Christine Majerus will take the start of Paris-Roubaix on Saturday without personal ambition. At SD Worx, Lotte Kopecky is logically the big leader.
After Ghent-Wevelgem contested in difficult conditions, then the Tour of Flanders, in what physical condition do you arrive at the start of Paris-Roubaix?
Christine Majerus: The Tour of Flanders was okay but I think like everyone else, I still had Ghent-Wevelgem in my legs. Before Flanders, I had had a difficult week to recover and as I had chained a lot of races, I thought I would be a little tight. But in the end, I got away with it. I was happy with my work and especially with the victory for Lotte (Kopecky). With Demi (Vollering) second place, I think it was a perfect day for the team. We knew how to avoid all the pitfalls and place the right people at the right time. Lotte is so fit, I’m happy for her and for the team.
It looks like your SD Worx team has never dominated so much. In the ten years that you have been with this team, have you ever experienced such moments?
The facts are there, say exactly that. We had a great spring, I’m not one to count victories, but we have to say things as they are (Lotte Kopecky won the Het Nieuwblad, Nokere Koerse and the Tour of Flanders, Demi Vollering won on the Strade Bianche and in Through Flanders, Marlen Reusser won Ghent-Wevelgem and Lorena Wiebes won the Ronde de Drenthe and the Grand Prix de l’Escaut).
This is exceptional. We were able to protect ourselves from falls, it also provokes us to take shelter. We worked well on that side and in the end, our leaders were in very good shape from the start of the season. Which means that from race to race, we are confident and the others less so. So, we try to maintain that, but we know full well that at some point, we will still lose (she laughs). It’s sport and I don’t think it can go on like this forever. It’s very good too. We try to maintain this level and these results as long as possible.
Let’s talk about this Paris-Roubaix with, we imagine, Lotte Kopecky, great leader?
Yes, we are going there very clearly with only one leader, Lotte. I think that in recent years, we haven’t won because of that (success of Elizabeth Deignan in 2020 and Elisa Longo Borghini in 2021). We had the ambitions of too many different people, including mine. This year, it’s so clear that Lotte is the strongest. If we want to win, if we want to put all our chances so that SD Worx wins this race, it is with Lotte and with no one else. I have absolutely no argument to contradict that decision. That’s fine, I accept.
For me, I think the only thing that will change is that I won’t have to do the work for the first hundred kilometers, which is what I usually do. I’m going to ask to be able to save myself for the end, because it will take someone with her again and I hope to be the one in case something has to be done for her. As a result, I hope to be able to save myself a little at the start depending on the race, with the hope of being able to achieve a small result in the process. But the priority is very clearly to win this race after two years, where we failed.
On Roubaix, you must always continue and believe in it until the finish line, never admit defeat
There will then remain the possibility for you to make a place…
Yes, I’m not saying no, anyway the team also knows very well that it’s the race that I hold most in my heart so, if I can achieve a small result for myself… But the priority, it’s Lotte. Once I did that and she flew away (she laughs), I’m definitely not going to abdicate, put my bike on the side and wait for the gruppetto. Especially on Roubaix, you must always continue and believe in it until the finish line, never admit defeat.
As for you, it seems that you have regained all your feelings since your return to competition at the end of February…
I think that physically, I was good, even very good. I think I have regained my level before (the fall that occurred at the end of August). Where physically, I could not do what I wanted, it is in terms of sheathing and muscular reinforcement of the upper body. I am less powerful than before. I prefer to concentrate on the essential, which is the bike. On the other hand, when I resumed, I had difficulties in the peloton with taking risks. It’s been better since the Tour de Normandie where I’ve had several races. The start of the season was complicated for me in the peloton, I lost a lot of energy riding in the wind so as not to take any risks. I braked when it was not necessary. It’s starting to get better.
What will be the continuation of your program?
For this spring, Roubaix will be my last race with the team. Afterwards, I will still have races with the national team, including the Elsy-Jacobs Festival (April 29-30) and two races in Brittany, which I hope will be the Grand Prix Morbihan (May 5) and the Classique Morbihan (6 may). So it will be the end of my spring.