Let’s rewind a bit, how did you get into mountain biking? Where did it all start for you?

I mountain biked because I was doing cross country skiing and then our coach asked us to do some mountain biking in the summer to train, and then I really liked it, and started doing one or two races. I did both for five years, and then I had some training camp for skiing in the summer and mountain biking in the winter, so I had to choose. And I decided to do more mountain biking than cross country skiing.

And if we fast forward to the present year, you’ve carved a name for yourself as an enduro specialist, winning the Megavalanche and Trans-Provence. What is it about enduro that appeals to you?

Yeah definitely. What I really appreciate is that we don’t stay on one trail over the week, when we go to a race like a seven day stage race, you go and discover a lot of different trails don’t stay on the same track. That’s something I like, you don’t have to train on the trail and know it, you don’t have to know each part of the trail, and you have to ride with your instinct, that’s mainly what I like with enduros

Do you have to be a downhill racer to be good at them, or can cross country riders compete?

I think you just have to be a good rider in the uphill and downhill, you don’t have to be a former racer in downhill or a former racer in cross country. I mean, the people come from different backgrounds, we see when people come racing at the mega they do good results, and the same way with Cedric Gracia or Steve Peat, they come to some enduro races they can do well too. Also we have some riders who are really dedicated to enduro, and they are fighting with these pro riders, and it’s a good thing for the sport. The present ratio of uphill and downhill is good, everyone can compete.