Maghalie Rochette hesitates to use the word “burn-out”, but she was not far from it last summer. To the point where the cyclist announced to her parents that she had made her last pedal strokes in competition.
“I am no longer capable, I no longer have it, I no longer have the passion that burns in me. I think this is the end…”
At 29, the former mountain biker and cyclocross specialist no longer had the strength or morale to train. “It really hurt me, but at the same time, I accepted it,” she explained in a recent interview. If it’s not there anymore, I’m not going to force it. »
Quite a turnaround for the athlete from Sainte-Adèle. A few months earlier, she had announced her return to mountain biking with the ambition of qualifying for the Paris Olympics in 2024, a little girl’s dream revived in the summer of 2021 by following the competitions at the Tokyo Games.
Hot on the heels of her seventh-place finish at the Cyclocross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Rochette threw herself headlong into mountain biking, a discipline she had practiced at a high level as a teenager before moving on. being caught up in cyclocross “fever”, an expression she has made her personal trademark.
In the spring, she therefore made a return to the mountain bike World Cup circuit, finishing 33e in Brazil and not joining the arrival in Germany.
Looking back, she realizes that pursuing two careers in professional cycling is a risky challenge, especially for a North American who must limit her stays in Europe to a maximum of 90 days in a period of 180.
“A lot of athletes like Tom Pidcock or Pauline Ferrand-Prévot try to do both disciplines. I think it’s already a challenge for them and it’s impressive to see what they achieve. But for a North American, it’s an additional challenge. You add a lot of travel. At the end of the day, it’s financial resources, but also energy and time when you can’t train. »
A difficult choice
More fundamentally, Maghalie Rochette realized that she couldn’t be at her best 12 months out of 12.
“In May, I couldn’t finish training sessions and I was completely burnt out. I had to make a decision: either I risk everything or I make a difficult choice. »
Mountain biking has therefore fallen by the wayside, at least its competitive dimension at the highest level. Cyclocross appeals to her more, and she thinks she can reach her peak by targeting a time of year.
“I realized that what’s fun for me is seeing how good I can be. What excites me is knowing if I am able to make other podiums in the World Cup [de cyclocross] or win a world championship. I don’t think my best chance of doing that is running 12 months out of the year. »
The corollary of this observation is that Rochette had to scratch his Olympic ambitions again.
“Yes, it was difficult. I had already made a cross on that! The Olympics, everyone knows what it is. In the end, I realize that maybe it was a little ego thing. Yes, I would like to be part of this athlete’s club. But my career can be worthwhile even without it. »
Many athletes did not go to the Olympics. I am thinking, for example, of Lucinda Brand. She’s one of the best athletes in the world in road and cyclocross, but she hasn’t been there. I kind of made peace with it.
Maghalie Rochette
This reflection did not solve his problem of physical and mental apathy. Two COVID-19 infections have largely contributed to this condition. “After the second time, in July, it took maybe three months before I felt normal. […] It took time to understand why I was so tired, not motivated at all. […] I wondered how I would manage to get through all this. It was really difficult. »
Resigned to the point of thinking about hanging up, she took a complete break from home for almost two months. Quietly, she integrated yoga and physical and neurological preparation into her routine, before getting back in the saddle. “I took the time to do blood tests, to get back to my health. That was above all my priority. »
Something clicked in November at the Pan American Cyclocross Championships in Massachusetts, approached in suboptimal form and on tiptoe.
“I was not sure of doing well and I was a little afraid of judgment, noted the one who was double continental champion in 2018 and 2019. I was also afraid of not liking it and of being disappointed. . »
The Canadian finished third, but she mostly had fun making the most of her limited physical abilities that day.
“The Biggest Victory”
A month and a half later, she adopted the same attitude on her return to the World Cup, propelling herself to fifth place on a snowy course in Val di Sole, Italy.
On February 4, Rochette was on the starting line for her seventh consecutive World Championships, in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands. Blocked by the fall of a competitor from the start, she started from the very last row to go up to the ninth rung, thanks to a constant pursuit.
“I rode very well and if you look at the lap times, I was going as fast as fifth or sixth, noted the only non-European among the first 15. It would have been cool to be able to race with them, but circumstances meant that the best I could do was ninth. But I was really proud of the ride I did. »
Rochette, fifth in 2017, was above all happy to have been able to distinguish herself at every moment of the event without having her best legs.
“It pushed me to use everything I know in terms of tactics and racing intelligence. This is one of the things that this strange season will have taught me. »
This “funny season” will above all have allowed him to fall in love with cyclocross again.
“I am possibly more motivated and passionate about the sport than in recent years. For me this is the biggest win because I thought it would be over. »
Twins go down in history
PHOTO FROM TWITETR ACCOUNT @UCI_CX
Isabella and Ava Holmgren
History was made at the World Championships in Hoogerheide: twins Isabella and Ava Holmgren became the first Canadian women to win a medal, finishing first and second respectively in the junior category. “Their success is all the more incredible given that Canada is not a cyclocross nation at all,” says Maghalie Rochette. Historically, we have had some good runners. Me, I was able to watch Lyne Bessette do well at the world level. But during my years, there were not many people other than me. Often [son entraîneur] David [Gagnon] and I, we were going to Europe on our own, without a lot of structures from Canada. […]. With such strong succession, it will make us all better as a nation. It’s really awesome. »
Simon Drouin, The Press