Posted at 2:45 p.m.
More than 15 years after her positive doping test and her subsequent confession, Geneviève Jeanson has “turned the page”.
Freed from her demons and reconciled with sport — and her former rival Lyne Bessette — the cyclist and trainer is committed to promoting the practice of sport in a healthy and safe way.
“It’s my duty to share my story,” says Jeanson in a podcast that will be broadcast Wednesday by the Sport’Aide organization, of which she becomes a spokesperson.
After a “reconstruction” still in progress which requires “a lot of work and a lot of patience”, the 41-year-old woman now feels ready to speak publicly, even if it means exposing herself to criticism.
She really undertook this process in 2020 by writing an open letter to the International Cycling Union (UCI) in which she was sorry for the too lenient sanction granted to a Belgian team manager who was the author of multiple abuses.
“I got to a point where I didn’t care what people were going to think,” she explains. I had to share to help others. I’ve grown to the point where I can’t keep this to myself. If it can help one, give ideas, open the mind to international federations, the IOC… […]
“I feel so good about myself now. I was broken for several years, but it was rebuilt. My life is rich. I love it and I’m fine. I am ready to take all criticism. But for women and athletes in general, I cannot remain silent. »
In the podcast, shot last summer in her husband’s gym where she is head trainer, Jeanson is surrounded by Sylvain Croteau, general manager of Sport’Aide, and Louis Barbeau, CEO of the Quebec Federation of Cycling Sports (FQSC ).
Questioning himself about the role that the FQSC could have played with the young cyclist, Barbeau is at the origin of his meeting with Sport’Aide, in December. Challenged by his letter to the UCI, the DG of the FQSC wrote to Jeanson, whom he has known since she was 11 years old.
“I wanted to hear from her and tell her that I found what she had done courageous and generous,” he said in an interview on Monday. When it’s been more than 10 years since you’ve been in the business, you don’t owe anyone anything. […] She didn’t kill anyone and paid dearly for what she did. She was still suspended for 10 years. Few cyclists have had such severe penalties. »
Emphasizing that Jeanson “checks all the boxes in terms of sports violence”, Sylvain Croteau knew from “the first minutes” of his meeting that he wanted to establish a collaboration.
” It was a no brainer, assured the CEO of Sport’Aide. For me, it was clear that she was not there to restore her image. She wasn’t looking for that and she didn’t need that in life. It was really an intention for her to come and change something in sports practice, to add her two cents to the discussion and to ensure that young people have a positive experience. »
For Jeanson, it was quite the opposite from the age of 14 or 15, when her ex-trainer André Aubut, whom she never names, began his abuse. First in a “tiny” way to commit sexual assault and rape, as she testified during a webinar of the International Control Agency (ICA) against doping, in April.
“From 14 until I retired at 24 was awful,” Jeanson summed up in the podcast.
Louis Barbeau recounts how the playful teenager withdrew as soon as her trainer approached. Like after that flight to British Columbia for the 1998 Canadian Championships, where she laughed with the teammate sitting beside her.
“When his coach showed up at the airport, it was like we just turned off all the lights,” he said. I saw a change. It was getting very serious, dark. It is the Geneviève that we have been able to observe in the years that followed. »
The main interested party considers that the best way to avoid such a danger is the education of the athlete and his entourage.
“As an athlete, you want to please your coach. You like to win, you want to push yourself. We are often super vulnerable and we depend a little on our performance. Our self-esteem is often linked to this. Our vision of a tough but healthy coach versus a tough but unhealthy coach is blurred. »
In a letter she addressed to “little Geneviève” as part of her collaboration with Sport’Aide, she invited herself to listen to her inner signals.
“If you have a lump in your stomach, a heavy heart or a confused mind, it’s not normal,” she wrote. Believe me Geneviève, none of this is normal. I can tell you about it, because I unfortunately experienced it for the wrong reasons. That and that damn obsession with winning. »
Eventually, she began to think that what she was experiencing was “acceptable”. “You may be told that I made bad choices. Yes, it’s true. But what other solution did I have? I was alone. I was afraid that no one would believe me and I was also afraid of losing everything. I was so afraid of everything and of losing my trainer that I even came to wish myself a bicycle accident! »
Her biggest regret is that she will never know her true athletic value. His “broken little heart” envies “Hugo Houle and the whole gang of boys in the Tour de France” who are lucky enough to have a positive experience.
“I would have liked to know what it is, my talent, without all the panic of doping, with a super positive coach who would not have traumatized me to that point. »
Inspired by two European professional cyclists whom she now mentors, Jeanson returned to gravel bike racing this year.
“I may not have had those experiences in my twenties, but that doesn’t mean that because I’m now 40, I can’t change this connection that I have with the competition, the tough workouts and sports people. I still have the possibility to create new connections in my brain and to have good memories. »
Jeanson does not hide the fact that this return, which began slowly and without expectations, reignited “the little flame” in her. She has found a trainer with whom she is happy to discover the notion of collaboration.
“After a few races, not that I’m tired of being behind because I’m not, but I’m looking forward to hosting. It’s slowly coming back! »
On Sunday, she was on the starting line for the 100b7, the friendly event organized for the 10e times by Lyne Bessette in the Lac-Brome region. In July, the two former rivals had already reconnected in the Buckland sur Gravelle, a 130 km race contested near the Massif du Sud. Bessette had finished third followed by… Jeanson.
Jeanson is also the star of a comic strip produced by Sport’Aide in which she invites a boy pushed by a coach obsessed with victory to rediscover the pleasure of pedaling. The comic will be available from Friday.