Maghalie Rochette returns home to Canada to reset before resuming season
Cyclocross star to take break before lead-up to the worlds
After the recent world cup in Val di Sole, Maghalie Rochette has decided to return home to Canada before jumping back in the races. Rochette had a strong start to the season, sweeping the entire USCX series before heading to Europe. She took a 7th at the Dublin WC, and was poised for another top-ten at Flamanville before a late-race crash pushed her down to 12th. Rochette finished eighth at the snowy race in Italy, and sits seventh overall in the world cup standings.
Return home…for now
She and her partner David Gagnon flew back to Quebec on Monday.
“It is very energizing to be home,” she said. “It’s weird…I try so hard when I’m in Europe to focus on the opportunity I have to be there. I try really hard to be positive, to make the most of this new environment, to make the most of the opportunity. But it turns out that as hard as I try, I struggle with being there for a long period of time. I’m simply not as happy.”
North Americans have to essentially pack up months worth of gear and stay far from home for months when they head to the European circuit, and this can be taxing.
Reset and refocus
“Perhaps it would be different if I truly lived there full time, I don’t know. Part of me wants to judge myself for not being able to be happy there, but I guess it is what it is. Everyone is different, and I’m realizing that for me to be successful and happy, this is not the best way. The one thing I don’t want to do is to complain,” he said. “It was my choice to go, I tried as hard as I could (many years in a row), and now I’m realizing that this is not the best solution for me. So no complaining, just taking responsibility and finding new ways.
Maghalie Rochette will bikepack to the MTB world championships
Rochette said that in the past she’s always done better by going for short blocks.
“For me, I see it more as a ‘mission’ when it’s short blocks, and I can fully bring my best self to accomplish the mission…then go home, reset, retrain, and go for another mission,” the former multiple national champion said. Just coming back home, I instantly become myself again…I start having ideas, I start dreaming, I start being energized and animated. I can judge myself all I want, or I can just accept that it is what it is and make a decision or find a solution according to what I have learned and now know about myself.”
Still working on new schedule
As far as her revised schedule, she is not sure as of yet, but she knows that when she’s ready, she and David can fly back and jump right back to where they were.
“I’ll give myself the time to feel ready and when I am, I will go back. All our setup is still there. We really just pressed “pause” and we can go back anytime,”she said.
One thing Rochette is certain about, is her main focus of the year remains the same.
“The ‘cross worlds is my biggest goal in terms of performance. It is partly why I came back…I felt like if I wanted to do well, I could stay on the same path, I had to make a change,” she explained. “Other than that, my goal is to show up and bring my best self to the races, so I can finish the next races feeling like ‘whoa! This was awesome. That was truly the best Maghalie and I used all I had,’ no matter the result.”
