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Tokyo Olympics: how the pistarde Mathilde Gros prepared in Japan, a country where keirin is king

2021-08-04T14:08:13.967Z


The tricolor cyclist, who starts this Thursday on the keirin, has already made two long stays in Japan. What allowed him to better understand


Two and a half months in 2018. A little more in 2019. Mathilde Gros, 22, did not skimp on internships in Japan to immerse herself in the Olympic bath in advance.

The tricolor pistarde, who sets off this Wednesday on the keirin, has done well.

Despite the particular context, she was not too disoriented when she disembarked at Izu, where the track cycling events are held.

She had indeed already raced in the Velodrome des Jeux.

And discovered the keirin school which adjoins the site.

A real institution.

“It reminded me a bit of the army,” she says.

The respect that reigns there is impressive.

You had to pass an exam in English, strict, with precise rules, to be able to compete.

Without a trainer, without a family, it's a real journey on oneself.

The former basketball player, who fell into the bike before the 2016 Olympics, has discovered another way of understanding her sport.

"I also learned the culture, their way of life"

“There is an extraordinary craze among the Japanese for keirin,” says the Provençale.

I quickly understood that there were women who did that, who were mothers, three children, and whose salary depended on the place they did.

There are a lot of bets on races.

For them, it's not the same to finish second or to miss the grand final.

On all races, they go to the end.

"

A learning the hard way very formative.

“They try technical and tactical things when they're not the strongest, they always want to try something.

Seeing that, I said to myself:

there are days you won't be in good shape, you'll have to deal with it.

You can't just rely on leg strength because sometimes that doesn't work.

And if the Games don't work, we have to go beyond it and find another path.

"

Heavy !

The French Mathilde Gros offers herself gold on the keirin!

🇫🇷🥇https: //t.co/OOSP3723vb



Follow the European Championships on Eurosport 👉 https://t.co/sZZSQQGkIn pic.twitter.com/NH8JNKgFkR

- Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) August 7, 2018

The various competitions and the days off allowed the blue-white-red sprinter to discover the country.

Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima… “I also learned about the culture, their way of life,” she explains.

It is true that it is surprising for us.

If you cross when the little pedestrian guy is red, everyone will stare at you!

It's even a bit too much for us sometimes.

"

"Exiled" 130 km from the athletes' village

Like all her comrades in the France team since the start of the events, Mathilde is frustrated by the absence of foreign spectators. But unlike the closed door in the Tokyo region, the Japanese can attend the events in reduced tonnage. “It had been two years that my relatives were preparing this trip, she breathes. It's important to have them with me, they serve as a benchmark. I work with a mental trainer and he has helped me a lot to prepare the ground. I placed mine in visualization in my head. That way, I will still feel a familiar atmosphere and it will be great. "

For her discovery of the great Olympic barnum, the Frenchwoman is not unhappy to have been exiled near the cycling facilities, 130 km from the athletes' village. "It looks more like Worlds and it's not bad to handle the pressure," she smiles. I don't know how the local runners will react to the conditions but it is such pride for them to represent their country that they will be transcended. I put myself in their shoes. If we were in Paris, whether there are zero, one hundred or three thousand people, it is at my place. I must show that I am above! "

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-08-04

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