{"id":372785,"date":"2025-12-28T09:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/372785\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T09:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:45:08","slug":"hope-this-strengthens-the-teams-confidence-in-choosing-me-amandine-fouquenet-after-superprestige-win-and-world-cup-podiums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/372785\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hope this strengthens the teams’ confidence in choosing me\u2019 – Amandine Fouquenet after Superprestige win and World Cup podiums"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two-time French Cyclo-cross Champion Amandine Fouquenet<\/a> continued to impress at Friday\u2019s UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Gavere<\/a>, where she claimed second place, her third World Cup podium.<\/p>\n

After a strong start to the season with seven top 10 finishes and a win at a Coupe de France cyclo-cross in Quelneuc, the 24-year-old rider turned heads, claiming two podiums at back-to-back World Cups: second in Flamanville, followed by third place at Namur.<\/p>\n

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She then went one better, putting in a scorching solo attack on the second-to-last lap to win Superprestige Heusden-Zolder<\/a>, taking the biggest win of her career at the second event of the Kerstperiode.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Three days later in Gavere, Fouquenet put in a hard early pace, and although she was no match for the unstoppable Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions), who claimed her 10th victory in a row<\/a>, she was able to hold off a charging Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) to take second place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m really very happy; the pressure has eased a bit after my victory [at Heusden-Zolder]. I wouldn’t say that everything from now on is just a bonus, because I want to give my best until the end of the season, but I’m already very happy with this season,\u201d Fouquenet said after her runner-up finish on Friday.<\/p>\n

She described her battle with Pieterse \u201creally tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the physical sections of the course, I’d say I was a little better than her, so I took advantage of that to try and make a difference, because I knew that in the technical sections, she was better and would catch up quite quickly. It was a great battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In all her post-race interviews, Fouquenet has been very clear that she is still on the hunt for a team for 2026 following the collapse of the Ark\u00e9a-B&B Hotels team, where she spent four years.<\/p>\n

At the start of the cyclo-cross season in October, Fouquenet posted on Instagram<\/a> that \u201cThe future remains uncertain… But I remain hopeful that cyclocross will open up a great opportunity for me in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Gavere, she said that she hoped her results would entice teams to sign her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that I’m getting concrete results \u2013 I didn’t just get a podium finish in Flamanville, now it\u2019s Namur, and I won this week, and then finished second again. I certainly hope this strengthens the teams’ confidence in choosing me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have nothing,\u201d she replied when asked if she had signed with a team.<\/p>\n

Fouquenet is on the start list for the eighth round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Dendermonde on Sunday.<\/p>\n