Lyne Bessette and Geneviève Jeanson | Reunion on two wheels

After looking at each other like earthen dogs throughout their road cycling career, Lyne Bessette and Geneviève Jeanson are coming together to ride together on the gravel. A hyphen which should lead them to a somewhat crazy race in Spain in September.

(Bolton-Ouest) “I hope to be in good enough shape so that she doesn’t wait for me. That’s the only thing that scares me…”

Wrapped up in a down coat, sitting in her car, Geneviève Jeanson observes Lyne Bessette returning from a short shoot on the snowy roads of West Bolton, on a sunny but windy afternoon, earlier this week.

” Oh my God, it must be frozen! Me, I haven’t started and my feet are already frozen…”

In turn, she gets on her gravel bike. “How much pressure did you put in your tires?” asks Bessette, checking for herself by pressing down on the rubber. “It’s too much, take a little off. »

The two cyclists have not yet competed in a single race together, but their complicity seems well established. The dynamics of their relationship too.

“Lyne helped me a lot to get back into the world of cycling. I felt like she gave me permission. A big sister coming back to me and saying, “Gen, I’m proud of you and I wish you all the best. I would like to know you and… it’s cool between us.” »

A few months after a “shattering” reunion for Geneviève Jeanson, the two former rivals, not to say enemies, give their reconciliation a boost.

Last fall, they agreed to race their entire gravel bike season together, which will culminate in September with their duo participation in the Badlands, a continuous 800km unassisted event in Spain’s Sierra Nevada.

“We have always been in the national team together, but we have never raced together, explains Lyne Bessette, 47 years old. There, we meet and we want to get to know each other for real. We are still in good shape. We want to take advantage of the chance we didn’t have. »

Geneviève Jeanson, 41, adds: “Lyne is someone I don’t know at all. I want to make up for lost time. The best way to discover it as a human being is by doing the sport we both love. »

Live adventures – together

For now, everyone is training on their own, mainly on a road simulator. They found themselves on their bike in the Eastern Townships to shoot a capsule that they will broadcast on Saturday on social networks. They invite people – and partners – to follow them in their adventure.

Their racing schedule will focus on Quebec and will open in Vermont with the Rasputitsa Dirt, a spring classic contested in the Burke area of ​​Vermont.

“Our career as a professional runner is behind us,” says Bessette. There, it’s really more: we ride together, we get to know each other, these are adventures. If it goes well, we will be on the podium because we have experience and we are in good shape. But the primary goal is not to win, it’s to share things. »

In May, they will tackle a first real test by crossing 500 kilometers in one go on gravel roads in the south of France. The expedition is organized by the Quebec group Endurance Aventure, friends of Bessette who will hold a new international competition on the same routes in the spring of 2024.

A documentary on the meeting of the two Quebec cyclists will also be produced.

“It’s on a bike that I feel the most myself, notes Jeanson, who works as a trainer in a gym. I’ve done it all my life. With fatigue, we become more authentic, more open. We experience more emotions. It will make good pictures, I think. »

Under the colors of the team Floyd’s of Leadville, Jeanson played his first gravel season last year. She discovered a very competitive American circuit where taking risks on roads open to car traffic scared her.

Her desire to compete still lives in her and she believes she fulfills it in long-distance races where “speed is a little less involved”.

Inspired by the many raids and challenges Bessette has dived into over the past few years, she asked if she could join her.

“I really wanted to do something with her. I was even ready to run, even though I’m not a runner. »

“Endurance Machine”

Bessette offered him the Badlands, an event Jeanson had heard of. The Quebec duo won a draw to be able to register.

After a start in Grenada, the 800 km race will take place partly in the desert and will pass through Pico Veleta, which culminates at 3396 meters. Total elevation gain: more than 16,000 m.

The participants sleep (or not) as best they can. Last year, a Spanish pair led by former Tour de France stage winner Juan Antonio Flecha won in 55h 59min. The second finished twelve and a half hours later. Some teams took five days to cover the distance.

Bessette, who thinks she can finish it in two or three days, is used to this kind of expedition. Last spring, she embarked on a 540 km team raid through the Okanagan Valley, featuring trekking, trail running, mountain biking, canoeing, orientation and recall.

“It took three and a half days before we got out of the woods and I had slept an hour on that. »

Jeanson hopes to be able to keep up with this “endurance machine”: “Me, I’ve never done that. I may be screwing up completely. I don’t know how my body will respond. »

Hence his fear of slowing down his partner. “I won’t wait for it, I’m not worried, assured the former federal deputy. There will be sections where she will be faster than me. I might be better at the technical stuff. She will follow me and she will have a guide. It’ll be great. »

“Nothing left to hide”

On a personal level, the two cyclists are convinced that they get along well despite the proximity, promiscuity and potential tensions.

“It doesn’t scare me,” says Jeanson. I went to sleep at her house [l’automne dernier] and we went to do some hiking the day after. We were ready at the same time. Like today, I arrived early, then she arrived three minutes later. »

Bessette shares this feeling: “We spent Saturday evening chatting. We have this openness between us now. We have nothing more to hide. I ask her the questions I had about her. Same thing for her. We answer each other clearly, quite simply. »

The “chicane” is a thing of the past. Even though she never really existed, faith of Jeanson, suspended 10 years for doping in 2009 and today ambassador for the Sport’Aide prevention organization.

“It was mounted around us, the chicane. Because of my trainer, I couldn’t talk to him. If there was, it is not part of us. »

This meeting nevertheless stirs up wounds from the past.

“I talked to my shrink about it: I found it easier when Lyne was angry with me… Now that she has forgiven me and that we are going to have adventures together, there are a lot of emotions that go back to the surface. I feel so guilty for things she went through… And I know it’s not my fault because I’ve been abused my whole career. […] I regret what happened. I regret having been caught in this situation, with a madman like coach. »

She therefore receives as “a gift from the heart” this improbable meeting. “We have a chance to reset the counters. I take it and I won’t let it pass twice. »

In the middle of a field in Bolton-Ouest, Jeanson and Bessette hugged each other. Even scripted, she didn’t look fake. It should run fine.