Victor Verreault drew a line under his career as a high-level athlete on Sunday, at the conclusion of the Mont-Sainte-Anne Mountain Bike World Cup. The creation of a professional team and the recurrence of cancer marked his time on the international circuit.
The weather was cold and wet around the course of the last Olympic cross-country stage of the season. In the entourage of the athlete and his team, it was the opposite: they were warm and they carefully ensured that Verreault took the time to grant an interview to Sportcom after his 57e place.
“Today was not an exam. This was the A grade I received. I had fun doing what I did and I’m really happy! » launched the new retiree.
It was last summer that the 24-year-old athlete announced that he would retire at the end of this season.
“I chose to say it well in advance. It was a way for me to allow others to have a good time and end the year even better to enjoy it. […] I was on the course and I just heard “Vic, Vic, Vic”! And I told myself that the others must be jealous. It went well, I still had good form, but perhaps not sufficient compared to the first,” maintained the man who was still a little disappointed to have been taken out by the commissioners in two rounds. from the end, because his delay was more than 80% of the leader’s time.
Over the past three seasons, Verreault has teamed with veteran Léandre Bouchard. The two set up their formation Foresco Holding Proco RL, supported by partners from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, including the Verreault family’s transportation company, for which he will now work full time.
“I have a few hours of work to give back. I should be on the job market and I haven’t been much, he said with a laugh. Subsequently, I also want to give back to my club, where I grew up. »
Bouchard was moved to see his teammate take a new path.
“It’s been a golden teammate to have him with me the last three years. The Foresco Holding Proco RL project was somewhat set up thanks to him. It was a partner [et nous avons été] almost a couple during the World Cup season. I take my hat off to him, I thank him for everything he has given me and for all the pleasure. Because what allows us to perform is pleasure above all. And I shared that with him. »
Without having the same results as his Olympian teammate and double Canadian champion, Verreault has fully enjoyed these last three years during which he has been at his best level. However, his momentum was slowed in 2022 when he had to face a recurrence of thyroid cancer which had been detected in 2017, while he was undergoing chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
At the end of 2022, Bouchard crossed Canada by bicycle to raise funds for mental health prevention after having publicly testified to the suicides of his mother and sister.
Verreault emphasizes that it was his love of mountain biking that was his main source of motivation to get through his treatments.
“Without a goal, why would I want to heal? I had a reason: I wanted to ride a bike and enjoy it, so it was easy to believe in it and have a goal further down the road. [Ma guérison]it’s something I’m very proud of! I took it as a big race. »
A scar on his neck bears witness to these episodes.
“There, I realize what I accomplished as a little 17-year-old and I think I’m cool with what I did. Each time, it’s a reminder to enjoy life. In a way, I don’t regret having it [le cancer]. »
His high-level career now being behind him, the young people of the Saint-Félicien Vélo2max Club have just gained a new motivated volunteer on their team.