Till De Clercq wins his 1st Trèfle Lozérien AMV.
The third and final day of this 37th edition of the Trèfle Lozérien AMV was synonymous with intensity and suspense. With 6 drivers within 20 seconds of each other this morning, anything was possible and the outcome of the final standings was far from certain. The reversed starting order could have changed the situation, with the leaders having to contend with well-marked stages. Leading the provisional standings by 7 seconds, Till De Clercq didn’t crack, resisting the relentless pressure of Jérémy Tarroux, the Dafy Enduro Team rider won the Trèfle Lozérien AMV by 0.5 seconds. Incredible!
De Clercq mentally very strong!
There was a small but significant difference on the third day… the amateur drivers started ahead of the top drivers. So the leaders were about to discover some far from virgin stages. And from the very first SP, Jeremy Tarroux set the tone, winning ahead of Zach Pichon, Loic Larrieu and Till De Clercq. The Elite Moto 15 rider clawed back a full 8 seconds on the provisional leader… and the race for the podium was on! Killian Lunier, the winner on the first day, finished 12th, 12 seconds back, and gradually lost any chance of a podium finish. He would go on to finish around the top 10 throughout the day. The second stage was a straight-line affair, with some fine climbs and technical descents, and in these conditions it was Zach Pichon who won his first stage. Julien Roussaly, 3 seconds behind, is on an excellent run of form and is going from strength to strength. Tarroux finished 3rd, De Clercq 4th and Loic Larrieu 5th. The results for SP3 were the same, but in a different order, with Jérémy Tarroux setting the fastest time ahead of Zach Pichon, who moved up in the provisional standings, and Till De Clercq, who lost another 3.5 seconds in the battle. SP4 is the famous secret SP… and it was De Clercq who did best in the improvisation exercise, winning the time ahead of Tarroux. There was one last special stage, the Vabre Lauze Boissons, in front of a large crowd who had once again turned out in force. Before the start, the Dafy Enduro Team rider had an advantage of just 5 seconds… The pressure was on! Loic Larrieu won the SP ahead of Mathys Boisramé, while Jérémy Tarroux finished 3rd. Till De Clercq did his utmost to hold on to his lead and, after finishing 3rd last year, won this 37th edition of the Trèfle Lozérien AMV by half a second. Behind the two KTM riders, Zach Pichon completed the podium with his Sherco after a superb day. Loic Larrieu also had a fine Sunday. He finished 4th overall, ahead of the always solid Julien Gauthier (1st Veteran) and Julien Roussaly, who is increasingly at home in this discipline. In the Junior category, Killian Lunier won. In the Nationals, Luc Maliges won for the third year running (14th overall). Corentin Amathe won the Espoirs (20th overall), Stéphane Jeannin the Supers Vétérans (52nd overall) and Alexis Tichit the Gentlemen (59th overall).
To round off 3 days of racing and festivities, there was the famous “Trophée Castan” final cross-country race, with no sporting stakes involved, just to create the atmosphere a few metres from the town centre. Mathys Boisrame came out on top, ahead of Alexis Beaud and Killian Lunier. See you in 2024!
Ranking Day :
- TARROUX Jeremy 21:57.68
- PICHON Zachary à 6.099
- LARRIEU Loic à 7.840
- DECLERCQ Till à 8.700
- ROUSSALY Julien à 13.422
- GAUTHIER Julien à 20.816
- BOISRAME Mathys à 28.547
- DEBAUD Valerian à 34.370
- ABGRAL David à 35.840
- LUNIER Killian à 44.520
Nicolas Provost pour le Trèfle Lozérien AMV
Crédits Photos : Damien Astruc Photographie