Originally from Leval, near Aulnoye-Aymeries, Mathilde Denis will compete at 26 this year in her first senior Enduropale. She had participated in the juniors in 2014 and 2015. Sylvain Charley went to meet her on the Loon-Plage training track.
First steps at 12
Mathilde Denis did not follow the classic path which wants most bikers to get on their first engine when they arrive in primary school: “I discovered it late at 12 years old, on average we start at 4, 5 years old. I have always been attracted to motorsports. It all started 20 minutes from my house, when my parents rented me a first motorbike.
– Charles
Make a place for yourself in a male environment
Mathilde sometimes had to jostle for respect: “It happened to me on certain races to come across pilots who made it clear to me that they did not like being overtaken by a girl. But over time I gained respect. I feel like I belong.”
– Charley Sylvain
Playing for the win at Le Touquet
For his first senior Enduropale, Mathilde Denis, who wears the colors of DigestScience, the research foundation for diseases of the digestive system and nutrition, knows that she will be expected. She won 4 of the first 5 events of the French women’s championship on sand: “This weekend we are competing in the last event of the championship, so yes there will be pressure. Everything will be decided on this race, but I don’t I have no room for error, I have to finish the race otherwise I cannot hope to win the title”.