No comments yet

Kilometre in Gold

 Congratulations on your 1st World Elite Champion title!

Quentin Lafargue: Thank you! It’s unbelievable and also very special.  I have been chasing it for so long that it’s hard to believe I made it. I’m very happy. Work pays off. Never stop believing it’s possible.

 

Team speed is on Wednesday, 1stday of competition. You take part in the qualifying rounds. What was the objective for this first race?

QL: The objective was to achieve the best time possible. This was the first time for our team in a World Champion competition so it was important to see its potential in real conditions. Personally, I had my heart set on a good time in the 3rdround. We finish 2ndof the qualifications in 43”3.

 

You are back as finisher for the final against the Dutch ‘ogre’, World and European reigning Champion. Can you tell us about this last race of the day?

QL: To be honest with you, the only objective we had for the final was to get a good time. The Dutch clearly were above all. But we managed to improve our times during each race with a 42”88 during the final. And that is a great satisfaction. We crossed the 43” mark and we are world vice-champion. I think I read somewhere that the French team speed was in decline! I believe this silver medal shows our consistency at the highest level.

 

What did you do during your day off on Thursday prior to the Kilometre Race on Friday?

QL: I was pleased not to have 2 competitions one day after the other. So I stayed longer in bed and did a gentle warm up on the velodrome home trainer. After that I went back to the hotel to keep my energy and watched my friends’ results.

 

Kilometer Race, here we are! Perfect start with the best qualifying round time but also and amazing time 59”845

Quentin Lafargue: I am very pleased with my qualifying round. Honestly, I didn’t feel anything special. When I saw my time, I was happily surprised and very happy. But I wanted to stay in my own little world, it’s easy to get too excited. Only half of the job was done. But I had also cycled in 59”8.

 

During the final you are the last one to go. At this moment, the best time is Bos’s in 1’00”388. Do you think: ‘my time has come’?

QL: I didn’t pay much attention to times. What I analyzed is that all the competitors didn’t do as well as during qualifications. Bos was the only competitor close to his qualifying time. At this moment I tell myself to repeat what I’d done in the morning. I stay very concentrated on technical issues and focus points that I work on during my mental preparation. I leave for the moment and don’t think ahead. What I want is to repeat a time of 59 seconds.

 

Can you describe your final?

QL: It was tough. To start with I felt very good and also during the 2nd  lapse. Then in this type of race, you need to accept the pain and make sure it lasts the least time possible. The last lapse was very difficult but I pushed myself mentally to the finish line. When I look up the screen and understand that I won, nothing happens. I feel so tired that I don’t really realized what I have done.

 

You win your first World Elite Champion Title at the Pruszkow Velodrome where you attended your first World Elite Championship in 2019. It’s fate!

QL: You are right, real fate! I always liked this velodrome. Now thanks to these good results I’m gonna keep liking it. In 2008, I won 3 junior titles here. I am very happy and I’m so pumped!

 

Photo album of the World Championships here.