PARIS: Joris Daudet led a French clean sweep of the podium in men's BMX racing on Friday, finally bringing French riders the Olympic medals that had so long eluded them.
His compatriots Sylvain Andre and Romain Mahieu took silver and bronze in front of an ecstatic home crowd in the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines stadium to chants of "allez les bleus."
In the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, the three Frenchmen shot out of the starting ramp and maintained their lead throughout the final, zooming over the bumpy, winding course in a 1-2-3 formation like one blue-and-white streak.
"To achieve first, second and third, we knew that it was possible, that there was a slim chance, and we all wanted to win the race. I'm glad that we did, and not the others," Andre told reporters.
The French have dominated BMX racing in recent decades, amassing 50 gold medals at world championships since 1982, and Daudet and Mahieu are first and second in the world rankings.
At the Olympics, however, they had only bagged two medals since the sport's debut in Beijing in 2008.
With Dutchman Niek Kimmann unable to defend his Tokyo 2021 title due to illness and Tokyo silver medalist Kye Whyte of Britain hampered by a back injury, the French dominated their semi-finals.
Tokyo bronze medallist Carlos Ramirez of Colombia did not make it to the last four.
For Daudet, 33, the gold medal was the pinnacle in a long career that brought his first World Championship medal, a bronze, in 2010.
He has been a dominant presence in BMX racing for more than a decade, winning a record nine world championship medals, including golds in 2011, 2016 and 2024.
Daudet is planning to retire after his fourth Olympic Games.
"I really love BMX but I don't think I really want to be involved in the BMX industry. I've done everything that I wanted to do. I want to enjoy life with my wife and my kids," he told reporters this week.
In the women's BMX race, Saya Sakakibara of Australia won gold, Manon Veenstra of the Netherlands took silver and Zoe Claessens of Switzerland claimed bronze.
The Australian rider was the No. 1 ranked female BMX Racing rider in 2024 and 2023, making an impressive comeback after two years marked by injury: a concussion at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and a 2022 crash that left her with a bruised lung and another concussion.
Sakakibara and Mahieu,who are dating each other, will go home with a medal each - one gold, one bronze - at the same Games and in the same disciple.
"My boyfriend and I, we get to ride together, race together, and follow the same goal. We are both at a really high level together and we have been sharing wins at world cup rounds over the past two years, so hopefully we can make that a medal," Sakakibara told Reuters this week. - REUTERS