“Le Parisien” now returns, at the end of each weekend, to all the results and highlights of sporting events in Ile-de-France.
The feat of the weekend
HOCKEY/ICE. Historical. Cergy-Pontoise will take part in the Magnus League semi-finals for the first time! The Jokers eliminated Amiens (4-2) in the sixth game on Saturday by picking up a decisive fourth victory (4-3). The 2,324 supporters of Aren’Ice were treated to a very tense scenario. Tuukka Rajamaki at the start of the match, Brien Robert Diffley and Pierre-Charles Hordelalay, twice, offered this long undecided victory due to the two goals scored at the end of the match by the Gothics.
No time to celebrate or almost, the semi-finals will start on Wednesday. The Jokers, promoted only two years ago to the top flight, will challenge Grenoble, a clash between the two best attacks in the championship. The first two rounds will take place in Isère (Wednesday and Thursday), the next two (Friday 25 and Saturday 26 March) in Cergy. The other match opposes Angers to Rouen.
If you do not know this team, we recommend this immersion of the “Parisian” ten days ago in full training.
The figure: 8,000
BASKET. Less than 24 hours after the last of the five concerts of Orelsan, the Accor Arena hosted a large poster of French basketball on Sunday afternoon. Assailed with requests, the arena managed to bring in more than 8,000 spectators for Paris-Monaco, while the Halle Carpentier where Parisians normally play can only accommodate 3,500.
The Rocca Team, 2nd in the championship, started as favourites, they held their rank by winning without too much difficulty (69-76). Paris Basketball, which faltered in the third quarter, is therefore still flirting with the relegation zone. An unthinkable ranking given the show offered this weekend.
The weekend timeline
ATHLETISME. This Saturday, 11,500 lucky people took part in the Paris Ecotrail under a bright sun. Finally back in normal conditions, after two years of confinement, this rolling race is available in different formats (10 km, 18 km, 30 km, 45 km and 80 km). But what makes the charm of the Ile-de-France route is this arrival on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower for the 80 km. And in this little game, it was the Parisian Nicolas Duhail, already winner in 2016, who won in 5 hours, 49 minutes and 46 seconds. A victory in a pocket handkerchief in front of the German Benedikt Hoffmann (5h50′52′’) and the Avignonnais Yoann Stuck (5h52′42′’).
Among the women, the competition was not as strong on the podium. The title went to Maryline Nakache (6h44′07′’), 2018 French long trail champion, with nearly 25 minutes ahead of Camille Thiré-Monnier (7h08′) and Mélanie Egalon (7h20′32′’) .
The start had been given from the Leisure Island of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The runners then passed through Vélizy, Meudon, and Boulogne-Billancourt before entering the capital from the South-West.
The player of the weekend
VOLLEY. The Mariannes won an important match this Saturday against Saint-Raphaël in Ligue A (3-1). A victory which gives air to the classification (9th out of 13) at the Stade Français Paris Saint-Cloud and which saw the Argentinian central Candelaria Herrera shine with a thousand lights. Arrived in January from the American university championship after having participated in the Tokyo Olympics, the 23-year-old powerhouse was elected MVP. 20 points (out of his team’s 72), 6 on his serve and 100% success in reception… A perfect match.
The statement of the weekend
EQUITATION. “This sport is brutal, the most difficult is the first stocking, it happened to me several times. I lived ten incredible years in a certain operation. There, I am at home (in Deauville) with several owners and there are sparks like today”.
On Sunday, the Grand Palais Ephémère saw the French rider Kévin Staut win after six years of scarcity in the 5-Star Grand Prix. In front of three thousand people completely committed to his cause, the 41-year-old Norman demonstrated that he was holding an amazing horse, aged 14, and back at the highest level after eye problems. 2016 Olympic team champion, he was not selected this summer in Tokyo, for lack of satisfactory results.
Disappointment of the weekend
BASKET. A last quarter of fire to snatch the extension but, finally, a return home with the defeat (109-104 ap). The Metropolitans of Boulogne-Levallois tried everything to overthrow Limoges on Sunday afternoon. But their lack of skill at three points in particular cost too much to hope to create the feat (20.7% success). They are now tied for the lead in the Jeep Elite with Monaco.
Vincent Collet’s players record their seventh defeat of the season, but especially the 4th since mid-February, a sign of a slowdown in the Ile-de-France region in recent weeks.
The main results
BASKET. Betclic Elite : Roanne-NANTERRE 91-98; PARIS-Monaco 69-76; Limoges – BOULOGNE – LEVALLOIS (109-104 AD).
HANDBALL. International truce for men. Butagaz Women’s League: Nantes – PARIS 92 (27-23).
ICE HOCKEY. Magnus League: CERGY-PONTOISE – Amiens 4-3.
RUGBY. International truce.
VOLLEYBALL. League A: PARIS-Montpellier 3-0; Cannes – LE PLESSIS ROBINSON 2-3.
Women’s A League : STADE FRANÇAIS PARIS SAINT-CLOUD – Saint-Raphaël 3-1.