Someone forgot to tell the Iton River that it wasn’t entered.
On Sunday, February 15, the French Cross Country Championships semi-finals came to the Navarre racecourse in Évreux with all the charm of a winter punishment session. Zero degrees Celsius, feels-like minus nine, wind, rain — the full misery package.
Then, mid-afternoon, the Iton River, which runs alongside the course, simply overflowed. Athletes racing in the later heats found themselves wading through knee-deep water, which is not typically in the race briefing.
Évreux AC, who organized the event, posted a video to social. Their caption: “You’re organizing the semi-finals of the French Cross Country Championships, but things aren’t going as planned.”
Safe to say.
Yet somehow, between the flooding and the freezing cold, some genuinely excellent racing happened. And now, with places at the French Championships on the line, the performances from Évreux will matter when everyone reconvenes in Carhaix on March 7 and 8.
The Man Who Brought a Spare Jumper
Benoît Campion of Stade Brestois Athletics won the men’s short cross-country race in 12:22. But before we get to the actual race, there’s the small matter of what happened immediately after it.
The moment Campion crossed the line, a teammate was ready and waiting with warm, dry clothes. Not because Campion forgot his bag — but because he’d planned it that way.
“You can lose all the benefits of your training in the five minutes following a race,” he explained.
This is a man who thinks about things.
His approach to the race itself was similarly deliberate. Having already won the regional championship in Carnac, Campion came to Évreux with a specific goal: win, test himself against quality opposition, and treat the whole thing as a dress rehearsal for Carhaix. He went to the front early and stayed there, which isn’t always the safest strategy in cross country — but it’s the one he wanted to practice.
Étienne Leroux of CIMA made him work for it. The triathlete pushed hard and refused to crack when Campion attacked with a kilometer to go. So Campion attacked again, 500 meters out.
Anything, as the afternoon’s floodwater demonstrated, can indeed happen.
Leroux finished two seconds back in 12:24. Jawad Abdelmoula took third in 12:29.
For Campion — a 1500m track specialist by trade — Sunday was a statement. He finished fourth at the French Championships three years ago and has been eyeing a better result ever since.
The Upset Nobody Saw Coming
The men’s long cross-country event was supposed to be about Benoît Fanouillère, the Brittany champion and the clear pre-race favorite.
Gwen Duval of HBA had other thoughts.
The Rennes runner, who’d finished third two weeks earlier in Carnac, ran a smart, controlled race through the Normandy mud to win in 31:23 — eight seconds clear of Florian Guérin (Stade Sottevillais). Fanouillère, for reasons the conditions may partly explain, finished third, 47 seconds behind the winner. Not the day he’d have scripted.
Duval, meanwhile, heads to Carhaix in form and with some momentum. Worth watching.
The Women’s Races Were Comparatively Less Dramatic
Which is to say nobody won them by a river.
Marie Lohéac-Bouchard of Iroise Athlétisme was simply better than everyone in the women’s long cross-country event. She led from start to finish, winning in 27:40. Laëtitia Bleunven came home second in 28:10, Laure Bertrand third in 28:20. For Normandy, Clara Jobbin finished fourth, while Manon Miserette claimed the U23 category title in fifth.
In the women’s short event, Jeanne Toullier of Stade Rennais won solo in 14:37. There wasn’t much of a contest.
Full Results
Men’s Short Cross-Country: 1. Benoît Campion (Stade Brestois) 12:22; 2. Étienne Le Roux (CIMA) 12:24; 3. Jawad Abdelmoula (EA Pays de Brocéliande) 12:29
Men’s Long Cross-Country: 1. Gwen Duval (HBA) 31:23; 2. Florian Guérin (Stade Sottevillais) 31:31; 3. Benoît Fanouillère (AS 22) 32:10
Women’s Short Cross-Country: 1. Jeanne Toullier (Stade Rennais) 14:37
Women’s Long Cross-Country: 1. Marie Lohéac-Bouchard (Iroise Athlétisme) 27:40; 2. Laëtitia Bleunven (Stade Brestois) 28:10; 3. Laure Bertrand (EAP de Brocéliande) 28:20
Masters Men: 1. Hassan Oubassour (Stade Sottevillais) 32:02; 2. Mickaël Collet (Pays Paimpol At) 32:08; 3. Jonathan Parisé (Pays Paimpol At) 32:18
