She has a track record as long as her hatred of the light, the media and the promotion.
At 62, Jeannie Longo, the woman who won with 59 French championship titles, 13 world titles, one Olympic title and three Tours de France, has decided to return to battle.
She has joined the list of former coach Cyrille Guimard, who will run for the presidency of the French federation on February 27.
Still taking refuge in her house in St-Martin-le-Vinoux above Grenoble, Jeannie Longo has agreed to break her silence.
Always so sharp.
"Call me at the right time," she warned because I have to take care of my poor sick goat and it is still the most important.
"
Why did you agree to come out of retirement?
JEANNIE LONGO.
What retirement?
I continue to do small regional races, time trials or even the Masters World Championships (
Editor's note: she kept the world title in 2019 in the 60-64 age category
).
I stay in touch with people and I like interacting with others after the races.
Afterwards, at my level, it remains cramming.
The idea is to stay well in my body.
In my categories, I sometimes win.
Often these are group races with the men and some young women beat me in the sprint because I no longer want to take risks and rub in a peloton
(smile)
.
Jeannie Longo is the new time trial champion of the PACA region.
At 62, she was 1'28 ahead of Chloé Schoenenberger, 40 years her junior.
Passion ...
📷 D. Ruel (Le Dauphiné) pic.twitter.com/vLX9zVwdNx
- David Guénel (@davidguenel) September 29, 2020
What motivates you to support Cyrille Guimard's candidacy?
Because its program holds water.
Cycling clubs are lonely and nobody listens to them in the federation.
There is a leak of licensees too.
And I will tell you, I who love my tranquility so much, why I come out of my den, my wood and my mountain.
I don't like the absence of democracy.
Cyrille and his team were initially treated like narcotics just because they dared to oppose power and one thought.
And I did not like that pressure was put on clubs not to sponsor his candidacy.
There, that pissed me off.
It's been 40 years in this environment, there is cronyism.
In terms of French women's cycling, we are talking again about competing in a women's Tour de France
(Editor's note: which took place in 1984 and 2009)
.
It is nevertheless a good thing ...
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But we should never have stopped him!
Jean-Marie Leblanc, the former boss of the Tour, had said that it was too expensive.
I had fought, without it being known, to change this decision.
Today, that is missing.
There will also be a Paris-Roubaix for women, but it's folklore.
The reality of women cyclists today is that they are alone.
In the clubs, they are not priorities, far from it.
We do nothing for them.
As a result, the best almost all go abroad because there is nothing they can do here.
And there, they serve as luxury team members.
“I'm mostly annoyed by the inertia.
In the races, there are fewer and fewer volunteers ”, regrets Jeannie Longo, here in 2009./LP/Matthieu de Martignac
How to bring out the new Jeannie Longo?
By organizing stage races, especially in small categories.
There, there are no more attractions.
Let's not hide behind the success of a Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
Nothing is attractive to want to put a bib on your buttocks.
Are you angry ?
I am mostly annoyed by the inertia.
In the races, there are fewer and fewer volunteers.
Organizers bring their families!
Some will retort that French cycling is doing well since the world champion is French ...
Precisely, we are hiding behind Alaphilippe.
It brings freshness but it's dishonest to boast of its title.
The Federation has nothing to do with its success.
Do you like Julian Alaphilippe's runner style?
Of course, a guy who attacks from the first stage of the Tour reminds me of someone
(smile)
!
I like to see him run on instinct.
When he feels good, he rushes without calculation and takes the jersey.
This is the bike that I love.
A Romain Bardet, for example, is more cerebral.
Today, we suffer from excessive technology where everything is calculated.
There is also another problem in France, we did not lose interest in the time trial for a long time, unlike the Anglo-Saxons and we are paying the price to hope to win the Tour.
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What if Julian Alaphilippe was running soon for a French team?
Do we like French runners enough in France?
Here, we like to shoot the best just to make noise.
Not just in sports.
Look what's going on with Professor Raoult now.
I take responsibility for everything I say.
Jesus said:
I hate the lukewarm
.
The day I am lukewarm, I will be devastated and resigned.
Since the Covid, many people are giving up.
There are also plenty of cycling clubs that will not vote for the elections.
And I'm afraid that the people in power will be re-elected by minority yes-yes people.
Will your choice to show up on a list make you talk more?
I'm just afraid of the caricature.
I don't like words and prefer sentences.
Sometimes we just debate a single word.
This is why I like to write.
What is your life like today?
To think a lot and put things on paper.
I have been working on a book for years but which does not advance to the despair of my poor publisher!