Francis Mourey (FDJ-BigMat) was a non-Belgian interloper in the big battle between the riders of the host nation in today’s Koksijde World Cup race, and managed to take third place behind Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) and Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus). It was the former French champion’s first appearance on a World Cup podium since he took second behind Albert in Igorre, Spain, in January 2010; Mourey’s current run of form means that he is looking for even more as the next round heads just over the border to Roubaix, France.
"This is not unexpected for me though,” he told the Sporza cameras after the race. “I already felt good during my warm up; with my acceleration I could drop a lot of people.
“It’s not easy to race against Niels and Sven, but the podium is on merit."
Mourey has taken six victories so far this season, albeit in smaller, mostly French domestic races [although he did beat Nys in a race in Baden, Swizterland, back in September - ed] but on December 2nd the Cyclocross World Cup returns to the iconic Roubaix Velodrome - just over the border into France - after a one year gap. With the extra push of racing in his home country, the 32-year-old is hoping to take his first victory in the sport’s top level series since his one and only World Cup victory in Treviso, Italy, in November 2006.
"The Belgians are not unbeatable,” he said confidently. “I was close to them today, I’m just lacking a tiny bit. Hopefully that will be there in Roubaix."