Winner at Les Karellis, the Frenchwoman confirms her qualities in the mountains.
She had already shown her talent in the mountains last year, when she took 8th place in the final of the first women’s Tour de l’Avenir, which the rider from Normandy contested as part of a regional selection… Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. An initiative which accelerated the time of revelation. Now it’s time for confirmation.
Now in the French team, Marion Bunel, a member of the women’s section of the Saint-Michel-Auber 93 team, had already shown her progress in the first half of the season. So much so that at the age of 19, she took part in her first Tour de France (11th in the final stage at l’Alpe d’Huez). And now she has taken a great option on the Tour de l’Avenir by winning stage 1, which ended with the 12-kilometre climb to Les Karellis.
Her attack around five kilometres from the finish may not have allowed her to make the final break, but she nevertheless opened up a substantial gap of 34 seconds on Canadian Isabella Holmgren and 50 seconds on Belgian Lore De Schepper, who had won the prologue. In any case, she has taken a clear lead over her rivals and is now the favourite.
This weekend, the course for the women’s Avenir will follow that of the boys, with the race entering the Italian Piedmont on Friday via Mont-Cenis.
