Two months after his serious fall in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Dijon’s Jeremy Cabot (Team TotalEnergies) is back in competition. He is at the start of the team race at the French road cycling championships in Cholet, Sunday June 25, 2022 – alongside another Dijon native among the entrants, Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R-Citröen). Joined by France Bleu Bourgogne, he recounts the steps that allowed his return after his broken collarbonelooks back on the controversy of April, talks about his future goals and his feelings when getting back on the bike in competition.
FBB: Jérémy, what has happened to you since this crash on April 24?
Jérémy Cabot: Between the fall and the operation, almost a month passed. I had to wait for the healing of a wound on my shoulder to have the operation. The rehabilitation was fairly quick. With a month without training at all, I lost a lot of physical condition. It’s almost now that it’s going to be very long, this path to find an optimal condition.
How was the resumption of training?
After a few days, the time to recover from the operation and the anesthesia, I resumed on an indoor bike. After a week to ten days, I resumed outdoors. I accelerated a little compared to the surgeon’s recommendations but I couldn’t take it anymore.it was super nice outside, I couldn’t stand being locked up anymore (laughs).
It was super nice outside, I couldn’t stand being locked up anymore
Of course, it was small workouts at first, because my arm got tired quickly. I was able to get back to normal training pretty quickly, but it’s my physical condition that limits me. I can’t resume very intensive training as if nothing had happened.
No more collarbone pain?
Nothing, it’s back to normal!
When finding the road again on the bike, what were the first sensations?
Throughout my recovery, the whole month of May, the weather was incredible, I was very impatient. It was a feeling of freedom, I was in a cage for a month and then the cage was opened when I came outside (laughs). It’s just the pleasure of being able to pedal again, to redo training. It’s also the hope of finding the races and the team, that’s what motivates me, going back to a classic training scheme, with competitions coming up. My normal daily life before this fall!
And this Sunday, it’s finally the return to competition, at the French championships in Cholet…
I will be at the start with the team, knowing that I only resumed training a few weeks ago. There are 240 kilometers, I know that physically I am not able to go to the end. I will try to give 100% to help the team, which is in good shape right now. There is a title to go for so hopefully it will be for us.
There are 240 kilometers, I know that physically I am not able to go to the end
It is above all a story of being with the whole team. The French championship is a significant event, it is the only race where all the French riders are grouped together. And then it’s getting back into a dynamichead turned towards the competition, hang up a bib.
What will your role be within the team at Cholet?
The team knows very well that my condition is not yet ideal. We try to do everything we can, we don’t set limits to say ‘we have to last so many kilometres’. It’s trying to help as much as possible until exhaustion (laughs). And not get into a situation that could embarrass the teamnot finding yourself in a group that takes a bit of a lead, because you know you won’t be able to hold out for the whole race.
It’s trying to help as much as possible until exhaustion
It’s more about staying in the peloton, helping teammates, replacing them, taking in the wind, getting supplies, instructions. As it’s the only race of the year without headsets, it’s the kind of thing that costs a little energy, and I don’t have to save any for the end of the race. The goal is to relieve my teammates as much as possible and help them as much as I can.
After your fall, are you apprehensive about finding yourself in the middle of the peloton again?
Currently, not at all. I thought about it, but honestly no. We will see if there is this little apprehension just before departure, or upon departure. A fall, even very simple, maybe traumatic, but in the end I already had one, I got back on the bike, that didn’t prevent me from resorting to a peloton. Maybe we’ll have to be a little more careful this time, but that doesn’t worry me that much. I’m going to try not to create a little mental block about this.
Have you talked about it with other runners, who have also suffered falls in the past?
No, it’s something personal. Everyone has their own journey. When you have this kind of blockage, you don’t necessarily want to talk about it, because it can be a weak point, so you don’t particularly want to reveal it. Me, I don’t have this blockage, I also work with a mental coach on this, and also in a performance approach. It’s not something that worries me, not at all. I don’t feel the need to talk about it with others. If on Sunday I realize that it’s complicated, eventually I could talk about it, but at the moment it’s not something that worries me.
We remember the controversy at the time of your fall on Liège-Bastogne-Liège, you had received criticism for taking too much risk. Did you discuss it with Julian Alaphilippe, who also fell that day (and who is also returning to competition in Cholet)?
I’ve talked to him about races before, but he’s not a close friend. I could have looked for his phone number to talk to him, but I didn’t do it because I think it would have been inappropriate.
I talked about it with other runners, with my teammates, with Julien Bernard too (another Dijon rider, member of the Trek-Segafredo team, editor’s note). What emerges from these discussions is that it is a fact of racing that has grown by the number of runners who have fallen, by the fact that the world champion Julian Alaphilippe has also fallen. It put a spotlight on it. But crashes like that, there are a lot of races. Sometimes, by chance, there is not so much gravity. It’s a racing fact. Honestly, we’ve all been around a bit about this fall, I can’t wait to put on a bib on Sunday so that the loop is complete and we’re starting on a new chapter.
The following ? What are the next deadlines in competition?
There will be a little break again, because during the Tour de France there are very few competitions. The whole first part of July, these will be workouts to fine-tune my physical condition. The “real” return to competition will be at the end of July, with a calendar yet to be defined. Maybe in Spain, France or Norway.
Last year, in 2021, you participated in the Tour de France. Not too frustrating to have to follow him on TV, by force of circumstance?
What is frustrating is not having had the opportunity to participate in the selection race. I was in good condition when I fell, in an upward phase, I had the feeling of not being at 100% yet. I would have liked the chance to be selected. Will I have a twinge in my heart watching TV? I do not know. I will do everything to get back to the level this year and especially next year, and try again to be part of the Tour team!