The 2023 season in Continental Team ended on October 8 for the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team with the Paris-Tours Elite. It was an opportunity to review this season and see how the Nice team fared.
At the start of the 2023 season, the team aimed to win a victory in the French Cup among the 17 races on the calendar. Unfortunately, this goal was a very high and complex hurdle for the team from Nice, who lacked strong sprinters in these important stages. However, the year was not entirely bleak, as there was great pride for Nice Métropole. The Maralpins managed to secure a victory during the season. It was their first since the creation of the professional team. This was at the Tour d’Algérie, won by Paul Hennequin, whose performance was a highlight for the team, finishing as the team’s top rider in the UCI ranking.
Expected to finish in 99th place for this season, Nice Métropole ended up in 133rd place in the Continental Team ranking, with 57 points. A ranking below expectations, but what can be drawn from this year?
A Season to Build the Future
As mentioned above, Paul Hennequin performed brilliantly, winning the Tour d’Algérie. He also secured 5th place in the Route d’Occitanie. But that wasn’t the only good result the team achieved. Maxime Urruty finished 4th in the Tour d’Algérie, and Jean Louis Le Ny reached 3rd place in the Tour Poitou-Charentes.
The recruitment has benefited the team, which only turned professional in 2022, even though it has existed since 1963. It is a collective made up of many young members who bring energy! But more importantly, one of the main objectives of Nice Métropole is to help these young riders develop to level up and reach the upper echelons of the discipline.
To conclude, the objectives for the upcoming 2024 season are the same as the previous ones, “to secure a victory in one of the stages of the French Cup, recruit new riders better at sprints, and also continue to help these young riders develop further,” announced Jérôme Pulidori, the team manager.
