Benjamin thomas, 27 years, is a six-time European champion and two-time World Champion in track cycling. He is also a member of the Cofidis road team. Growing in importance within the peloton, we did a long interview with him on the eve of the launch of his 9th season as a professional cyclist.
In this first part of the interview, the Cofidis runner talks to us about the coming season and his goals.
Cycling Times : Hello Benjamin, you are making your comeback on the Grand Prix La Marseillaise. What are you aiming for in this race ?
Benjamin thomas : It will be special because La Marseillaise is the start of the school year. We are still waiting to find out how the physique will respond to a demanding race with elevation. More than four and a half hours of racing. This is a first shock for organisms. And it's the question of how we're going to get there. Above all, how are we going to end. So I'm not aiming for anything in particular except to try to follow the best. And I think playing my small group sprint card is my best bet.
C.T. : You participate in the Etoile de Bessèges, the goal is to keep your title ?
B. T. : Preserving General de Bessèges, is not necessarily a goal, for two reasons. This year, I have set goals a little further in the season, especially in March with Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo. So I don't necessarily have the pressure to want to win the Étoile de Bessèges.
And then second, this is the consequence of my first reason. I should have a peak of form in March, so it would be more logical to start Bessèges. […] Last year, I arrived right away. I wanted to get results right away and the form was already 100 % from the first races.
To be, it will be a little more visible where I am in my preparation, in my condition and I would no longer have a goal on the clock. I think I would like to do. But after, I expect to lose a little more time than last year, especially on the arrival at the summit of Mont Bouquet.
C.T. : In October 2021, you announced in the Bistrot Vélo program on Eurosport that you wanted to aim for a good place in the general classification of a one-week race. Will performing in General will be an objective for Paris-Nice ?
B. T. : Oh no, in pleasure. The Paris-Nice will be for Ion Izagirre. This will be our our leader.
And after, moi. It is true that in World Tour, I would like to try my hand at a one-week race. After, the profile must match. And this year, it's hard to find a race that matches. Either it is too mountainous or it does not fall well during the season. So why not next year depending on the races. More a race like Tirreno-Adriatico.
One week running, I will normally do the Four Days of Dunkirk. But it's not World Tour level, so it will be for me. Our goal this year, is to do well these Four Days of Dunkirk to confirm over a week of racing. There will be an additional time trial, so that's why it had to be a goal.
C.T. : You are also announced on Milan-San Remo. You said it outright, it's a goal for you. Do you think you can win ?
B. T. : You don't have to set limits. There are some runners who have won it and who did not necessarily expect to win it on the morning of the race. It is the most open monument.
It really comes down to placement and resistance. It's quite a long race. And after, the goal, it will be to show a strong team. It is a personal goal but also a collective one.. That is to say that the objective will be to make the best possible place with the strongest rider, whether it is me or another rider of the team..
Many of us will arrive in good shape for this race.. These will be decisions that will be made in the moment, in the end. But it is above all a goal of the team.
C.T. : You go on your 28 years. Do you think you still have room for improvement or are you already at your “prime” ?
B. T. : Non, non, I think I'm still making progress. I hope to progress and continue to progress.
This winter, I still progressed on some power values, It will be the same on Tirreno-Adriatico then on the Tour of the Alps. So it proves that the physique continues to develop and there are always things to improve. So I hope not to stop there. And I'm lucky to have been pretty well preserved my first years pro.
So I also don't have a physique that's very very worn out or that was pushed into the red when I was young.. It allows me to continue to progress quietly and gently.
C.T. : Looking at your stats, we notice that you have raced a lot in Italy and France in recent years. It's a team strategy, to send you there rather than Belgium or the Netherlands ?
B. T. : I live in Italy at the base. My partner is Italian, so I've been living in Italy for five years and that's why we did a lot of shopping in Italy.
But it's a strategy. I'm not a fan of Belgian weather, rain, cold or classics.
I have more profile adapted to run in the south of France or in Italy, in regions where it is a little warmer.
C.T. : Could you give us a summary of your next goals? ?
B. T. : My next goals, it is on the one hand in the month of March. Walk well on a sequence of Paris-Nice and San Remo. After, There will be a big goal : the Tour de France in July. So a whole approach with stage races in France.
A few tracks also to maintain my qualities and the pedal stroke.
At the end of the season, it will be the Track World Championships which will be in Glasgow in August. And after ? We'll see when it's done.
Longer term, think in particular of the Olympic Games in Paris. This will be the big goal for next year.
In the next part Benjamin Thomas will tell us about his two disciplines, road and track. He will look back on last season but also talk about the big goal of his career : the Paris Olympics.
