Cycling World Championships: Argentina running to Auber for love

From the Argentine city of Salta, located at the eastern foot of the Andes Cordillera, to the Paris region, Fernanda Yapura (22) has had to overcome many obstacles.

"It's hard, every year, I want to come back", admits the selected for the World Championships of Imola (stopwatch Thursday, road race Saturday), licensed since this season in the women's team of St Michel -Auber 93. “The level is good in France, Auber is a good team with motivated girls,” explains the Argentine who notably finished 3rd in a Coupe de France round in Morteau at the beginning of September.

But his choice to come and run for a French team was also dictated by… love.

It was his companion, the Essonnian Lucas Leblond, a former amateur rider who directed him to Auber.

"She was looking for a UCI team

but as we could not find it, I contacted Sébastien Bailly (former sports director of the Auber women) who spoke about it to manager Stéphane Javalet", explains Lucas Lebond, self-employed in postural studies and cycling trainer.

Fernanda Yapura has already achieved landmark performances in the history of Argentinian women's cycling.

In 2018 in Innsbruck (Austria), she was the first Argentinian woman to complete a World Championship.

And last year, she took 6th place at the Pan-American Games, the best performance in this event for a cyclist from her country.

"In Argentina, the bicycle is very little developed among women"

“With us in Argentina, the bike is very little developed for women, there are few races, few girls at the start”, explains Fernanda, who started at the age of 10.

“My dad used to take us to ride with my siblings,” she continues.

As I liked it, we got closer to a person to compete.

"

But to fully live her passion, Fernanda had to leave her family.

She first joined the training center in Mar del Plata which brought together the best cyclists in South America.

Then spotted on tests, she joined at the age of 18, the world cycling center in Aigle (Switzerland) financed by the UCI (Union Cycliste International) and intended for riders from "small countries" (Editor's note: the Briton Froome, four times winner of the Tour, was trained there).

“Going to Europe was a must if I wanted to progress,” she explains.

But for me, everything has changed, the mentality, the food, the climate… I am also far from my family.

I've been in Europe for 4 years and I've often had ups and downs.

"

A couple's life "entirely punctuated by the bicycle"

"She has a great strength of character and a competitive spirit", underlines Lucas Leblond, who met her in 2017 while he was in training at the world cycling center as part of his Master 2 in Sports Sciences.

"His presence is very important to me, he is a great help, he supports me, thanks to him I can continue my European adventure and continue to improve myself" said Fernanda.

If Lucas admits that the life of the couple is "entirely punctuated by the bicycle", he decided not to train it while he follows several cyclists, men and women on a daily basis.

“We prefer not to mix everything up, of course I recommend her but she kept her Spanish coach,” he explains.

At the start of each season, Fernanda, who is progressing in her learning French, must renew her tourist visa to be able to compete in the European season.

In St Michel-Auber, she is just paid.

For the World Championships in Italy, the Argentinian Federation covers its expenses as well as those of the other selected, the climber Eduardo Sepulveda (Movistar).

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“Our Federation helps us a bit during the season, but it doesn't have a lot of money,” admits Fernanda.

For Argentina, what it gives us is already a lot, but on a European scale it is not enough to live.

So for her, it was an important year.

“I help her as much as possible at all levels, but we hope that she will stand out to join a UCI team or that the St Michel Auber women's team will be able to grow,” concludes Lucas Leblond.

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