His 2024 season
At the end of the season, it didn't do it but the rest of my year was still very positive (stage victory at the Tour de France and at the Etoile de Bessèges, 2nd in the Flèche Wallonne, selection for the Olympics of Paris). Emotionally, I experienced big peaks. This season will serve me a lot for the rest of my career. She gives me insight into week-long stage races and some one-day races like the Flèche Wallonne and the Amstel Gold Race. I will have more ambition, more pressure too. I'm also going to see what milestone I can take after completing my first Grand Tour and, what's more, the Tour de France. And what's more with this stage victory…
His stage victory in the Tour de France (1)
When you win a stage of the Tour de France and you realize that it really happened, the first night is very complicated. But, the day before, it was also complicated and the previous weeks, it was also complicated… Why? Because I just didn't feel great. I put a lot of pressure on myself before my first Tour de France and I had one of those migraines just before the start. The stress, the fatigue, the disappointment of the French championships (2nd in the time trial…). The day before leaving Florence, I was very, very unwell and during the first stage, it wasn't going well at all either. I don't know if it was from the heat or what but it wasn't right. Looking back, maybe that’s what allowed me to win the next day.
His stage victory in the Tour de France (2)
On the morning of the second stage, I told myself that I had to stop complaining. I was in a bad mood, I had to get out of it. So, when I found myself in the breakaway, I only thought about victory. I don't know if I should tell you about it, you might see it on Netflix: the morning of my stage victory, at the team briefing, I wanted to cry because I was so disappointed with my first stage. In short, it wasn't going well at all. I didn't know where I was going. There were almost three weeks left and I didn't have any confidence in myself. I sent a message to my girlfriend and relatives to tell them that things were not going well at all. I then turned off the phone and left to compete in the stage. In the evening, it was a total contrast: in a few hours, I went from a depressed state to incredible joy. This mix of emotions, this emotional lift in the same day…
His stage victory in the Tour de France (3)
In a few days, I gained 30,000 followers on Instagram (he smiles). It's a crazy time. Three kilometers from the finish, I saw that I was driving alone in the lead at 55 km/h/h. I understood that nothing could happen to me anymore. In the last 200 meters it really hit me. When I turned it back on, my cell phone was overheating, my loved ones were writing to me: “But what are you doing to us? “. After my victory, I wanted to leave the race and go to my parents' house for two days to make the most of it. Well, that wasn't possible…
The end of the season
It didn't go as I hoped. I had some small physical problems. I think at some point my body just said stop. During the Bretagne Classic in Plouay, I gave up due to psoas pain. Pains that I had already experienced last season, and during the Italian races at the end of the season, these pains were still present. With the team, we made the decision to end my season. We thought it might be the result of physical and mental fatigue. I'm a little disappointed, I would have liked to finish my season which, until then, was still successful. That's how it is… On the other hand, the fact of ending my season at the beginning of October (the 7th) allowed me to refocus on myself and think about 2025. It's also in the moments a little more difficult as we get to know ourselves better.
His 2025 season
Right now, I don't really know what to expect. In my head, I tell myself that I have to have fun first. If I'm having fun, I should be fine. This is what happened in 2024. I have reached new levels, I want to continue my momentum. The Tour de France will obviously be one of the big objectives of my season, especially since it passes through Normandy, but it won't just be the Tour. The Ardennes classics and the French championship are also clearly in my head. I think I will resume my season in France at the Grand Prix La Marseillaise before, why not, continuing at the Etoile de Bessèges. I want to start again on the same basis as in 2024.
The 2025 Tour de France
There will be a very important fortnight for me in 2025 with the sequence of French championships (in Vendée) and Tour de France. The day after the time trial in Caen, the sixth stage of the Tour 2025 passes my home. It starts from Bayeux, where I was born, and passes through the town of Juaye-Mondaye, 200 m from my parents' house. It would be crazy to compete in this stage with the French champion jersey on your back. I can't even imagine the emotions…
France
Cycling
