A man passionate about cycling who fell under the spell of Ariège
I know that you are originally from the Centre-Val de Loire region (37). Can you tell us how you arrived in Ariège?
Indeed, I spent my entire childhood in Touraine. When I finished my midwifery studies in 2007, my partner and I decided to visit the south of France where we had already spent holidays. The bike rides, the hikes, the landscape, the nature, all of that appealed to us.
I found a 6-month contract at the Foix hospital, a contract that was renewed several times. At the same time, we made friends, made plans and had two little Ariégeois… and in the end, we have been in Ariège for 17 years.
If you had to mark on a map the most important places for you in Ariège, what would they be?
For my family life, it's the town of Mirepoix and its surroundings where I live now. For my professional life, there's the hospital where I'm a midwife at the Foix maternity hospital. And then there's my sporting life, and there the choice is difficult... There are passes like Pailhères, Beille or Agnès but if I had to choose just one, I would say the Montségur pass. The closest to my home and the one I do most often, I love it!
Besides your work at the hospital, your great passion is cycling. You make your own wheels and we love them! How did you start making your own wheels?
I come from a family of cyclists. My father and my brothers all had our bikes and we had to maintain them. To do this, I quickly learned bike mechanics and I was immediately passionate about it. As for wheels, it was my older brother who worked at a bike shop and brought wheels home to mount. I must have been 9 years old. To help him, he started to explain to me how to put the spokes on the hub, then later how to cross the spokes and finally how to true. In a few months, I knew how to mount a wheel!!!
Then, with the competitions, I started wanting to personalize my assemblies. Light hubs, more or less high rims depending on the course, profiled spokes, ligatures. I also did my 3rd year internship in a bike shop where there was Mr. Danguillaume, a former pro, who finalized my apprenticeship. Then I was inspired by fitters like Marcel Borthayre who worked for Jacques Anquetil among others. I had a long phone call with him, a great memory!
For those who know, I remember taking part in a national cadet challenge in 1998 with the first Zipp 340 carbon rims that I had mounted with Tec hubs. I was a pioneer. With the arrival of the internet, I even had a website where I presented my assemblies, and exchanged on forums with enthusiasts like me. Some of my acquaintances from that time made it their profession, like Adrien Gontier from RAR or Julien, founder of the Veloptimal↗ website. Then came factory-made wheels and the personalized offer was restricted. But I continue to have fun by following the various technical developments and trying to keep this artisanal side that I like so much.
This year, you set yourself a great challenge to start your vacation. Can you tell us a little about it?
Since the COVID period during which there was no more competition, I try to do a personal challenge once a year. The goal is simply to challenge myself, to get out of my comfort zone. Me, the cyclo-cross man, specialist in short and intense efforts, I like to try my hand at long endurance efforts. In 2020, I finished the 7 majors (360km, 12,000m of d+) in 21 hours, in 2021 the crossing of the Pyrenees in 3 days, in 2022 a route linking all the Ariège resorts (320km, 10,000m of d+) in 18 hours, in 2023 I was wiser, just a round trip to the Pic de Nore from my home.
For this year, I had a GPS track made for 3 or 4 years to go to Touraine, a 630km route to do in one go. I decided about 1 month before my departure, I was a little in the unknown facing a longer and less intense effort. I left at the end of July on a Saturday lunchtime, the weekend was hot and the stops at the cemeteries or water points were numerous. The first day and night went well, I kept a good pace and I only started to feel tired in the early morning, around 5am when I forced myself to lie down for 45 minutes to wait for the sunrise. For the record, I had promised my wife to sit down when the first signs of fatigue were felt… I only listened to the voice of wisdom!
A little further on, a breakfast stop with hot chocolate, coffee and chocolatine and off we went for the second day. This last one was more complicated. Physically because the wind was blowing in the face and I gradually wore myself out, but also mentally with straight roads without much interest. The impression of not moving forward and of never seeing the end… Then the arrival towards Poitiers on roads that I knew was beneficial. I was rediscovering my old home and time suddenly seemed shorter. I went to see my old primary school, since closed, and the town where I spent my first 10 years. A little pilgrimage!
In the end and after 30 hours (including 25 hours of cycling), I “quickly” arrived in Joué-lès-Tours, my parents’ place of residence, welcomed by my entire family and in-laws, a great moment!! In hindsight, I am happy and proud to have done it but I think that a more hilly route with changing landscapes would surely have prevented me from feeling this weariness. Elements to take into account for a future challenge.
Our latest creation on the bag side is the Mini-Volcano, a creation inspired by your needs for your latest adventure. Can you explain to us what kind of bag you were looking for, and what it brought you during this journey?
I am what you might call a courier, outside of cyclo-cross I do competitions of around a hundred km and training rarely exceeds 4 hours. I only had small bags to carry the repair kit. For this trip, I needed more space for all the needs on a 30-hour outing with a night on the bike, fluctuating temperatures and of course supplies. And a large 10-liter bag was too big and would bother me, especially due to lack of practice. So I spoke to Ricardo about it who suggested a format between these 2 sizes. And thanks to his know-how, the mini-volcano was born!
A bag that adapts to the contents and above all that holds up really well, even when dancing. Inside I was able to put 3 inner tubes, a multi-function tool, a rain jacket, a survival blanket and 3 sandwich bread snacks, in addition to my papers, my credit card and some change. I had a bag in front of my stem for my battery and cereal bars and fruit pastes. So it was perfect. When I took something, I closed it by rolling up the fabric and everything was wedged in!
Your year is always full of different activities and practices. How was 2024? What are your next projects?
For the past 4 or 5 years, I have been structuring my year in the same way. End of cyclo-cross in January, a short break, then start again with running and cycling. When the good weather arrives, stop running to focus on cycling and longer outings in the mountains. June or July, a small personal challenge, break and start again to prepare for the cyclo-cross which starts at the end of September. Now I am focusing on cyclo-cross with specific training with the goal this year of the European championships in Pontevedra in Spain. 2 years ago I came second following a mechanical problem and I have a little revenge to take. I just hope that success will be on my side this time. Then there will be the regional and French championships where I will defend my titles. The season will pass quickly with the arrival of 2025 and other projects, maybe the Ventoux des 3 côtés in May or June with a friend, we will see.
Can you describe a perfect day on the bike and what these bike rides bring you?
What I love is leaving early in the morning, slightly before sunrise, and heading towards the mountains. I find myself climbing a few passes, doing a few descents and advancing through the beautiful Ariège landscapes. After 6, 7 or 8 hours, I return home not too late to enjoy my family in the afternoon. And I don't deny myself a little bike ride with my son to recover. There is a certain form of freedom that I can feel on my bike, a way to discover magical places while practicing my favorite sport. But also satisfaction in accomplishing goals. I think that all this contributes to my well-being and to what I am in life, someone rather calm and smiling.
