The excellent start to the season for young Quebec cyclists continues in Europe. After Olivia Baril and Magdeleine Vallières Mill, who distinguished themselves in Spain, Simone Boilard distinguished herself last week in England.
Posted yesterday at 4:38 p.m.
On her second start in life in a WorldTour event, the representative of the St Michel-Auber93 team finished 10e in the general classification of the RideLondon Classique, a three-day stage race which concluded on Sunday in the City.
For her first visit to the British capital, she was served. “The city was closed all day for us,” said Boilard, freshly returned to his residence in Nice on Monday.
“We drove around Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster. You almost wonder if the queen is not watching from her castle! Honestly, we got chills. »
The 21-year-old athlete also shivered alongside world champion Elisa Balsamo, Belgian champion Lotte Kopecky or American Coryn Labecki (née Rivera), titled in 2017 when the RideLondon was a one-day race. In her first participation in a WorldTour event, she had crashed even before the first cobblestone sector at Paris-Roubaix last month.
Invited at the last minute with her French team, Boilard did not miss her chance this time. From the first stage, disputed in Essex, she took advantage of a small wall 500 meters from the line to sneak up to ninth place, four seconds behind the winner, the Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes (DSM) .
“My trainer Pierre Hutsebaut made me work on my punch a lot recently. It felt a lot like that type of effort. […] I was behind Kopecky in the last corner, but I got caught up a bit afterwards. I still got off to a good start on the climb and I was well positioned. So I played it smart. »
In the end, ninth, it’s really not that bad!
Simone Boillard
After an even more demanding second stage, Wiebes won again in the sprint. Boilard, far from being a sprinter, surprised by slipping into 11e rank.
“Usually, when I get a good result, it’s because I’m on a breakaway. It’s really a new learning for me [de finir au sprint]. Tried to sneak in, but had to put the brakes on at 300 yards [pour éviter une coureuse qui s’était relevée]. Fortunately, there is the whole positioning aspect in a sprint. If it was just explosiveness, I wouldn’t be able to do it at all. »
Her only regret is to have lost the best young rider’s white jersey, which she virtually held during the third stage after the leader of this classification retired. Sweden’s Julia Borgström, who was tied with the Quebecer, played her cards right by taking two bonus seconds in the first intermediate sprint. Boilard took a chance on second, but the peloton didn’t let it slip away.
Wiebes won a third time to win the RideLondon, a second consecutive success for the Dutchwoman after that of 2019.
PHOTO AUGUSTE DEVAIRE, PROVIDED BY ST MICHEL-AUBER93
Simone Boilard at the RideLondon Classique in Essex
After three years marred by injuries and health issues – she underwent angioplasty to clear an iliac artery in 2020 – Boilard is continuing her return to the top level. In March, she won the Boucles de Seine-et-Marne, a national event. His performance at the Ceratizit Festival Elsy Jacbos in Luxembourg was even more significant. She was pointing 11e overall before a fall on the final stage, which also cost him the white jersey.
The 2018 World Junior bronze medalist is pleased to have risen to the occasion for St Michel-Auber93, who is in her inaugural season.
“We are one of the smaller teams. It is a great chance for us to have been invited. We don’t want to disappoint the organizer and we want to look good. We got invited to the Tour de France. We also don’t want to be the red lanterns all the time. »
After three smaller races in France and the Canadian Championships in Edmonton (June 23-27), Boilard will participate in a preparatory camp for the Grande Boucle, which will take place from July 24-31.
“What I have just done gives me confidence technically and tactically, because it can sometimes be scary to ride in big packs like that. But I’m starting to take my place a little more and to get noticed because I’m not used to standing at the back. Still, I still have my doubts for the Tour de France. Physically, it won’t be the same at all. Simply finishing it will be something in itself. »