“After retiring from the Tour, I wanted to hide,” says Démare.

• Every Monday,

  20 Minutes

   gives the floor to a sports actor or actress who is making the news of the moment.

  This week, it is Arnaud Démare who answers our questions on the occasion of the release of his book “A year in my wheel”.

• In his book, the French sprinter invites readers to follow him throughout the 2021 season on the roads of the World Tour.

• For 20 Minutes, he agreed to come back to the highlights of his book and to plan for the 2022 season, a few days before the start of the internship with his team.

It's not just sprinting in life, there's the pen, too. For several months last season, Arnaud Démare recounted his life as a cyclist in numerous chronicles published in

. And as it was launched and that the exercise pleased him (as much as to us, one must say), the winner of the last Paris-Tour decided to push the project a little further and to release a book in the same style. , written in collaboration with journalist Mathieu Coureau.

 was published on November 10 by Editions Talent Sport.

Thus, throughout the 2021 season, the Groupama-FDJ sprinter took us with him in his bottle cage to share with us his joys and sorrows, his (rare) victories and his (many) struggles.

Because it must be said, the year 2021 did not go at all as he had planned.

For

, Arnaud Démare has agreed to come back to the highlights of his book, at the dawn of a 2022 season that he hopes will be more enjoyable.

What did it bring you personally to put your thoughts down on paper on a daily basis?

Normally he's not my style at all. Usually I am the type of runner who immediately moves on to something else after a race and this allowed me each time to do a little debriefing, going beyond that since I also dig into my feelings, my emotions. It was really a new exercise for me. When I read this again, I tell myself that in the end maybe I am a little hard on myself at times. But then, when you're an actor, when you're in your thing, when you want to succeed and when you tell your failures, these are the harsh words that come out first. Normally, I take stock at the end of the year and that's when I question myself. This time it was racing and it wasn't easy to put words into words about your own failures and disappointments.

You also say that it was ultimately more interesting to tell about a complicated season like the one you experienced last year, rather than a top season. Why ?

Human beings do not like to talk about their difficulties, their failures. Especially since I had big ambitions for this season and it happened to me to have doubts as the book progressed. I said to Mathieu [Coureau] "listen, I'm not winning as I would like, it won't interest many people what I'm saying". But he made me understand that on the contrary, that was what was interesting, seeing how the runner gets up, how he faces his failures and bounces behind. And then this win on Paris-Tour at the end of the season serves as a great conclusion, both for my season and for the book. It proves to people that when you don't give up, you can succeed.

After your retirement on the Tour, you tell in the book that you are at the bottom of the hole

. You even talk about stopping everything. Was it at this point?

I was disappointed with myself, that's for sure, but when you're athletic, you're not alone, you have supporters, a whole team that supports you and you end up disappointing all these people. At the end of the day, it's the hardest part, to live with this failure on the most important race of the year in front of the eyes of the whole world. When I write that I want to hide and go far away, it is this feeling that really drives me. We were full of hope for victories on the Tour, the green jersey, we had shown great ambitions to the media and, on arrival, we did not succeed at all. It was hard to swallow. The disappointment is so great that you question everything and blame the whole world. The hardest part is in fact when the Tour continues its journey without you. Once it's over, it's good,the world of cycling moves on, there is the Vuelta which arrives behind, it is easier to mourn if I dare say (laughs)!

On the Vuelta, you evoke the fear of the fall that suddenly seizes you.

This is problematic for a sprinter!

Fear is a sprinter's worst enemy, it's true.

It's a chain of things.

When you are confident, the danger you do not see it, you know that you will succeed and you pass in places that you did not even imagine.

And when you are more in difficulty mentally, when you lose this feeling of power compared to your adversaries, you begin to doubt.

When you see the barrier approaching your handlebars, you have this apprehension.

But I was able to realize it at the end of the year, when you are in a position to win, all that disappears almost as if by magic.

During a sprint, the head plays a huge role in your performance.

What does it feel like when you start the sprint, what goes through your mind?

The moment of the sprint itself is when you release the last remaining energy, nothing more.

Finally, this is not the time when we have the most adrenaline.

Fear is a bit earlier.

At the three terminals, in the last kilometer, when you're afraid of losing your place.

We want to be in the best conditions to win when, finally, when we start the sprint at 200m, we know if we are well or not, if we will be able to raise our arms.

There is a passage about ketones that has been a hot topic in recent weeks.

You explain that this distorts the situation in the peloton since some teams use it and others do not, like yours.

You were in

on

that s colleagues were you surprised that it makes as much noise.

Truly ?

Let's say it's ten lines in the book, it's absolutely not the main topic.

It is a photograph of a big disappointment after the abandonment of the Tour de France.

At the time, as I said, I blame the whole world but in no way do I want to present myself as a victim of all this.

My performances, I owe them only to myself.

But there you go, I'm very disappointed… And honestly, no, I didn't think it would make so much noise, but hey, that's what journalists and people are looking for…

Afterwards, the subject exists, you put it on the table, we are necessarily obliged to stop there.

Especially since some teams have made commitments and don't use ketones when others do.

There is a form of inequity to the finish, right?

I especially wanted the general public to know that it exists because I'm not sure people realize it otherwise.

When you hear that such and such is bad, that it is difficult to win, well you also have to put all that in the context and for me it was important to remember that we do not all have the same limitation.

After that in no way prevents having ambitions and results, the proof on Paris-Tour where I won.

Did the pace of the peloton really accelerate last season?

That things go faster, that's normal, everyone is working, everyone is improving, so is the equipment.

Afterwards, it is true that the fact that the march is so high from one season to the next, it surprised everyone a bit.

Should their use be prohibited?

For the moment, the UCI has only advised against taking ketones without banning it by law.

I am not a spokesperson for anything.

The authorities are aware of what is happening, it is up to them to do what is necessary.

After this tough season, you really needed to cut?

How are you feeling today?

It's okay, I really cut mentally.

Because in the end, it's the head that needs it the most.

The physical can continue, but up there is something else… It really feels good to put the bike down.

I took advantage of family, friends, I did everything I can't do the rest of the season.

Going on vacation, yes, but also just doing nothing, staying quiet at home, that's one of the things that perk up.

What are your goals this season?

There are races that make me want more than others, but my first goal is to win back as quickly as possible, regardless of the race.

Paris-Nice will arrive very quickly and I know that when I win there, it makes me feel good, it really kicks off my season.

Sport

Paris-Tours: Arnaud Démare victory, the first for a Frenchman since 2006

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Tour de France 2021: Arnaud Démare, Bryan Coquard and five other riders late in Tignes, their Tour is over

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