Several players will be absent from the attack of the Crocodiles on Saturday, the mental coach of NO reveals, a long session for the Alès players and a Gard cyclist competing in Paris-Nice.
Nîmes Olympique
Without the Orinel-Depres duo against Grasse. For the third time this season and the second consecutive time, Nîmes Olympique will be without its top scorer and top passer on Saturday. Oualid Orinel is not fully recovered from his left calf injury as the lesion is not completely healed. As for forward Clément Depres, who has resumed collective training, his return to competition will not be until the trip to Créteil next week. On the other hand, Estéban Alberto continues his individual work with Antonin Deniaud, the fitness coach. The left-back could rejoin the group on Monday. Attacker Bissourou Touré and midfielder Othmane Benhamza, on the other hand, are taking a rest today. Defender Gino Caoki, injured during the match against Toulon, watched the session as a spectator. He underwent surgery on February 25 and will have to be patient. “My morale takes a hit, but the group supports me well and I will be at the Antonin stadium to support the team. For now, I have no vision of the coming weeks, and everything will depend on future X-rays,” explains the Crocodile. This Thursday morning, the defensive players worked in the gym while the offensive elements practiced shooting in front of goalkeepers Lucas Dias and Lenny Colombani. The nine outfield players on the field were Sarr, Khasa, Kubota, Khalid, Sylla, Bennour, Doucouré, Diaby, and Coulibaly.
Nîmes Olympique Mental Preparation
“Visualize the trajectory of the ball”. After a first visit in November, Fabien Bréard is present this week at the Bastide. The mental coach works with NO once a month. He witnessed the victory against Fréjus Saint-Raphaël (0-2) where his work in previous days had paid off in the Crocodiles’ revival. He will also be at the Antonins on Saturday for the reception of Grasse and will return in April. “I accompany the players and the staff on a mental and cognitive level. The idea is to put the mind at the service of performance. Optimize perceptions, analysis, and emotional management,” explains the Norman. This week, the group is working on mental imagery during set pieces. “It means visualizing the trajectory of the ball in execution. The players are very open and eager. It is a sign of a group that wants to be performing and wants to use all the tools at its disposal,” emphasizes Fabien Bréard, whose interventions are limited to the professional sphere. Referring to the latest results and the three consecutive victories, the mental coach’s work is starting to bear fruit.
Olympique Alès en Cévennes
Long work before the break. The Alès players, who will play for the first time this season on a Sunday at 3 p.m. against Lucciana in Pibarot, had to adapt this week due to a rearranged schedule. An training session was scheduled for Thursday and Saturday, with a rest day on Friday. Just before this well-deserved break, 48 hours before the match, the Alès players provided a high-intensity session at the Pibarot stadium on Thursday afternoon. With plenty of tactical games, physical work for several players, and various offensive and defensive exercises for over 2.5 hours. An training session that took place without Evan Paulet, still absent due to a foot injury, and without Tom Larcier, also injured in the ankle and uncertain for Sunday’s match. On their side, Makan Traoré and Paul Bourdelle, absent from the last training session, are back and could play this weekend if there are no physical hiccups.
Cycling
Alexandre Delettre will be present at Paris-Nice. For the second time in his career, after 2025, Alexandre Delettre has been selected by TotalEnergie to participate in the Paris-Nice classic (March 8-15). “I am very excited. It takes a lot of work to get there. It is still a major international race where the best in the world compete. The goal will be to be in a good breakaway and maybe achieve a good result. There are arrivals that suit my rider profile. It will be good to test myself in all of this now that I have a bit more experience on this type of course even if I will not be aiming for the general classification and will be at the service of the team,” explains the Manduel puncheur. In 2025, for his first participation in Paris-Nice, the Gard cyclist was the first wearer of the polka dot jersey before finishing in 70th place, 49’04” behind the American winner Matteo Jorgenson.
