Difficult to find a subject on which Antoine Berger is not demanding. For the training conditions, perhaps, since a cold and humid winter on the Deux-Sévrien asphalt pleases him. Its perfect bike ride even takes the steep roads between Bressuire, L'Absie and Secondigny.
“I could take them every day and never get tired of them. Fortunately they are there, otherwise winter would be complicated”the native of Saint-Sauveur philosophizes in front of his coffee. A double espresso for “enjoy longer” flavors.
“I like to create the content of my sessions”
Antoine Berger still included a ten-day internship in Spain during his winter preparation. All while being your own coach. “It’s a bit of a special case. warns the licensee of SCO Dijon (N1). I have a physical trainer who does my strength training. For the cycling part, I like to make the content of my sessions. Paul Herman, the team manager, only supervises. »
For three years, Antoine Berger has been learning to optimize his performance, driven by curiosity and the desire to understand what he does. “I started by watching lots of training videos to improve. Before, I loved riding with the old guys from my club to do 150 kilometers but I hated races because I finished last when I was younger. It was by becoming better that I loved competition”smiles the runner trained at Bressuire AC.
This is how the cyclist went from outings where he walked to very thoughtful training, to then join the Cholet team in 2022 (reserve then N2). “I ended up doing sessions after work using a flashlight”remembers the engineer, then on an internship in Poitiers.
“I was making spreadsheets with all my data but it was too much. It's mentally tiring to want to control everything, you also have to take into account the sensations on the bikeengages the Deux-Sévrien, picky on the edges. Now I favor simplicity. I train a lot but I think about sustainability in the season. If I do anything wrong, I'll be scrapped. »
-For his second season in Côte-d'Or, Antoine Berger wants more regular good results at an elite level that he discovered late, after the end of his studies. “At 25, I am already among the oldest on the team, he laughs. This year will be decisive and perhaps the last at this level. »
“I prefer to earn my living being a cyclist”
Le Bressuirais therefore intends to give his all to obtain a place among the professionals. “Last year I wasn't ambitious enough. I wanted to see how far I could go, but it did me a disservice because I never asserted my desire for professionalism”regrets Antoine Berger, who had nevertheless won at the start of the season in Puyloubier, near Aix-en-Provence, before three other victories among the elites (including a general classification in the Pays Roannais).
“Without this dream, I won’t do another year because it’s a lot of sacrifices. I would earn more from being an engineer, however I prefer to earn it from being a cyclist, that's what motivates mebreathes the one who spends more than twenty hours of cycling per week. It won't be the end of the world if it doesn't work, but I will do everything I can. »
Antoine Berger will make his return to the Basque Essor at the beginning of February, before a sequence in the Var then the Bouches-du-Rhône, in the Coupe de France. Races that suit his climbing profile and his “soul of a cyclo”who loves to enjoy the beauty of roads and cafes.
