Junior world champion Léo Bisiaux: “After the Cyclo-Cross World Championships I think of Baby Giro and Tour de l’Avenir”

Niels Bastiaens •
Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 1:55 PM

Interview He is world champion, but has not been able to compete once in his rainbow jersey. The 18-year-old top talent Léo Bisiaux does not care. Although he realizes that his level will have to improve if he wants to compete for prizes again in Tábor. “Sometimes I also have to take enough rest and think about the road season,” says Bisiaux in conversation with CyclingFlits.

His World Cup triumph in Hoogerheide meant Bisiaux’s last ever cross as a junior. Since October he has been competing among the U23s, and sometimes – like Saturday in Hulst – even among the pros. But even for a boy who once fell into a barrel full of talent, that step is not easy to bridge.

“It is mainly the longer duration of the promising crosses, compared to those for the juniors, that bothered me,” says Bisiaux. “In the last fifteen minutes I often felt the light go out. I don’t think it’s illogical that I needed an adjustment period. Week after week I feel myself getting stronger, and I gain the strength to persevere to the end. Just in time, with the championships in mind (laughs). I already feel more than ready for that.”

Tom Pidcock
Apart from Coupe de France matches, his list of results so far has not looked too impressive. See you… two weeks back in Namur. “It was my first time on the podium in a World Cup with the U23s. Not by chance there, because I love the course in Namur. Perhaps the most difficult circuit of the season, with many long climbs. That suits me well.”

Moreover, Bisiaux realized something unique there. Only nine riders have already reached the podium of a World Cup cross as first-year prospects. “I’ve seen that list too, yes. Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, they are all on it. It’s nice to be on that same shortlist now. Those guys perform whatever I want to do. They prove that it is quite possible to combine the cross and road, even though they are looking more and more at the road program.”

“I personally believe very strongly that cyclocross racing can help make yourself a better road cyclist,” says Bisiaux. “I’m a climber. By nature I have difficulty with short climbs and quick attacks uphill. The cross helps me to sharpen my explosiveness, and thus makes me a better climber. I live in the Massif Central and train in the mountains almost every day. I want to continue to focus on that, just like Pidcock does. I am perhaps closest to him.”

The gambits
On the road, the Frenchman has an even greater journey of discovery. Although last year as a first-year junior he was already on the podium at the European Championships on the road. Last road season he was partying in the Junior Three Days and difficult stage races such as the Giro della Lungiana and the GP Rüebliland, for example for INEOS Grenadiers talent Theodor Storm.

“I was already able to complete a nice summer program with the U19 team of AG2R Citroën. But it’s actually just starting now with their U23 team. The Baby Giro, Tour de l’Avenir and the U23 World Cup will be major goals, and then we will have a better idea of ​​where I stand at international level. Only then will I dare to think about a professional contract. And in the cross? Only the World Cup counts, but then I will have to continue to grow. Immediately afterwards I take a rest again and focus on the road.”