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 the previous part, Benjamin Thomas spoke to us about the upcoming season and his objectives. Here, he tells us about the Track, of the Road and the alternation between disciplines.
Rolling on the parquet
Cycling Times : In October 2022, the track world championships are taking place where you brought home silver in the Omnium and gold in the Madison. Regarding the Omnium, at the end of the first day, you were quite behind the first in terms of points. What were you aiming for at the end of those days ?
Benjamin thomas : It was a complicated day, especially at the beginning. I wasn't too into it. I was a little behind. So it was complicated to remobilize. There really was a switch, a change of attitude between after the second event and on the elimination. At this moment, I no longer necessarily thought about the end result. No more giving everything I had.
Have no regrets, run using the audience. And that’s really what helped me turn the situation around. I didn't necessarily think that I absolutely had to medal or win. It was more about doing the best you could and seeing what happened.. […]
If I put myself under pressure, I wouldn't have gone very far.
C.T. : As part of competitions such as the world championships where the races follow one another, how can we manage recovery ? Do we give our all to each event or is there a particular management system? ?
B.T. : We do all the tests thoroughly. In general, we try to make as little effort as possible. This, yes. But when you have to make an effort, we make them. Because it is impossible to achieve a result if you have not given yourself to 100 % when it was needed.
So there are times when you calculate your efforts. But when you have to make the effort, you have to go there 100 %. You shouldn't think about the race after. If you make the effort to 95 %, you are not getting the result you need. And in the end you made an effort for nothing. There is no immediate management.
Afterwards it's clear that when you got off the bike, you have to take care of all the details. Let it be good to eat, drink well, to recover, stay calm, don't stay on your feet.
And in the race, is to avoid mistakes. Tactical errors, to plug holes unnecessarily... It is these errors which mean that, at the end of the day, it weighs on the legs.
C.T. : What does the road bring you to the track and vice versa? ?
B.T. : The road provides resistance and endurance, to be able to repeat efforts, for example on an omnium not to fold the wings physically and vice versa.
On the road, especially in time trials, the track allows me to know how to ride fast, lactic capacity. That is to say, making efforts at very high intensity. The track also brings me from a mental point of view, These are tests that require a lot of concentration. You don't have the right to lose concentration.
[…] If you have moments of stress, Of voltage, to know how to manage these moments, it’s thanks to the track, whether time trials, whether borders, massive sprints or moments where it rubs, to know not to panic and to stay.
C.T. : Are the sensations the same between the two disciplines? ?
B.T. : Ah not, not really. It's really two different pedal strokes. Suffering is not so different.
Against the clock, at the limit, it’s a little closer to the track where we find this effort management. The road, it's still different. It's much longer. The difference is made over time, on fatigue, on 3 at 4, 5 h and manage to be as fresh as possible at the end of a race.
C.T. : About the Paris Games, who are fast approaching. In the months leading up to the event, are you planning to put aside the road to prepare for the Games? ?
B.T. : Normally, non. There will be races on my calendar in the months leading up to the Games. So it is certain that the objective, it will be the Games and the road races will serve me more as preparation. But we can not, for example, deprive yourself of three months of road racing before.
It's not productive. It is better to continue running to maintain physical fitness by combining it with specific training.. This is the best way to achieve performance. But you can't not go on the road. And both, three months before the Games, it would be a loss there.
Driving on the asphalt
C.T. : We'll get straight to the heart of the matter with the Tour de France. Last year you participated, what do you remember from this race in general? ? What makes it so special? ?
B.T. : It’s really a race where for three weeks, we are sucked into the race. In fact, we are really in our bubble, in autopilot mode. That is to say, we do the same routine every day..
It's the same thing every day, except that we are on a race where there is a lot of attention, depression. Lots of things happen every day. There is no such thing as a quiet day or “normal” days. This is really the specificity of the Tour and that the slightest action is amplified, multiplied. This is what makes it special.
The fact that we make a breakaway or a result, it’s immediately much more highlighted than in any other race. This is really what makes it special beyond any audience., the level and the fact that it runs faster.
C.T. : On this last Tour, you almost won a stage. Tell us about it.
B.T. : This is a step that I had checked off a few months in advance. I had spotted her. I already knew most of the roads since I lived in the area when I was younger. My dream was to escape on this stage. I thought it was going to be a designated stopover for backpackers where there would be a morning breakaway that could go far. So the plan, at the base, it was really about taking the morning escape. Finally, we ended up with only two or three riders at the front and the peloton did not want to let more riders out. Four, five teams controlled so that no one attacked. And suddenly, I had to change my plans and fall back on the finale. And by chatting a little with a few teams in particular, with the Trek, they were talking about accelerating in the bump at 60 kilometers from the finish and to toughen up to try to make the sprinters jump. It was for Mads Pedersen. Their own plan, it was to harden.
And I said to myself why not if they harden, launch an attack from above in the finale ? Because when it's hard like that, there are fewer team members to control. If you go out with a group it's easier to get through to the end than if there are four, five teams of sprinters who control.
The other factor that helped me, it was really hot, especially. He almost did 40 degrees all day, so it wore out the organisms enormously. Many runners suffered from it. Whereas I, it was limited to where I feel the best. It was something that helped me make this escape.
And after, with Alexis [ndlr : Alexis Gougeard], he was also the good traveling companion because he will never give up. He will never slow down. He was the right rider to breakaway in a finale like that.
C.T. : And at the level of sensations ?
B.T. : […]
You don't think about much and just try to think about your position, be as aerodynamic as possible, because it was a slightly downhill finish. On going I will tell you that 50 last kilometers, it was really managing this effort.
The sensations : your legs hurt, you hurt everywhere. You try to recover when you can. Water yourself, drink, eat a little and enjoy when Alexis took turns to recover a little bit. Then had to leave. It was really up and down because there were times when we lost time, we started again… We knew we had to put it up a notch for the finale. We knew that if we resisted until the 10 last kilometers, we had to speed up again. It was really the five, last six kilometers which were the hardest. And there, there are more calculations and I put everything.
In terms of sensations, you hurt everywhere. You go into a kind of autopilot. Your body, you really push him to his limits. You don't really think anymore in these moments. It's really suffering and you're trying to hurt yourself as much as possible by believing in it.
And after, it does it, it doesn't do it. It's not necessarily you who decides. At the moment you can't really think anymore anyway.
C.T. : Was it an injustice for you? ? The impression of reliving the finale of Chaintré on the Dauphiné ?
B.T. : Yeah, it was a bit the same configuration : an escape that was doomed to failure. We were four runners and never more than two minutes ahead. I had more regrets on the Dauphiné stage than at the Tour. Because the Tour, really, I don't remember it as a bad experience at all.. It was truly one of the most beautiful moments of the Tour de France. It’s one of the most beautiful memories of escaping to your land. While for the Dauphiné stage, I had some regrets. Because I know that we could have gone to the end with a few more strong relays. Or with better collaboration between us.
We could have given ten or fifteen more seconds of margin and competed for victory in the sprint.. While, we can count on pedal strokes in the last kilometers and in the end we only need 300 meters. I have a little more regret at the Dauphiné than at the Tour. To be, On the other hand, I can't do much more. Finally, it was already good to have done that.
C.T. : Çit doesn’t make you feel like you’re being too generous compared to others ?
B.T. : Non, non, because there is being too generous and making mistakes. But after, if when you get into a mess like that, if you are not generous, you don't go far.
So you don't have to do anything either.. But you should know that you are not here to count pedal strokes. And it's rare that you win by counting pedal strokes. Unless you're in a breakaway 25 runners and that and that you do nothing, you hide then you will win. This is not necessarily the best way to win. But you don't have to be stupid to ride either, that everyone looks and the others say to each other : "Anyway, I let him ride because I know he will never skip a relay”. We should also not give this image because afterwards, others use it too easily.
Next week Benjamin Thomas will give us more information on his arrival at Cofidis. He will give us the reasons for his departure from Groupama-FDJ and how he sees his future.
