The season was not easy for Guillaume Boivin, to say the least. Back pain, severe flu, COVID-19 after a calamitous Tour de France, mechanical trouble at the end of the Grand Prix de Québec… Not to mention his three bikes lost for months by Air Canada.
Nothing reassuring for a 33-year-old cyclist whose contract expired at the end of the year. However, earlier this week, Israel-Premier Tech announced a one-year extension for the veteran veteran.
Excellent news for the principal concerned… for whom it was not news. Boivin accepted this new contract in January in the wake of his first Tour de France, his Olympic baptism, his third national title and his spectacular performance on the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix (9e).
For some reason, the team only announced the signing on Monday, along with that of three teammates.
I really had a great season last year and I always wanted to stay with this team.
Guillaume Boivin
“They want to keep me and they know I don’t need to be in year [de renouvellement] contract to be motivated and do my job 100%, he explained at the start of the week. It made sense to both parties. They just wanted to take that stress away from me so that I could have my head free and be more focused on the races. »
Disappointment and bad luck
After a back injury which caused him to retire from Paris-Nice, he found his legs again in the Tour of Catalonia where he distinguished himself with a fourth stage place in a sprint finish. Sent to Belgium earlier than expected to take advantage of his momentum, he was struck down by influenza for several weeks. He forced the note to return to Paris-Roubaix, after which he went back to bed for another ten days.
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As he began an altitude camp for the Critérium du Dauphiné, the team eventually sent him back to Belgium as a threat of relegation to the second division began to dawn.
“As a team, we made the choice to skip a few training sessions to go shopping, which probably didn’t pay off, at least not for me. »
Much to his disappointment, he was not part of the initial selection for the Tour. He therefore headed for Alberta where he finished second behind Pier-André Côté in the defense of his national title.
A few days later, he landed in Denmark the day before the big start of the Tour, replacing a teammate dismissed as a contact case of COVID-19.
With 4 kg more than the previous year, his Tour was a nightmare. For good measure, he was taken out of the race on the morning of the final stage due to a coronavirus infection, which was taking its toll on the peloton.
Best Canadian at the Quebec and Montreal Grands Prix, he feels that his form is on the rise, as evidenced by his fifth place at the classic Primus, in Belgium, on September 17.
“As we see every year that passes, if you’re not 100%, even in a small race, it’s difficult to win because everyone is really in good shape. »
With the health problems I had, I’m still not having a bad season. But it was still far from expectations after that of last year. I remain proud of not having let go of the piece.
Guillaume Boivin
After two weeks of training in Andorra, where he happily reunited with his partner Michael Woods, he is “greatly motivated” for the last four events on his programme: Famenne Ardenne Classic (Sunday), which he won in 2018, Binche-Chimay-Binche (Tuesday), Remco Evenepoel’s first race in his rainbow jersey, Paris-Bourges (Thursday) and Paris-Tours (next Sunday).
“At this time, it’s more the mind that breaks. I tell myself that as long as I’m running, I’m going to try to do it well. »
“We can cry…”
The other dark cloud that has weighed down the season for Boivin and his teammates is of course the threat of relegation to the second division for the next three years. In all likelihood, Israel-Premier Tech will have to settle for guaranteed spots in next year’s WorldTour one-day events. The Israeli-Canadian team will then have to finish among the first two ProTeams to win a guaranteed invitation to the three major tours in 2024. “We have been greatly affected by the disease, recalled Boivin. It was also new to fight for points rather than wins. It may be subtle, but for a runner, it changes the way of approaching the races and of behaving as a team. You need to learn. With Quebec sponsors like Sylvan Adams and Premier Tech, he adds that it’s not hard to get motivated. “You have to see it as a big challenge. We don’t really have any other option. We can cry all we want, that’s not going to solve our situation…”
2026: “A goal for our generation”
Boivin does not know when he will end his career, but the holding of the 2026 World Championships in Montreal represents a serious incentive to continue it for four more years. “It’s really amazing and I’m very excited about it. It is a fine goal for our generation to try to achieve it. The young people are growing, but if we go there, I’ll be very happy. »
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