Cycling. “Still room for improvement”, says Thomas Denis before the Track World Championships

Track World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Team pursuit, Wednesday and Thursday

The goal will be to make at least one medal, at least like last year. We did a Nations Cup and a European Championship where the Italians were, and every time we were stronger than them. From what has been seen in recent meetings, Italy is not at the highest level, perhaps it is in crisis after the Tokyo Olympics. There the question will be non-Europeans: Australians and New Zealanders, who are very strong in this discipline.

We will see it this week! In the last few matches we have won the Glasgow World Cup and the last European Championships without much preparation, even if we didn’t get there with a flower in our guns. There, with long-term work cycles, we get really ready. We still have room for improvement for the 2024 Games, but in any case we are getting to the heart of the matter. The Paris Games will only be once in our lifetime, so if we are not ready then we will never be. All means are implemented to be ready.

Does being part of a professional road team (Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole) for two seasons also help you on the track?

Roubaix’s goal was to bring the riders to the track, already to help us socio-professionally. Having a salary allows us to keep track of the activity, it was clear from the beginning. Racing with the professionals on the road was used to change the coats, it was a nice change: they took us to the track and we, too, take them a bit on the road.

How is the reconciliation of the two disciplines organized on a daily basis?

There are times when I will really focus my preparation on the road and very specific times on the track where we will train, compete, at altitude … These are quite intense weeks where we work on team pursuit.

In Roubaix, having two teammates who are also part of the French pursuit team

is it an advantage?

With Valentin we were already teammates in the Vendée U and before we were already together at the French pole of Bourges. Thomas Boudat, he’s the same, I’ve known him from a very young age. We had lost sight of each other, he was with the pros and I was an amateur. And anyway, we see each other very often, we train once or twice a month on the track. So it’s good that we’re together, but it’s not Roubaix who makes the French team cohesive on the track.