The Market Gare Boulodrome in Montauban hosted this weekend the Trophée des Villes, the true French winter championship of pétanque.
With the participation of a large audience of enthusiasts, this event in Montauban truly shone brightly. And so, Nice secured a fourth consecutive victory in this Trophée des Villes, which has become the highlight of the season’s end.
The Azuréens had to overcome the resilient Angevins, who were often challenged but never defeated in their initial journey.
As we watched their shooting prowess, it seemed throughout the event that the final would inevitably pit Nice against Lyon, as these two teams asserted their supremacy.
Nice did make it to the final, but they faced off against Angers. Many spectators would have bet on the team from Maine-et-Loire, which had already survived the precision shooting challenge to eliminate Bordeaux in the quarter-finals.
With the two stars Suchaud and Rocher, the World Champions, the Aiglons knew their strength, especially since Montoro and Rizo were also seasoned players.
On the opposite side, the Hureau brothers, with Soubabère and young Caillaud in their wake, were excellent trailblazers.
Proven by Suchaud and Montoro who obliterated Soubabère and Caillaud (13/0) in no time at all. But the rest of the match unfolded differently. For the Hureau brothers, after a very long struggle, put their collective back on track by narrowly defeating Rocher and Rizo (13/12).
The match in triples regained its decisive nature, but the six heroes, exhausted by their grueling weekend, surely did not expect an ultimate showdown lasting almost an hour and forty minutes.
Again, Angers bent without truly breaking, sticking to a strategy that had consistently favored them. But this time, the challenge was too steep.
Indeed, Nice always led the score in this final, keeping a combative sparring partner at bay, never once allowing them a winning position.
Thus, this marks a fourth consecutive victory for the team from Alpes-Maritimes, a success that might well serve as an epitaph for the sporting adventure of the DUC of Nice. A dire conclusion one would have preferred to avoid…
