An emotional Offredo spoke candidly about his farewell to the French sports newspaper L’Equipe. That goodbye comes after a persistent injury that has haunted him for years. “I couldn’t tell people that I had quit, I’m still in denial,” he says.
Offredo sustained a serious ankle injury in the GP Denain in March 2019, where he even suffered local paralysis. Recovery was difficult and the Frenchman never returned to his old level. This year’s Omloop het Nieuwsblad was his last competition.
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“I’ve often heard that it is like a part of you dies when you stop as a pro,” says an emotional Offredo. “To me that always sounded abstract. After all, as a rider you sit with your head between your handlebars. I would like to talk about it, but I don’t have that many real friends in the peloton.”
With his testimony, Offredo touches on a sensitive subject: depression in cycling. Recently Marcel Kittel and Peter Kennaugh also stopped after mental problems. “I feel depressed, but most riders hide behind their emotions,” said Offredo.
“It remains a taboo in cycling. Many try to keep up appearances. They don’t want to express their emotions. I am often sad in the morning because I lose contact with my emotions. Sometimes I can barely sleep and I become Woke up crying in the morning. “
“I was a rider. I loved the pain, I loved the cold. If I was knocked down, I would be up again. But as a person, who am I now? I have to find a new purpose in my life.”
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Offredo turned pro in 2008 with Française des Jeux. The attacking Frenchman was soon known as a talent in spring work, but a real breakthrough would never succeed.
In 2011 he achieved his best results, with top ten places in Milan-San Remo, Omloop het Nieuwsblad and the Bretagne Classic. A year later, he was suspended after irregularities in his whereabouts.
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