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New Zealander Justin Grace will succeed Florian Rousseau as national sprint coach for France’s track cycling quad, the French Cycling Federation (FFC) announced on Tuesday.
Grace, 43, is the first non-French national to be appointed to the job and comes after his successful stint improving his country’s success in the sport.
He will take up his position in the coming days, the FFC said.
Rousseau was a triple Olympic champion and as a coach oversaw Gregory Bauge’s three world titles.
He announced his departure in February after the world track championships in Minsk and then set about finding his successor.
Rousseau told AFP of his successor: “He started from scratch and achieved the results we know about, notably an Olympic medal. France is a hell of a challenge for him.”
Grace resigned from Bike New Zealand after five years in charge five weeks ago, citing family reasons and concerns about the effects of funding constraints on the country’s sprint programme.
