(Quebec) Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu is without a doubt the craziest speed skater on the Canadian team. It should therefore come as no surprise to read on the federation’s website that his hidden talent is to “go down a halfpipe on a unicycle”…
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Verification made with the principal concerned: it is true. “I was in the circus when I was young,” he said Tuesday afternoon at the Intact Insurance Ice Center, where the Canadian Championships will be held from Thursday to Sunday.
“I had a unicycle and there was a skate park near my house. The challenge was to slow me down on the ramp while pedaling…”
The 30-year-old athlete still rides a single wheel occasionally: “My next purchase is a mountain unicycle. I would really like to try that. »
Before embarking on the trails of Mont-Sainte-Anne, Gélinas-Beaulieu continues to refine his art in speed skating, a sport he had abandoned for a few years for a trip around the world and work in cinema, a field where he completed a certificate at Université Laval.
After a first experience at the Beijing Olympics, where he took part in four events last winter, the Estrien of origin is targeting two distances this year: the 1500 m and the mass start, the real reason for his return. long track.
Finalist in the mass start in the Chinese capital (15e), Gélinas-Beaulieu had the feeling of suffering the race.
“During the year, I was afraid of overtraining, admitted the man who had already pushed too far during his previous career in short track. So I was on the more conservative side in training. I’ve been kind”. It got me to the Olympics, but I knew I wasn’t at my full potential. »
When he resumed training, he told his coaches that “we can now get the machine rolling for real”.
“I have the Olympics in my hat, it was my big goal in life, exposed the bronze medalist at the Worlds in 2020. I have no more pressure and nothing more to prove to anyone or to myself. . I want to see how many more years I can last at the highest level. »
A second wind
To make up for his lack of volume at the mass start, he focused on endurance during the summer, revisiting the 5000m, where he had already excelled. The arrival of two middle-runners of his caliber in Quebec – Jordan Belchos and Kaleb Muller – gave him a second wind after years of training alone.
“I feel like I haven’t reached my full potential. I want to test this potential: is it to make top 10 consistently? To keep riding my wave? Win medals at every competition? Be downright dominant and win every race? I’m curious to know. If it leads me to a medal at the next Olympics, so much the better. I feel like the best is yet to come. »
Gélinas-Beaulieu approaches the Canadian Championships in Quebec with the feeling of still being “under-trained”. Affected by COVID-19 in August, he was back on track when he was hit by a van while riding his bike near Montmorency Falls. The driver, who had run a red light, fled.
The athlete escaped with a concussion that put him out of action for about ten days. “Despite the pitfalls, I feel fitter than ever,” rejoiced Gélinas-Beaulieu, who was finally safer on his unicycle in a halfpipe.