[Sport] Thibaut Daprela: "See Bruni and Pierron win, it gives the temper to train and get closer to them"

[Lunix I]

 

Two-time World Junior MTB Downhill winner, 18-year-old Frenchman Thibaut Dapréla looks back on a season he has flown over before heading to the elite next year.

Two years in a row, it's perfect. It was especially good to win the last race, because I had problems with the three races before. I fell, I had a flat tire and at the world championships, I broke the derailleur. I had already won the general before the last race, but it was good to finish well. And that feeling of winning ... I love it.

You did not win a medal at the Worlds, it was a disappointment?

I could not pedal all the way down the track because of the derailleur that broke so I could not hope for a result. It would have been a miracle that the others miss (the Australian Kye A'Hern was titled, in front of the French Antoine Vidal). I did not pity myself, it will do it another time. I went through my two years of junior. Last year, I had a very bad ride. This year, the world medal was the goal. It remains a prestigious title, a race for a day, the jersey all year long. For me, it matters more to the World Cup because you have to be competitive all the time. But the world championships, it remains important.

You have been flying for two years on the junior circuit, it gives more ambitions for next year, when you will start in the elite?

Ça donne de la confiance, ça apprend à gagner et à savourer certaines choses, mais il faut aussi comparer ses temps avec ceux des élites, car ce n'est pas parce que tu gagnes tout en junior que tu vas gagner en élite. Il y a tellement un écart de niveau... il faut être solide la première année en élite, car on peut facilement ne pas faire les résultats espérés. Mais c'est vrai que ça donne l'envie de s'arracher encore plus. Car une fois qu'on a goûté à la gagne, on a envie de recommencer.