Stormy weather threat for European Cyclocross Championships in France

TOPSHOT A competitor walks in the mud carrying her bike during the women elite race of the Koppenbergcross the first race out of eight of the X2O Badkamers trophy cyclocross competition in Melden Oudenaarde on November 1 2023 Photo by JASPER JACOBS Belga AFP Belgium OUT Photo by JASPER JACOBSBelgaAFP via Getty Images
The mud takes hold in the elite women's race at Koppenbergcross on Wednesday November 1, 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Wild weather is sweeping through the north-west of France, with strong winds and downpours across the region as organisers try to get set for the UCI Cyclo-Cross European Championships in Pont-Château from Friday Nov 3 to Sunday November 5.

Storm Ciaran is delivering wind gusts which Meteo France warns could reach up to up to 170 kph in some coastal areas and up to 120 kph inland in the Loire-Atlantique departement, which Pont-Château is in. Other sporting events in the region have been cancelled and the storm is also threatening to cause transport chaos in the north-west of France and beyond as riders try to make their way to the event.

Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.