France Blue : The season has resumed in Nîmes with great satisfaction. The infirmary is empty. Everyone is well.
Benoit Pickeu : Yes, it’s true that it’s a satisfaction to start this season with the full squad, without sores. It’s no problem for the coach. We are happy with the medical staff when we can present a squad like that in full.
France Blue : What makes the difference compared to last year when you arrive?
Benoit Pickeu : We started with 95% of our group from the beginning of the preparation and it is a huge difference compared to last season.
The difficulty last year was that we really started with 50% of our group. Many players were from training and were not yet ready to join the pro group and moreover they did not necessarily join the pro group. They prepared with us.
And in the end, players arrived like Ali (Abdi) like Ibra Cissé, like Franklin (Wadja), like Nuno (Da Costa) – who had even arrived injured. They had shortened preparations, they didn’t have all the progressive progression that we had this year.
We started with 95% of our group from the start of the preparation and that’s a huge difference compared to last season.
France Blue : How did your players come out of this first game in Nîmes?
Benoit Pickeu : Glad to have won and especially to take three points like that outside in the last minutes. It’s always a satisfaction to finish the match strong and to go and score the three points in stoppage time. It was great. I think they were very, very happy about that.
France Blue : This means that they have the physical form to seek victory with the help of the entrants. We also saw players sticking their tongues out a bit because of the climate and the playing conditions we had in this kind of match?
Benoit Pickeu : I find that at the physical level, we made a copy that was quite satisfactory. Afterwards, it’s true that we played under 34 degrees, with a pitch that couldn’t be watered, so it weighs even more on the legs. But I am satisfied for a first match with the physical performance of the players.
France Blue : It’s not the easiest match when you come out of a basic preparation to prepare for the whole season?
Benoit Pickeu : Yes, of course. A priori, it is not on the first match that we will be in the best shape since we still have stages to cross. We see it on the statistics, even if it was very interesting in terms of intensity, we are not quite there yet for the volume. But we did a lot of preparation matches and it was also to get as close as possible – even from this first match – to our optimal form.
We are between 111 and 112 kilometers traveled for the team. Our standards are more around 115 km. We are therefore not very far from it. On the other hand, in terms of intensity, we collectively did 160 sprints and that corresponds to our acceptable average.
If we want to be a little fussy, we are missing three or four kilometers. Well, I’m not worried, I think it will go up gradually. On the other hand, what is important is that all the decisive actions are made on the transitions and the intensity. And in that area, we were already there. We are capable of doing better, but we are already in our average and that is interesting. If we can keep that, it’s interesting.
We are between 111 and 112 kilometers traveled for the team. Our standards are more around 115 km. So we’re not that far off
France Blue : This preparation and this beginning of the season are a little special with these strong heats. What are the implications for preparation? Does it feel from a static point of view, from a physical point of view?
Benoit Pickeu : I’m going to say in quotation marks that we were lucky to have already had a previous episode of heat wave. So the bodies are already adapted. The adaptations last a fortnight depending on the people and the players. So we didn’t suffer too much from the heat in Nîmes. We are sometimes obliged to shorten the sessions. We are very vigilant on education, especially on hydration, food and sleep. Heat isn’t just about hydration. We know very well that when, when it’s very hot, we sleep a little less well too and that can have repercussions. So we pay attention to that.
France Blue : In a match like Nîmes, do you rehydrate a lot, do you lose weight?
Benoit Pickeu : Yes, we lose a lot of water. That’s why there are freshness breaks but it’s not at the moment T, you have to anticipate. The body is essentially composed of water, it is absolutely necessary to hydrate them before, during and after. We also tried to put large water bins so that they could get water on their bodies and that would help sweating and lower body temperature. But hey, once again, adaptations have taken place since we had this episode of heat wave. The body has therefore adapted. It’s the first heats that are difficult, that’s when you have to be the most vigilant. There, we are going to attack a new heat wave, but we are more or less still adapted. It’s up to us to pay more attention on a daily basis to what the players are doing outside in terms of invisible preparation.
Weight loss and hydration are highly variable. Some players will have difficulty drinking during exercise. It will disturb them during the effort. So the most important thing for these players is to be able to anticipate and to have the body well pre-hydrated. It can be very variable. The player can lose one kilo, two kilos, three kilos. It depends on the heat, it depends on the perspiration of the player. It depends on a lot of very individual things.
I do not place myself elsewhere in my objectives than in those of the whole staff or players
France Blue : How did you live last season when there were a lot of injuries? Weren’t you afraid of the reproaches of the general public and that they say to themselves “if there are injuries, it is perhaps because of the physical preparation?”
Benoit Pickeu : I did not ask myself the question in this sense. There were reasons. We mentioned them a little bit at the start of the interview. We always make sure that there are as few injuries as possible. Unfortunately, we have already started the season with injuries without having started anything. We already had injuries or return injuries. I am thinking of Hugo Vandermersch, Yohan Court had finished the previous season on one leg. And we knew very well, even before starting the preparation, that it would be complicated for Yohann to do the season. And indeed, he had to have surgery very quickly. Nuno (Da Costa) arrived injured. There are simple and identifiable reasons. This is not always the case so we did not put Martel in mind.
France Blue : What is a successful season for a physical trainer? What is the satisfaction of a season in relation to your work?
Benoit Pickeu : I do not place myself elsewhere in my objectives than in those of the whole staff or players. To have a good season is to achieve our objectives. I am part of a staff, of this group. I try to bring my stone to the building. Success is through the objectives that we have all set ourselves collectively. So a good season means achieving our goals.