Q and A: Maghalie Rochette is spreading CX Fever
Canadian champion on the big season ahead, her love for 'cross and her CX Fever Fund
Canadian cyclocross champion Maghalie Rochette’s season is in full swing following the two first rounds of the World Cup in Iowa City and Waterloo. Next on the menu is the KMC Cross Fest which runs from Sept. 28 to Oct.1 in Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island.
Ahead of the second round of the 2017 UCI cyclocross World Cup in Waterloo, Canadian Cycling Magazine caught up with Rochette who enters the season with a lot of enthusiasm.
On juggling a jam-packed cyclocross schedule
Rochette’s breakthrough results last season came in Sherbrooke at nationals and at worlds in Luxembourg where she finished fifth. This season, she is once again tackling a big season with hopes of building on those results following a full season of racing mountain bikes.
Luckily for Rochette, she has her teammate Katerina Nash who has performed well in both mountain biking and cyclocross for a long time to help give her advice to balance the two disciplines.
“To be completely honest it isn’t something that I have figured out quite yet. It’s something that is a work in progress,” Rochette admitted. “Something that I will be trying this year is that I will break the season up in blocks. Big block of racing, I think I have five weeks to start off. Then a little bit of time at home to rest and train. Then another block of racing where I will be going to Europe then I’ll come back home and train.
“I think the key is to rest and train since I am also racing a full mountain bike season. If you just keep racing and racing you become really tired and can’t perform to the top of your abilities. It might work for a year but afterwards your body breaks down and you need to take that time off,” she explained.
The fun of racing cyclocross
Rochette is not shy about her enthusiasm for cyclocross. Ask her about it and her eyes light up. “I mean everything about that sport I’m just so passionate about it,” Rochette said before explaining that racing courses with obstacles on bikes with drop bars and lots of clearance is a thrill.
“I think the North American community is very close and friendly, and there is really good camaraderie with the racers and other teams,” she said about her love for the sport.
“Also just the competition, it’s short and intense and there is always something happening. You are always in the moment. The field is really strong so you always have to bring your A-game,” Rochette, who makes appearances at local and UCI races throughout North America, explained.
On the courses she feels suit her best, Rochette said ones with technical challenges such as mud are the best for her skillset. “I love the spontaneity. The fact that it can change so quickly. You can pre-ride a course three hours before and it starts pouring and 15 minutes before the race it’s completely changed so you have to be adaptable,” she said.
Rochette has CX Fever
 “I just love it, it’s hard to describe exactly what it is. It’s a fever, cyclocross fever.”
Rochette has coined a term for her overall enthusiasm for ‘cross that has taken off and even turned into a fund to support young riders.
“Cyclocross fever is just a term I started using a few years ago to express a passion and I realized pretty quickly that it’s contagious because other people said they had it,” she said. “This year I wanted to help out someone else. A younger rider to kind of give them the chance to hang out with a pro team and give them a hand to get to that next level and I thought that CX Fever was a good platform.”
With the support of her Clif Bar Team and Louis Garneau the teams apparel sponsor, Rochette has created a line of clothing will all the proceeds going towards supporting the fund. The winner of the CX Fever Grant will compete alongside Rochette and her teammates at the continental championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I am excited about it. Its going to be cool for us to hang out with her and feed off her energy and enthusiasm,” Rochette said. “I hope she will learn from the team members and just how it works to be in a professional team structure, so I am really excited about that.”
