Last week, at the Track World Championship in Ballerup, Clément Petit brought the French team its first medal of the competition. The member of VC Rouen 76 received the bronze medal in the scratch won by the Japanese Kazushige Kuboki ahead of the Dane Tobias Hansen at the end of a wild race. The 23-year-old rider, four times victorious on the road and 16th in the Amateur ranking of the DV Challenge, looks back on this first world medal.
DirectVelo: What were you thinking on the podium with your bronze medal?
Clément Petit: I tried to take advantage. These are moments that pass quickly. I thought about the people who helped me get to this point. The French team was happy with my medal and it made me happy to please them.
Between the Tour d’Eure-et-Loir and the World Championship, did you have time to train on the track?
I did an internship the week before. I haven’t done any track since the Nations Cup in Hong Kong. (in mid-March, Editor’s note). Since then, I have completed a full road season (see its DV file) and I progressed on the road and on the track. I lacked a bit of technique for the American. There were two of us at the course with Oscar (Nilsson-Julien), we were training with the bike, so it was hard to know where I was physically but I was coming off a good phase on the road.
Was your experience of the European Under-20 Championship and the Junior World Championship helpful to you in feeling less pressure?
I didn’t feel like I was competing in a World Championship. I didn’t feel any particular pressure from the staff, it was more me who put it on myself. I took it as an ordinary competition, I didn’t want to play small arm. Steven (Henry) also reassured me well before the races.
“I MADE EFFORTS AT THE RIGHT TIME”
Before the scratch, had you developed any particular tactics?
With Steven, we made video and determined a tactic. We knew that I was not the fastest, nor the most marked. We wanted to take advantage of it to toughen up the race and overtake. In fact, the race was very tough. Twelve runners doubled. I made the effort at the right time to overtake but it was hard to find my way. When the Japanese attacked, I didn’t know that he had also doubled, for me the victory was with the Dane. Steven told me to watch the Dutchman (Vincent Hoppezak, 4e) and I follow him when he goes behind the Dane. Scratching also means taking risks. It was a sprint of the dead, launched from very, very far away, the Japanese was very strong.
Were you able to recover before the Sunday American?
The day after the scratch, I competed in the points race (11th) and I felt that I needed to recover on Saturday. On Sunday, it was okay, but the Madison was run very, very quickly (59 km/h, editor’s note). With Oscar, we hoped to do better (9th) but technically, we were not the best and we did not find the opening to overtake. The podium was too difficult to reach.
Are you going to return to the track this winter?
With my medal, doors open. Perhaps I will cut less than planned but I want to manage this dual activity well to be efficient on the road. Why not in February, the European Championship… We’ll have to think about it carefully.
