When Olivia Baril, who started cycling late in life, told her parents and loved ones that she would one day join a WorldTour team, they tempered her enthusiasm, probably to avoid disappointment.
Posted at 2:16 p.m.
The former swimmer showed the same determination when she started for the IAMGOLD team in her late teens. The athlete from Rouyn-Noranda already saw herself much further than her teammates.
At the start of the pandemic, she packed her bags for the Spanish Basque Country, where she lives with her boyfriend and trainer, Charles-Étienne Chrétien, himself a professional cyclist with the Premier Tech U23 team.
The first year with a Spanish formation was very difficult, but she saw a real renaissance this year in an Italian second division team, Valcar-Travel & Service. She got her first professional win in early May in Spain. Already, WorldTour teams have started approaching him.
Baril continues to shine this week at the Tour de Suisse, where she is seventh overall after finishing 13e of the third stage, won on Monday by world champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek). The race ends on Tuesday with a finish at altitude after two first category passes, right on its kind of course.
“It’s really going to be fun, I can’t wait to get to the top like this, reacted Baril. It will really define the general classification. Today I was climbing well, I felt good. »
Holder of the best young rider’s white jersey, with a priority of 53 seconds over her nearest pursuer, she aims above all to consolidate her position in the general classification of this level 2 race. Pro (2e category).
Its final rank will not necessarily affect what happens next. Indeed, Baril revealed to The Press that she had recently agreed with a WorldTour team for the next season. The contract is for two years.
“I concluded quite a bit with the team where I wanted to go,” explained the 24-year-old cyclist. I don’t know when it will be announced [de façon officielle], maybe after the Tour de France. »
For Baril, this new contract is the logical continuation of his ambitions since his beginnings in cycling.
“I always knew I would go to a WorldTour team. That was really my goal and I never stopped thinking about it. Sometimes my parents or relatives would say to me: are you sure? You know, it’s hard. Me, I never doubted it. »
Even she was hoping for it to happen in 2021. Looking back, she thinks her detour to Valcar was a blessing because of the confidence shown and the opportunities presented. This jump to the highest level comes when its value is at the top.
After a more difficult Tour of Burgos (64e), the osteopathic student feels ready for the heart of the season with the Giro d’Italia Donne (June 30-July 10) and the Tour de France (July 24-31).
“I learned a lot with my coach and my nutritionist. Especially in relation to recovery and my way of eating. I’ve been working on that for the last three weeks to make sure it doesn’t happen at the Giro and the Tour de France. »
This year, the young Madeleine Vallières Mill, 20, is the only Quebecer who wears the colors of a WorldTour formation (EF Education-Tibco-SVB). Simone Boilard (St Michel-Auber93) and Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin (Cofidis) are part of continental teams (2e division) who will also participate in the Tour de France.