(Montreal) Raphaël Gagné ended his career as a high-level mountain bike athlete in 2021 after around fifteen years on the international scene. Olympic Games, Pan American Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, he ticked all the boxes of the most important events in his sport as an athlete.
Gagné had been working with the Quebec team for two years as coach, but he officially took the reins at the start of 2023. And he feels in his place as he explained last week, live from the resort of Snowshoe, Virginia, where he accompanied his squad to the penultimate World Cup of the season.
“It’s fun! I feel I have the trust and respect of my coaching colleagues and my nomination has been very well received by the athletes, their parents and their coaches. I take my bearings and I have a certain freedom in the vision I have of the Quebec team. I can bring my flavor and that’s what the world wants. »
What is Raphaël Gagné flavor?
Implement projects where the next generation of Quebecers can take the time to flourish. He cites as an example a trip to Fayetteville, North Carolina, last spring, where his charges took part in three American circuit events to cut their teeth. The coach preferred to stretch the stay over two weeks instead of just one, in order to do more quality training rather than maximizing race starts in a minimum of days.
Reducing the pressure and adding a human flavor is his new objective.
“It’s not performance at all costs, because I think athletes already put enough pressure on themselves. Yes, we want them to be serious and focused, but I tell them to enjoy what they do in training and the places they go,” he continues.
Gagné will of course be present next Sunday, along the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup course, but rather as a neutral coach, because up-and-coming Quebec athletes will be able to count on the support of their clubs and their personal coaches. .
If the weather forecasts predicting more than 20 millimeters of rain on Saturday and Sunday prove true, the course at the Quebec resort promises to be even tougher for the four cross-country races on Sunday. The world elite also faced muddy, rainy and cold conditions at the Andorra stage a few weeks ago.
“I rely on the resilience of the athletes so that it does not pose any problem,” believes the coach.
The Rio Games Olympian continued to climb the ranks of his new profession over the years. From being a technical instructor last year at Sentiers du Moulin in Lac-Beauport, he was invited to be part of the Canadian team’s companions at the last Pan American Championships and World Championships by his former teammate of the national team and medalist. bronze at the Rio Games, she also became a coach, Catharine Pendrel.
“Catharine is a good mentor. As an athlete, I was very curious and often asked other coaches for second or third opinions and my coach was comfortable with that. I ask questions to a lot of people. »
Another coach with whom he keeps in touch is his friend Marie-Ève Boulianne, who does not work in the mountain biking industry, but within the Canadian alpine ski team.
“She is a good reference, both in my human, logistical and performance choices. She is a girl who is super curious and who asked me many, many questions when I was an athlete. Now we share the same professional role, but in two different worlds. »
The last and not least who advises him is his wife Viviane Favery Costa, assistant coach of the Quebec team, also a former high-level athlete.
“We’re really racking our brains on how we can help athletes improve technically. »
Like when he was an athlete, Gagné wants to continue to improve.
“Having done a one-year cycle, I think I will be able to take everything to another level, both my coaching and planning, next year to allow the athletes to get closer to the national team. I feel like I belong! It’s really beautiful and fun to give back to a sport that has given me so much. »
