(Montreal) Cyclist Pier-André Côté is having a turbulent year in 2023: a broken hand at the start of the season, a continental championship title, a withdrawal from the World Championships after contracting COVID-19 and, most recently, the announces that his team, Human Powered Health, will close the books at the end of this campaign.
This news couldn’t come at a worse time for him, as the majority of World Tour teams have just wrapped up their rosters for the 2024 season.
“If you haven’t started discussions by early August, you’re already late.” I hadn’t done a lot of steps, because before stretching poles to the teams, I was waiting to have a good one (race) in July in Europe, “admits Côté, who is playing his fifth season with the American formation.
“Finally, COVID-19 changed the plans a little bit,” he continued. I was really appreciated in my team and if I stayed with them, I would have been happy. So I was not stressed. It’s a quarter to midnight there. »
If the announcement of the end of his team had been known a week or two earlier, Côté could well have joined his former teammate Nickolas Zukowsky at Q36.6 Pro Cycling Team next year. The cyclist has also just extended his two-year contract with the Swiss team, which has in its ranks a former sports director of Human Powered Health, well aware of the value and qualities of Côté.
He adds that he is reassured to see that he retains a good reputation in the European peloton, even if this has not yet translated into a contractual offer.
“It’s not just a fret and dry no. The people I talk to, they want to make sure I ride the bike in 2024 to maybe pick me up in 2025. It’s just timing. »
Despite this combination of circumstances, Côté does not blame his bosses who maintained their team for 17 years, which served as a springboard for several North American hopefuls before making the leap to Europe. Many Quebecers have passed through its ranks like Zukowsky, David Veilleux and Guillaume Boivin, but also big names in the international peloton, including Michael Woods, Sepp Kuss or Brandon McNulty.
“It’s still early to announce a team closure and they were as respectful as possible. As soon as they threw in the towel, we knew it. It gives us time to turn around, but you have to get active. […] The one who defends me the most is the manager Jonas Carney. He goes at bat for me left and right. He does it out of respect, because he wants to see me succeed. »
COVID prevented Côté from being at the recent World Championships presented in Scotland, except that his work done upstream is not lost.
“Indeed, it’s bad luck on top of bad luck, but at least my season is still going well,” the 26-year-old drops out with a dejected laugh.
As proof, he signed a sixth place on August 19 at Druivenkoers-Overijse, a Belgian category 1.1 race won by the super-combatant of the last Tour de France, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny).
“I equaled my best result in a 1.1 and this race was a real job. Campenaerts was like on a motorcycle. It ended up fragmented everywhere and it was done with the paw and I was really, really happy. The guys around me are all monsters and it’s nice to see that I’m starting to make my way through these guys, “explains the athlete from Saint-Henri-de-Lévis who will finish the Tour de Poitou-Charentes (2.1) on Friday.
The 2022 Canadian champion will return to North America to take part in a race in Maryland which will be followed by the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal. The holder of the Pan American champion jersey will ride with the Canadian team at the two Quebec races and he feels more hungry to obtain a good ranking, especially on the course of the Old Capital.
A great opportunity to ride in front of your family, but also to seduce future employers.
“I have a very good consistency, I’m always in front, versatile and puncher-roller. I can roll ahead for a teammate and have a burst of speed to launch another sprinter. What is certain is that I want to continue at least another 5-10 years. »
Perhaps he will be able to draw inspiration from another former Canadian champion, Guillaume Boivin, who, after two years in the World Tour at Cannondale, had returned to continental teams for two years. Since his return to high-level training, the 34-year-old Montrealer has taken part in three editions of the Tour de France and two of the Giro.