Handball: At the Alps Tournament, Usam wants to continue to gain height

Julien Rebichon et les Nîmois veulent arriver prêts pour la reprise du championnat, le 14 février; MIDI LIBRE – MIKAËL ANISSET

Friday 24 and Saturday 25 January, Nîmes are playing two friendly matches in Savoie, where the Gardois are continuing a preparation that began with two victories.

Since the restart on 6 January, the Usam Nîmes players have had plenty to keep them busy. Daily training sessions – or even double sessions – and friendly matches on the weekend. ''What's hard, in the head, is that we've taken two weeks off and, now, before playing the first match again (against Chartres at Parnasse, on 14 February), we're doing six weeks of preparation, observes captain Julien Rebichon. What we like is competition. Here, we have to be serious and, mentally, not waste time for what comes next.''

The emphasis on physical and tactical

Two victorious outings, at the Châtellerault Tournament against two European League teams, Porto (35-26) and Irun (29-27), got this campaign of friendly matches off to a good start.

''We were serious, confirms the left winger. The heart of our preparation is these friendly matches. I think we are on the right track. The emphasis is on physicality and tactics. These meetings are used to get closer to the competition and real things.''

For Nîmes (8th in D1), the justice of the peace will remain a championship played upside down for too long before ranking second… over the last four days, before the break.

''Continue to increase performance and power''

''Compared to the first part of the season, we must never forget our mistakes, reminds Rebichon, that we are united and that we go on the right path all together. We are only one point behind 6th (Dunkerque). We managed to come back where no one expected us.''

This evening (8pm), it is in Chambéry, at the Tournoi des Alpes, that Nîmes is expected and will face Saint-Raphaël (against Chambéry or Schaffausen, Saturday). ''We will put in intensity, a lot of courage and I hope we will win. We must continue to improve our performance and power.''

The group of 17 for Chambéry

Thirteen pros (Soyez, Pardin, Rebichon, Vincent, Acquevillo, Costa Da Silva, Derisbourg, Tobie, Gibernon, Peyre, Kaczor, Kamtchop-Baril, Poyet) plus four youngsters from the training center (Schacherer, Rochette, Lafosse and Guigues) are part of the group of 17 Usamistes taking part in the Tournoi des Alpes.

Absent: Sissoko, Gibelin and Konradsson (individualized work), Sanad (World Cup with Egypt), Abelhak (ankle).