Fabien proves his recovery by 3rd place
Fabien Barel proves his recovery is going well by a podium finish in the first round of the French national series.
The small French ski resort of Lac Blanc, neighbouring the world cup venue of La Bresse was host to the first round of the SUBARU National downhill series. Damien Spagnolo and Fabien Barel were excited to get on their bikes after walking the track and seeing that it would be an interesting course to race. The track was short but filled with technical sections and loose dusty turns.
Race day was a little cloudy and the riders started to be concerned that there could be rain storms in the afternoon. The first run did not go well for Damien as he had a mechanical problem right out the start gate (a broken chain), this left him freewheeling to a respectable 23rd place.?For Fabien it was much better news, he was able to ride well within his limits and hitting all his lines, he suffered in the lower part of the track as he could not develop the power needed to pedal hard to the line. He was pleased to finish in 2nd place behind Michael Pascal.
The final round was going to be tough for both of the rider as Damien knew he had to push hard to get into the top 5 and Fabien was still suffering from leg pain due to the restrictions of his knee braces. For Damien the run went much better as he was able to pick up his pace through the run and end up with a good time, unfortunately for him his conservative top section cost him some valuable seconds putting him in 12th place._Fabien was able to pull out another solid run with only slight mistakes he kept up a good average speed and almost same time as the mornings run. He again suffered from the restrictions of the knee braces and found it difficult to push hard on the pedalling without the risk of being too tired for the technical bottom section, so he decided to go for the safe option, this cost his 1 place but with a high level and close times he was happy with his progression.
After the race Fabien commented that he was really happy to be back on the bike but a little frustrated to not be able to push in his race runs as much as he is used to, he also said that he needs to be patient and continue with all the steps for a full recovery.
Overall a good weekend for the team in front of the large crowd, and an essential step for Fabien. The will stay to ride in the bike park and then head off to the next world cup in Fort William later in the week.
Despite some pain in his legs due to the knee braces he was able to ride consistently all weekend and continue with his preparations for his return to world cup racing.
Final results:
1. MICKAEL PASCAL 2:32.254
2. JORIS BIGONI 2:34.835
3. FABIEN BAREL 2 :35.746
4. MATHIEU GALLEAN 2 :36.897
5. PIERRE CHARLES GEORGES 2 :36.969
12. DAMIEN SPAGNOLO 2 :31.114
