The day after Donovan Grondin’s gold medal on the scratch, Benjamin Thomas also climbed to the top step, this Friday in Roubaix on the points race. The second title for the France team in these Worlds at home.
Donovan Grondin had shown the way, Benjamin Thomas followed suit. The day after the first world title for the French, obtained by the rider of the Arkéa-Samsic team in the scratch race, during these Worlds which are contested on the Vélodrome de Roubaix, Thomas also made the Marseillaise resonate in this mythical place which had seen the triumph of the Italian Sonny Colbrelli at the beginning of the month. Teammate of Grondin on the American at the Tokyo Games – the two men had won the bronze medal – Thomas had to be satisfied with the silver Thursday in the team pursuit. Twenty-four hours later, the reigning French road time trial champion did not leave any chance on the other hand in the points race to his rivals, and in the first place the Belgian Kenny De Ketele and the Dutchman Vincent Hoppezak, arrived in second and third position behind the representative of Groupama-FDJ, untouchable (before being crowned world champion, Thomas had won two rounds as well as eight sprints over the sixteen).
Fourth world title for Thomas
? FANTASTIC ?
At the end of a breathless suspense, @Ben__Thomas_ wins the gold medal ? in the points race! #Roubaix2021 #JeRouleAvecSKF pic.twitter.com/4dR0KCLNcP
— FFC (@FFCyclisme) October 22, 2021
The 26-year-old French rider, already crowned world champion of the omnium in 2017 and 2020 and of the American in 2017, finished with a total of 94 points, against 84 for De Ketele, the only finalist to have been able to titillate the French Friday. Thomas, back up to the Belgian with twenty laps from the end, thus adds a fourth world title to its record. The future rider of the Cofidis team (from 2022) offers at the same time a second gold medal to the Tricolores after the title of Grondin, the day before on the American. Roubaix asks for more.
