Mathis Azzaro ends 2024 at his best level. Present in Mont-Saint-Anne (Canada) for the last round of the Mountain Bike World Cup, the Decathlon Ford Racing Team driver returned to France with two 2nd places (XCO and XCC), his best results in the competition. Also a good way to reverse the trend after the round in Lake Placid (United States) where luck was not on his side. “In the United States, I crashed in the XCC and punctured twice in the XCO, although I think I had the legs to be on the podium. Obviously, I wanted to take my revenge in Canada and it’s done with these two second places”, he is satisfied at the microphone of DirectVelo.
RECOGNITION OF ONE’S PEERS
These good performances in Canada also made it possible to validate what Mathis Azzaro had shown all year, namely that we must now count on him, in international races. Proof of his high level, the 24-year-old driver finished 19th in the general classification of the World Cup (the general classification was won by Alan Hatherly), although he only participated in five rounds out of the eight . And his status has also changed in the eyes of his peers. “When I cross the XCO line at Mont-Saint-Anne, Alan Hatherly (the winner, Editor’s note)is the first to come and congratulate me. He told me that I had had a great season, that it was deserved and that next year I would be a candidate for victories”. Not insignificant words when we know that they come from the reigning World Champion.
And as a symbol, two days earlier, he lost in the sprint in the XCC, already beaten by the World Champion in the discipline, his compatriot Victor Koretzky. “It’s funny because we did the warm-up together with Vic’, in Lake Placid, and he told me that I was French XCC Champion and that I had to remember the conditions in which I won this title. He was also in Levens (where the French Championship took place, Editor’s note) and it was quite a construction site. Coming from him, a pilot that I watched on TV when I was younger, it’s nice”.
A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
The last round of the World Cup also meant the end of the season for Mathis Azzaro. The opportunity to take stock of a more than positive exercise for him, where his results far exceeded his expectations. “It was a successful season. I thought I would be able to be consistent and I hoped to get into the Top 5 at least once in a World Cup round. Finally, I managed to do it three times, it surprised me a little, I didn’t think I could do so much”. Although slowed down in his positive spiral due to an injury this summer, which forced him to draw a line under the Gets sleeve, the southerner nevertheless managed to continue. “All my good results have created a virtuous circle. Every time I came home, I told myself that I could do even better. It pushed me to go further and further, especially since you never know how long good form lasts.”.
Time to rest now, and a welcome break after the Roc d’Azur, where Mathis Azzaro made his last official laps of 2024. “It’ll feel good to cut it off, it was a long season, with a lot of emotions”. And even if he’s going to put the bike away for a while, that doesn’t stop him from looking ahead to next year, with one main idea in mind: getting his first World Cup victory. “When I crossed the line at Mont-Saint-Anne, the first thing I said to myself was that all I needed was the first place to go for now. And by being consistent, I can even hope for a good place overall, but that’s not the priority, I’ll take the races one by one”. And there is no doubt that if 2025 goes like 2024, he will be a serious contender for victory.
Related News :