Clément Braz Afonso entered a whole new world last winter: the WorldTour. By joining the Groupama-FDJ cycling team, the 25-year-old puncher reached the elite of cycling and has been enjoying it for several months. He agreed to tell us about his experience throughout the year through a Road Diary. This is the third episode.
The last blogpost concluded with a successful weekend in Franche-Comté. After that, I took advantage of being in this part of France to spend some time in Montbéliard, where I did my studies. I recharged my batteries, ate some good cheese, and then got back into training for the races in Brittany, where the goal was to have fun with a solid team. On a side note, I landed in Rennes thinking I’d arrived, but I hadn’t. There was still a three-hour drive to get to the hotel. That was a little surprise. In the first race, the Boucles de l’Aulne, I was able to break away in the final, Valentin also gave it a go, then we tried to position Lewis as best we could for the sprint. He played it really well and scored his first professional victory. At that point in the season, I had only missed Romain’s victory in the Ardèche Classic. Tom [Donnenwirth] had witnessed all five victories! We joked about it, saying that he had to be there for us to win. It’s always great to experience victory. You don’t really get used to it. In Franche-Comté, people may have seen that I was still a bit “hysterical” after Guillaume’s wins, because it’s always an amazing feeling. You have to take advantage of these moments, because as I once said in the debriefing, we won’t win every weekend.
“Simple things can sometimes be costly”
On the Tour de Finistère, my goal was to position Thibaud until the corner with 400 metres to go. I remember I found a space to move up, but Lewis attacked at that moment, and I obviously stopped my effort a bit. When the pace increased again, I was no longer in the right flow, and I boxed-in Thibaud a little. In the end, Lewis was outsprinted by Aubin Sparfel, but it could also have worked out. On the Grand Prix du Morbihan, things didn’t go very well for the team. I tried again to position Thibaud as best I could in the final. Tom was also well placed, but it didn’t work out, which can sometimes happen. After the race, I was called for doping control, and it took ages. There was a Spanish rider in front of me, and I don’t think they had any information on him because it took them forever to get the paperwork done. We left the finish quite late with Axel Beaugendre, a team assistant, and there was again a huge amount of time to get back to the hotel. We got there at 9 p.m. and all my teammates had finished eating. I still had time to debrief with the team directors to discuss what we could improve, which is something I really like doing.
After Brittany, my coach David Han told me we were going to do a week of basic endurance to assimilate the first part of the season. I wasn’t too familiar with this process, but I thought: “great!” I won’t say it’s holidays, but you ride without mental pressure, without exercise, and you have time during the day to do something else. It allowed me to recover well, even if this week was punctuated by two small inconveniences. The first was at the top of the Col de la Madone, when I was with my friend Yaël Joalland. I wanted to put my sleeveless jacket back on, I let go of my handlebars, and when I was about to lean on it again, I hit a stone with my wheel and my hands didn’t land in the right place. I couldn’t break and I went straight into the rocks. I didn’t crash, but I grazed my forearm pretty badly. It reminds you that cycling is a dangerous sport, and that simple things can sometimes be costly. On a more amusing note, during a ride in Nice, I found myself next to a scooter at a red light. The rider had his helmet visor up, I thought for a few seconds, and then I said, “Gérard Holtz?” “Yes.” The light turned green, I continued on my way, but I hoped he’d catch up. I wanted to chat for a few seconds and take a selfie. He’s someone who really left his mark on my childhood with the Tour de France and Stade 2. We met at the next red light, took a selfie, and he was super nice. He’s a proper cycling fan. He also asked me where I was going to ride that day. It was really nice to chat with him, even if it was just for a short while.
“I had never really proven anything on long climbs”
I continued training during that week, then headed to Corrençon-en-Vercors on May 22nd. I was invited to a training camp organized by FDJ, along with about twenty of their staff and colleagues. I was there to follow them during their ride with Baptiste Grégoire. We rode with them on Friday afternoon, and it was a great time. I’m very much into human contact in general, and I thrive on meeting with new people. They were happy that we were there, that we were following them, that we were pushing them. It was a very interesting exchange because they also have things to say about their work. Talking with other people for two days, feeling their passion, it’s quite refreshing and does a lot of good mentally. Yvon Caër had told me in advance that I would be the leader on the Mercan’Tour Classic. I was happy. It was kind of a reward for what I had done in the start of the season. There was little pressure, but I didn’t feel illegitimate. I thought that if I had good legs, I could be among the best of the squad we had there. I mentally prepared for this role, and it did me good to get back to it after doing it a lot in Nantes last year.
I was just a little stressed because I had never really proven anything on long climbs in racing, despite what my size might suggest. The race got intense on the Col de la Couillole, and the final climb to Valberg was a real test of courage. Tom did a great job that day. At the top of La Couillole, I even told him to save some energy, because I felt like he was maybe stronger. We discussed it afterward. He fully committed to this role of domestique, and he wasn’t mentally ready to give it his all until the finish line. Given his work, I had to give everything and get a result. On the one hand, eighth place is satisfying because I didn’t have any references on this type of profile. I could have cracked after ten kilometers as well! On the other hand, the level wasn’t extremely high, so finishing eighth isn’t incredible either. Maybe I’m being hard on myself. Anyway, if I finished eighth that day, it’s because I couldn’t have done better.
The real goal was to be in very good shape for the Critérium du Dauphiné, which is an important race for the team. It was a bit of a dream for me to be there, especially for my first year in the WorldTour. As I have been since the beginning of the season, I was keen to give my all to help the team. They were especially expecting me to support Guillaume on the harder stages and I wanted to show them that they could count on me. With David [Han], we had decided to fine-tune the preparation by doing a few big sessions, including a six-hour ride with more than 4,000 meters of climbing to prepare for the big mountain stages. I also went to the sauna to prepare for the heat. It wasn’t a walk in the park, but it had to be done. I divided my thirty-minute session into two, and when I started the second part, I only hoped that someone would come in, because I was feeling like time was passing slowly. Finally, an older man came in, we chatted, and the session went by much faster. The start of the Dauphiné offered a few stages for sprinters, where I tried, despite my size, to help the team. I’m not the best fit for this job, but with my determination, I tried to be there to position Clément and Paulo as best as possible.
“I set my one-hour power record in La Madeleine”
We entered the mountains on Friday, and I really had a very difficult stage that day. I tried to join the breakaway at the start, I was in the mix for a while, but it went without me, and I found myself in second line with the peloton blocking the road. I was out of my mind. I was fuming inside. I wanted to force my way through, but I couldn’t put everyone in danger. You have to deal with it, it’s part of the peloton’s habits, but it’s still frustrating. Honestly, I was gutted. Afterwards, we rode really fast, we weren’t well positioned at the foot of Mont-Saxonnex, and we just suffered. I blamed myself personally because I think I’m usually someone who can feel this kind of move. That day, we got caught off guard by Visma-Lease a Bike, who went full gas approaching the climb. The bunch was in one line, and it was impossible to move up. We blamed ourselves for it, but Guillaume fortunately limited the damage. He was very strong, because there were some big splits right from the bottom. You had to be very strong, mentally and physically, to get back into the first group. That day was a good wake-up call for us. In hindsight, it perhaps helped me to have the weekend I had. I wanted to redeem myself and I wanted even more to be in the breakaway the next day.
On Saturday, that was all I had in mind. I was asked to try to be with Guillaume in the valley before the last climb, and the only way I could do that, given the level of the field in this race, was to be in the breakaway. I remember this was a strong start. I tried once, and I found myself with Matteo Jorgenson at the front. I was furious. I wanted to tell him, “Let it go, you know very well they’re not going to let you get away!” We got caught, and I tried again several times. I knew Jordan Jegat wanted to be in front that day because we had spoken before the start. At one point, a group went away, and he said, “Let’s go!” I told him I needed to recover, but he went for it, and I followed him without further hesitation. I was really struggling, we managed to get back in front, but it wasn’t until the top of the Col de la Madeleine that we started to get a good gap. To give you an idea, I set my one-hour power record on La Madeleine. It was a very solid effort, and I was really happy to be there. I surpassed myself to be in front, but if Jordan hadn’t been there to tell me to go for it, I might have caught my breath and missed the move.
In the Col de la Croix de Fer, Guillaume attacked from the peloton to anticipate the favourites. He came back to us 5-6 kilometres from the summit, I took a pull so we could try to take a small gap, but the peloton rode super-fast behind. They closed 1’30 in ten minutes. I wasn’t able to keep up with Guillaume’s small group, which went off towards the summit, I found myself in-between and my goal was to be caught by the yellow jersey group as late as possible to start the descent with them. I was caught 500 metres from the summit, and there I said to myself: mission accomplished. On a side note, we saw on TV that Ivan Romeo got angry with me on the downhill. Basically, I let myself slip in the back to get some bottles, he was on my wheel and didn’t see the split. I think everyone was a bit on the limit at that point, and he got a little angry. He patted me on the back, and I didn’t react. I did make a slight split without warning, but I think he reacted a bit violently for what it was. I then supported Guillaume to the bottom of the final climb. I tried to follow UAE’s pace, thinking “you never know,” but I gave up after ten minutes because I was already quite tired.
“I received a message: Congratulations Clément, you’re becoming a good bike rider”
I decided to take my own pace. At first, I took a good tempo because I’d had a great day, and it was worth finishing it in a good way. Then, I ran into Romain Bardet, who had put on a great performance that day. There were still ten kilometres left and I decided that I would rather ride with him than be that guy who rides alone full gas until the finish line. Besides, I had no real interest in doing that, especially since there was another big stage the next day. So I spent the end of the climb with him, and it was a great moment. Romain is definitely a guy who influenced my youth. He is one of those French riders who left their mark on my generation. Being able to share those kilometers with him, seeing everyone shout his name, thank him, congratulate him on his career, that was incredible. On that climb, there were maybe two thousand “Allez Romain” and one or two “Allez Clément.” I laugh about it, but he obviously deserved it. I remember crossing the finish line with him, seeing his smile, hearing everyone cheering him on. It was a great moment of sports. Hats off to this legend for his career. It was a pleasure to share the end of the race with him.
I had a blast from start to finish that day. My goal was to join the breakaway and help Guillaume in the valley, which I managed to do. After the Croix de Fer, I told him I was a bit at the limit but that I was there if he needed anything. He said, “Look around, there are only about twenty of us left. It’s amazing that there are two of us in the group and that you managed to hold on.” I realized at that point that I was doing something nice. In the evening, during the massage, I received this text message: “Congratulations Clément, you’re becoming a good bike rider.” The number wasn’t saved in my phone book, but I guessed it was someone I knew. I replied, “Good evening, who is it?” I didn’t save your number, sorry.” I received a laughing smiley with the message “Professional error.” I didn’t worry too much, and I also replied with a laughing smiley. Ten seconds later, I received: “So?” I realized there was something off. I went to check the number’s profile on WhatsApp. It was Marc Madiot. I burst out laughing on the massage table, while telling myself: “You’re really stupid, Clément, the boss of the team!!” If there’s a number you need to save at Groupama-FDJ, it’s Marc Madiot. I thanked him eventually, he called me, and we chatted for five minutes. When you receive this kind of message, you also realize that the team is pretty happy with what you do.
On the last stage, the goal was again to get into the breakaway. We reacted a bit late to try and put Guillaume in the front, and we didn’t succeed. But I’ll remember that day for a very, very long time. It eased off completely for five minutes, at 25-30 km/h, then Uno-X took command and suddenly it started to ride flat out, with a ¾ tailwind. There were small splits, we were riding on the edge of the road, and I realized that it was going to be like that until the end… I had one of my most intense days on the bike. It was just exploding from behind, it never settled down, and I remember that I was waiting for the climbs to “rest” because it was going so fast on the flat. Everyone was just riding full gas. I thought I’d crack several times, but I hung on until the last climb to support Guillaume. It was so hard, honestly. I had a similar day on the Tour of the Basque Country, where I struggled to get back to the bunch with the bottles because it was going so fast. It was the same. In fact, I remember moving to the right to grab a bottle on the last climb. I lost three meters, I couldn’t stand on the pedals anymore, so I tried to manage my effort, but I never managed to come back. That’s when you remember what the WorldTour tempo is.
“On the championship, everything has to come together on the day”
My twenty-third place overall isn’t a relevant result in itself, but it shows that I was consistent and never far behind. The main thing was to be there on the mountain stages to help Guillaume and to also give my all on the sprint stages. I really take a lot of positives from this week. It wasn’t my first WorldTour race, but it was still a whole other level with the biggest name being there. They don’t leave much to the others, but we try to find our happiness elsewhere. We know going into the Dauphiné that we’re not going to win it, but we have our own goals, and we focus on that. We can be satisfied with Guillaume’s overall top 10 finish, Paul’s results in the sprints, Rémi’s 7th place in the time trial, and Brieuc’s breakaway. Everyone contributed in their own way, and I think we had a great Dauphiné. For my part, I’m progressing at my own pace. I’m already satisfied with what I’ve achieved in my first season at this level. Every one of us improves at some point. We’ll see what the future holds, but I’m trying to do my job as best I can.
After the Dauphiné, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my girlfriend and friends. It’s different from last year because I’m not racing every weekend. It allows me to recharge my batteries, have little evenings out, and it’s quite enjoyable. The Dauphiné also represents a huge workload over eight days, and the goal was mainly to recover and assimilate it. As David often tells me, it’s during the recovery phases that I’m going to reach new steps this year. I then got back on track for the French championship. I know it’s a very important event for the team, and that it comes with a lot of pressure for the leaders. The championship is sometimes a lottery. Everything has to come together on the day: shape, tactics, and a bit of luck. I hope we’ll have a solid squad to influence the race and allow the team to bring home this jersey. It’s an exciting prospect, because winning is always incredible, but helping a teammate bring home the national jersey is something else! I had a good championship last year, but in the CIC U Nantes Atlantique’s jersey, my competitors didn’t ask much of me. Today, I have a new jersey and it’s a whole different race, and a whole different tactic.
“It’s nice to be able to give back to those who believed in us”
I wanted to conclude this third episode with a more personal thought. I was delighted that my parents made the trip for the first stages of the Dauphiné. For them also, it’s incredible to witness what I’m living. I saw it in their eyes, in their smiles. When they see Van der Poel or Pogacar passing by, they realize that I’ve reached another level and that this is a new dimension. These are no longer the Amateur races they used to come to see me at two years ago. I think they’re happy and proud of what’s happening to me. It’s also fun when former colleagues write to me to say, “What you’re doing today is great, it’s wonderful that you’ve made it this far.” It gives me a lot of strength; I feed on that a lot. I feel like some people can experience things because of me, and that’s also why I love to do this Road Diary. It’s really great to see my friends get excited when they see me on TV or hear the commentators talk about me. I’m a bit in my own bubble, I keep my feet on the ground, but I realize that they’re also experiencing something through me.
It’s always a real pleasure to receive a call every Monday from one of my first coaches. It’s always a real pleasure to receive a message from one of my professors at engineering school, who has been following me from the beginning, who always believed in me, and who once told me: “You’ll be a good rider.” It’s really nice to make people feel excited, and especially to be able to give back to those who believed in us, and show them that we also got where we are thanks to them. This professor invested his time and energy to make sure I had an adjusted schedule. Similarly, my coach would take me to races when I was a U17, when I would get cramps after fifty kilometers and finish fortieth. He was sixty years old, and he was still doing it out of pure passion. So I want to use this platform to send a global thank you to all the people I met during my school and cycling careers. They all had an influence, more or less significant, on the rider and the man I became.
