At 19 years old, Célia Gery already has an impressive collection of world, European, and national titles in a wide variety of disciplines, particularly cyclo-cross. But it is on the road that this born winner now seems to be on a winning streak.
Already victorious in the first stage in Saint-Galmier, the Ardéchoise did it again in Lugny, again in a sprint. But this time, it was a tough uphill finish, which explains the small gaps that the Frenchwoman opened up at the line (3 seconds over Germany’s Linda Riedmann; 6 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Fleur Moors in third place), where she doubled her lead, which is already a very good result for her first year in the “espoirs” category. Especially as the French team rider is now just two points behind the Biofioul green jersey held by Germany’s Riedmann, her closest rival on the day.
Célia Gery has once again demonstrated her energy and enthusiasm, even though the third stage, which was hilly and featured a challenging finish, did not significantly change the overall standings, with Canada’s Isabella Holmgren, who dominated the prologue climb in Tignes, comfortably retaining the CIC yellow jersey.
The fourth stage will once again be shared with the men’s Tour de l’Avenir between Montagnat (Ain) and Val Suran (Jura), although the women will be exempt from the two final 17 km laps through the Jura mountains.
