow jersey of his career. Let’s hope that this rider, who suffered 80% burns in a fire in the motorcycle workshop where he worked, can one day share the joy of taking part in the Paralympic Games!

To discover which athletes, para athletes and teams are supported by Groupe BPCE companies: