The day before the big start of the Route d’Occitanie in Séméac (Hautes-Pyrénées), Pavel Sivakov appeared relaxed, in a hotel in Lourdes where his Ineos team was staying. The opportunity to discuss with the young 24-year-old runner his relationship with the Pyrenees, he who grew up in Comminges. But also his desire for victory, and his desire to win this Route d’Occitanie 2022.
What are your ambitions on this Route d’Occitanie?
I will try to make a good general classification. I’m coming out of the Giro d’Italia (Giro) so the condition is pretty good. I was there as a team member and here I will have my chance to play the general classificationso we’ll try.
We saw you very active indeed on the Giro to help your leader Richard Carapaz. Now, is it your turn?
I recovered well after the Giro. In Italy, I was really on a rising form. I had a small cold just before the Giro the week before. So I arrived in good condition, but a little below where I wanted to be.
But it went crescendo over the Giro, so I came out of it quite well and I feel like I have recovered well. So we’ll see what happens on the Route d’Occitanie.
The third stage of Les Angles, in the Pyrenees, is that where everything will change?
I haven’t done all the recon, but I know the Angles. It’s not the most complicated pass you can choose in the Pyrenees, even near Font-Romeu. These are fairly rolling passes, where the slope is not more than 7%. But it will be the queen stage.
But from the second stage, I think there are already small differences. We will see which men are in good shape, who will arrive in small groups, I imagine. The Roquefort stage is going to be complicated. In addition, with the heat in Aveyron, it never forgives. I remember my younger years shopping in Aveyron. The heat in Aveyron is complicated.
In any case, do you want to win a stage race, show your potential, that you are there, that you are strong?
Exactly. It’s been a really long time since I won (NB: last time in 2019, on the Tour of the Alps and the Tour of Poland). Just raising your arms would be great. I think that often, when you manage to do it once, it unblocks a little, you are sure of this winning dynamic, you gain confidence. Of course, it’s been a while since I could do it. I will really do my bestthe maximum.
What does the Route d’Occitanie represent for you?
I grew up in Comminges. It’s home racing! I raced in 2020. I live in Andorra now, but when I pass on the roads in the region, or that I know well, I feel at home. So it’s always a pleasure to come here.
The Comminges, is it still there, in the heart?
Of course, he is still there! This is where I started cycling, but not only. It’s where I grew up. I think it’s kind of the same for everyone. We will always remember where we spent our childhood. And me, I have a lot of memories that come back every time I pass by the area.
Your career began at Saint-Gaudens Cyclisme…
That’s it. I did quite a few years there, up to juniors. Then I went to L’Isle-Jourdain, where the first stage of the Route d’Occitanie also arrives. I was at Team Culture Vélo. I take this opportunity to salute Denis Briscadieu, who created this club.
Do you feel French? Russian? Commingeois?
A bit of all three, to be honest. I grew up in Comminges, I grew up in France, but my family, my parents are Russian. My name, we won’t change it. We must not complain about where we come from. But hey, really, most of my life until today was in Comminges.
With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, you decided to leave the Russian sporting nationality to wear the colors of France…
I take full responsibility. But I think maybe I should have done it earlier, as soon as I had the chance. Until I was 18, I couldn’t do it. However, I had prepared all the papers, all the documents necessary to be able to apply for naturalization.
Since both my parents are Russian, I only had the Russian passport. Then at the end of 2017 I got my French passport. So I didn’t make a change directly and then life goes on, etc. But I always thought about it…
Next week, I will play my first French championships (in Cholet). When I was younger, when I saw all the guys leaving for the French championship in the summer, I wanted to be there too. It really was the race of the year. Me, I was watching. I remember, I even went to see a French championship in Albi. So it was a little frustrating, let’s say.
The Tour de France, you won’t do it this summer, because you did the Tour of Italy. There is a stage start in Saint-Gaudens. Another frustration?
Yes it’s sure. Last year, it was even worse because there was a stage that arrived in Andorra. This is where I live right now, and it was my birthday. The next day, arrival in Saint-Gaudens. And what’s more, the stage almost passed through Soueich, my village!
What is the rest of the season for you?
First the French championships, in time trials and road races. So I’m going to spend the week in Cholet and then I’ll take a short week off. I will attack again with a training course at altitude in Andorra to prepare for the second part of the season. And I hope to be selected for the Vuelta. That’s going to be the goal.
The heat wave is there in France, how much does it weigh on the shoulders of a runner?
It’s complicated for cycling. When you’re hot, it’s hard. It’s even worse than the cold, because the cold, at least, we can cover ourselves. But when you’re hot, you can’t uncover yourself.
It is sure that there is a preparation upstream. In fact, it is the accumulation of days too. If for example the first day we become dehydrated, the second day, if it is still a day with strong heat, it will accumulate. As the days pass, it will get worse and worse.
The main thing is hydration. Above all, you have to hydrate with electrolytes which will retain all the minerals such as magnesium etc. in our body. Because otherwise, if you just drink water, it just passes through and you don’t retain all these minerals. Staying hydrated with all these mineral salts is going to be crucial in my opinion on these hot days, and you can’t go wrong on the first day.
Do you fear for the future of cycling sport, with these repeated heat waves? Maybe it will be necessary to upset certain things, run the stages earlier in the day?
I never asked myself this question. But the organizers must inevitably question themselves. Afterwards, of course it’s normal to be hot in the summer, everyone knows that. But it is true that this year, it is worse than the previous years.
For example on the Giro (which takes place in May), there are usually bad days when it’s a bit cold. But this year it was hot, we had days with more than 30 degrees.
Now that you tell me, I ask myself the same question, especially on a Tour of Spain which I think is the hottest Grand Tour of the three. Even on the Tour de France this year I imagine the riders will suffer in the heat.