The cell phone attached to the ear while clearing the table where the girls from Arkéa-B&B Hotels have just had lunch, a quick exchange with an assistant, an instruction to Amandine Fouquenet, who will open her cyclo-cross season next weekend, Gaël Le Bellec (36 years old) didn’t have a minute to himself, Tuesday morning, at the Pontivy Youth Hostel, the setting for the team’s last 2024 gathering. Which is not to displease him: the former three-time duathlon world champion, still doubly licensed at the Trégueux Langueux Athlétisme and Pontivy Triathlon clubs (where he is also a coach) never stops running: he has even found his balance between his overflowing personal practice (31’52” over 10 km, last Sunday, in Rennes) and his professional activity which is just as much.
“A year ahead”
Former sports director of Breizh Ladies (2012), the showcase team of the Comité de Bretagne, the former pro (one season with Raleigh) then officiated at Stade Rochelais, with Cofidis, before officially joining an Arkéa-B&B Hôtels team which he revived. Under his leadership and that of Grégoire Le Calvé, his inseparable partner, the Breton team (launched in 2020) has just had (by far) its best season in the pelotons: winning five times, it has above all seen the emergence simultaneous of the Austrian Valentina Cavallar (the former Olympic rower, “an extraordinary runner” according to Le Bellec) and the Finisterian Maëva Squiban, 2nd in the Grand-Bornand stage of the last Tour de France. “That day, we had three girls among the first 15 at the top (with the Belgian Lotte Claes 14th and Cavallar 15th), we were No. 1 in the team rankings. Not bad for the 23rd team in the world rankings,” smiles the Breton in a hurry, almost surprised by these overall results.
Promoted in 2025
“Compared to what we had imagined, we are undoubtedly a year ahead,” he continues, seeking an explanation. “We have changed things, we have a different approach to the competition, we probably take more risks but it is obviously not just that,” explains the man who refuses to pull the plug on himself. “The vertical mode of operation is really not my thing. In my opinion, in a group, everyone is important, everyone contributes to the building,” adds the man who will be promoted to sports coordinator in 2025. Which will not stop him from running.
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