Gravel: Podium for Stéphane Lenoir at the North Carolina BWR.

Earlier this month, triathlete Stéphane Lenoir pulled off a real tour de force, finishing 3rd in the 5th edition of the Belgian Waffle Ride, near Asheville, North Carolina (USA). To achieve this, he had to face off against the specialists in Gravel, a form of cycling that involves riding on unpaved roads. A bronze medal is the perfect birthday present to celebrate his 50th birthday.
A triathlete at heart, Stéphane Lenoir took up cycling, and more specifically Gravel mountain biking, 3 years ago, when he joined the JCO (Jeunesse Cycliste d'Orléans) team. He has been on the starting line of several cycling races in the Caribbean, and had already competed in other editions of BWR, across the American continent. For his 4th participation in this Gravel classic, Stéphane Lenoir, accompanied by Fabien Husson, trained meticulously: "You need a lot of physical preparation, whatever your age, because in a competition you have to cover more than 150 kilometers, with steep climbs and fatigue that adds up.s and the fatigue that accumulates on the trails, the dirt roads, sometimes it's like cyclo-cross [laughs]" Another element inseparable from Gravel : punctures. And no competitor in the race can escape them... or almost. "It's very common, even if you pay attention to the pressure of your tires. They're put under so much stress during the race that even if tubeless tires replace inner tubes, they can still go flat. During this BWR, it happened to me twice, but with tubeless liquid and not too big holes in the tires, it was fine, it repaired itself automatically and I didn't need to stop. "Indeed, in this type of race, the slightest stop or foot on the ground can be very costly, with the risk of losing one's place and slipping down the overall standings.
In the end, Stéphane Lenoir climbed to 23rd place. An "overall" logically dominated by some fifteen professional cyclists. Nevertheless, the Saint Barth rider climbed to 3rd place in his category, after an epic finish: "During the race, I joined a good group to stay in contact with the top places. This group of 4 included the US Gravel champion and the recent winner of the Unbound, a benchmark in our sport. In the final kilometers, we all tried to launch attacks, but we were all burnt out. The last part of the race wasn't a big climb, which is one of my strong points. The single race at the end was pretty technical and I just missed out on second place, but it's my first Gravel podium, so I'm really happy! "puts the JCO rider into perspective. A podium that could well be followed by others, but in the short term and rather in triathlon, for example, at the Ironman in Cozumel, Mexico, on November 23. Stéphane Lenoir, who has registered for the event, warns: "I really like Gravel and for me this BWR is good preparation for the triathlons I want to take part in in the near future. I train a lot and this 3rd place didn't come out of nowhere! Besides, there's nothing worse than travelling to surpass your limits and practise your favourite sports when you're in your fifties...