Rafaelle Carrier did not have her best day last Sunday at the World Cup round in Besançon. 3rd in Dublin at the opening, before winning the rounds of Hulst and Zonhoven, the Canadian this time had to limit the damage in France, finishing at the gates of the Top 5 (see ranking). But the explanation is obvious. “I didn't have the best week, I was sick all week. I'm still happy to have started and to have given everything despite my cold. Technically I made a lot of mistakes, physically I I wasn't at my best so I tried to take the lead from the other girls and press on until the end.”.
Despite a “good start”the World Cup leader then fell back little by little. “It got complicated later with mistakes and everyone was passing me”. Far from the French train that set off for the hat-trick, Rafaelle Carrier tried not to sink mentally and save what could be saved. “I knew the girls in front were too far away, I couldn't come back. I was trying to concentrate on the girls in the spotlight in front of me. I was trying to get as many points as possible for the ranking. But I knew victory wouldn't be possible.”. This little relative failure is far from dampening his enthusiasm as his start to the season is going well. “It’s going really well this winter, I couldn’t have asked for better so far”.
“IN CANADA IT’S NOT LIKE HERE”
Since the end of the summer, the one who is now Junior 2 has already managed to make contacts with teams. This is particularly the case of Arkéa-B&B Hôtels which has been following her since this cyclo-cross season, notably by providing her with equipment, and which will continue to take her under its wing with an internship from next August within of the new ProTeam. “They were the ones who contacted me, we had a few discussions, about three or four months ago. It tempted me. But I'm still going to continue mountain biking and maybe try some races on road in addition to cyclo-cross”.
The opportunity to discover the high level in its disciplines. “Of course in Canada it's not like here, there aren't many people, not many spectators. But it's still good for training, because once you Come here it makes things easier.”. For the moment, Rafaelle Carrier especially wants to progress in mountain biking, her favorite discipline. “I mainly focus on that, but to train in the fall, cyclo-cross complements well. I came to race, I immediately liked it so I continue to do it during the winter The World Championship will also be one of the big objectives.”. If she is not ill this time, Rafaelle Carrier risks becoming a serious contender for the rainbow again.
France
Cycling
