Absent from the XCO circuits for a good part of the season – while on paper, he could still aim to be selected for the Paris 2024 Olympics – Adrien Boichis had until then remained relatively discreet about his departure. We took advantage of this end of the season to take stock of the promising French XC talent at the dawn of a new season and new ambitions…
FullAttack: Hi Adrien. You started the first months of the 2024 season with good form and good results among the elites, then your condition seemed to plummet suddenly in April and we didn't see you at the start of a race after that. the French Championships in May. Can you explain to us what happened?
Adrien Boichis: Hello! Yes, we can talk about it. I was in very good shape at the start of the season and very motivated for the first two World Cups in Brazil in April (synonymous with last tickets for the Olympics, editor's note). There, I fell ill and that was the beginning of the “descent into hell”. Symptoms-wise, I felt very tired, I slept very poorly and I was weak on the bike. It was simply impossible to perform well in these conditions. I quickly lost a lot of weight. Quite quickly after returning to Europe, the doctors found what was wrong with me and I was immediately recommended three months of complete rest.
Mentally, it was a really difficult time because I had ambitions for this season. Despite everything, I managed it all well and I was well supported.
Is this health problem definitively resolved?
The problem is solved yes, we can consider that it is behind me. Despite everything, certain parameters will remain under surveillance in the future to avoid a recurrence. I can now look towards the future with peace of mind.
Have you started training again?
Yes, that’s it! I've been cycling again for some time, I'm in the rehabilitation phase in order to become competitive again as quickly as possible. I am very motivated! I feel good physically and in my head.
You announced at the end of October that you were joining the Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe U23 structure. A great team, known for its performances on the road. Does this mean we won't see you on a mountain bike in 2025?
My sporting project is to be involved 50% on the road and 50% in mountain biking. In terms of number of days of racing, there will definitely be more on the way, but I will have goals for mountain biking. I will start 5 or 6 rounds of the MTB World Cup, the French and World Championships. I will also be doing a few prep races on top of that.
During mountain bike races, will you be accompanied by the Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe structure?
On the mountain bike races I will be accompanied by an existing mountain bike team, but I cannot expand on the subject at the moment.
What are your short, medium and long term goals?
In the short term, I really want to regain sensations, confidence, and go fast again!
For the future, I would like to combine road and mountain biking for as long as possible. We will already see what the 2025 season has to offer me.
You took part in a first training session with your new team, how did it go?
We actually did an integration course for five days at the end of October at the Red Bull premises in Austria, bringing together the U19 team, the U23 team and the World Tour team.
We were able to discover the impressive means put in place by Red Bull around performance. We took advantage of this gathering to do tests and meetings, it was really nice!
Thank you Adrien, we wish you the best in this new project!
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