Lauriane Genest is very happy to perform at home for the first time since January 2020.
A bronze medalist in the keirin event at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, Genest will be in action starting Thursday at the start of the Track Cycling Nations Cup in Milton, Ontario.
“I haven’t forgotten the feeling of racing at home,” said Genest, who won gold in the team sprint with Kelsey Mitchell at the Milton World Cup in his last competition on Canadian soil. We feel like it’s our track and we feel at home, but the setting of an international event is so different from what we experience on a daily basis in training. »
Genest is ready to compete with the best. “When the head is there, the legs follow,” she illustrated. We have reduced training on the return from Glasgow and I don’t know what shape I’m going to be in, but I feel good. I have had a great start to the season, as shown by my 3rd place in the keirin in Glasgow two weeks ago. I’m happy with my result, but I’m still aiming for the top step of the podium. »
If her best results in the individual events were recorded in the keirin, the native cyclist of Saint-Damien de Bellechasse believes that she can also do well in the sprint. “I have confidence to do well in both events. My confidence and better instincts have given me success in the keirin, but I know I can do just as well in the sprint. »
Greater maturity
Coach of the Canadian sprint team, Frenchman Franck Durivaux notes significant changes at Genest since his Olympic medal.
“She’s matured a lot, a lot in her sport,” he said. She is also more confident. She has more arrows in her bow. Her launch over 200m is better and she manages her apprehensions better during duels. »
“Lauriane is more serene than a few years ago, to continue Durivaux who took the reins of the Canadian team at the 2018 worlds. She chooses better strategies and she learned a lot. I believe that she will be able to capitalize on her new skills this year. She realizes that she is capable of rehearsing against the best on the planet. They are humans like her and she knows she can beat them. The Nations Cup events are just one step towards the worlds and the Olympics, but Lauriane must stay at the top of the pack and show her opponents that she can cause them problems. »
Durivaux has no fear about Genest’s physical abilities.
“She finished 3rd in sprint qualifying in Glasgow and 4th in the worlds last year in Roubaix, which is huge. She is physically present, but she must gain tactical experience to compete with the best. »
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