After two years of cancellations, the Canadian cyclocross national championships are back, but without Maghalie Rochette. The current national champion will not be in Langford, British Columbia on Nov. 26, and it wasn’t an easy choice.
“The cyclocross nationals are always one of my favorite events of the year. I love to see the Canadian ‘cross community, and it’s always special getting to fight for the right to represent that jersey,: she explains. “On top of that, the national champion kit that Rapha designed for me this year is simply out of this world. So saying I’m bummed not to go and defend it is an understatement.”
Rochette’s season has been tough, as her fans know. She’s struggled with health issues physically, and and also opens up that she has also mentally.
“That said, this season hasn’t been my best yet. Fatigue (or extreme fatigue?) has been a big cause of those issues. Now, I’m feeling better and back to training, but I can’t do like nothing happened and I have to be conservative with my energy and progressive in my return to training and racing. Flights, time change, travelling, and all the things contribute to fatigue and overall stress. And so I’m trying to minimize this,” Rochette said.
Travelling and fatigue
Given her schedule, and all of the flights and travels was one factors that ultimately made her decide to not attend the nationals.
“The nationals being in Victoria sounds fun, but for me, that’s pretty far, and it’s in the opposite direction of going to Europe. In normal times it might have been okay, but with my health being still fragile, I wasn’t willing to risk that extra travel and complications,” Rochette added.”Instead, I’m heading to Europe Saturday, where I’ll spend the rest of the season until Worlds. That way, it’s only one flight, one time change…easy on the body!”
Looking back, looking forward
She starts the European ‘cross season after a tough summer. Rochette had some big goals of racing multiple disciplines, combining ‘cross and MTB World Cups, but she quickly realized that it’s very hard, especially since she doesn’t live in Europe.
“I think I was already pretty fatigued, but I was ignoring all the signs. The travel becomes crazy. And I also think that personally, if I want to perform at my very best, I need some time to chill at some point in the year, both mentally and physically. Plus, I started having nagging little…
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