Maghalie Rochette is Returning to Race Pan-Ams This Weekend
We chatted with the two-time Pan-Ams champ about her decision to race this weekend
The last time we spoke with Maghalie Rochette, she was making the difficult decision to take a break and skip the World Cups following the Rochester Cyclocross weekend. When we talked with her after Rochester, Rochette said she was planning on getting blood work done to assess her fatigue and then do nothing at 100%.
When she headed back to Canada to rest, Rochette didn’t have a timetable for her return. A few days ago, she let us know that she is back on the bike, feeling better, and is going to give Pan-Ams a go.
She wasn’t expecting to race in the U.S. after the World Cups, but Pan-Ams wasn’t expected to be in the U.S., so everything about the situation is different than it was a month ago. We caught up with Rochette about her recovery and return to racing this Friday at Pan-Ams.
Interview: Maghalie Rochette on Racing 2022 Pan-Ams
Zach Schuster: My understanding is you have decided to race Pan-Ams. Can you provide some background on your decision to race there?
Maghalie Rochette: Yes! I’ll be at Pan-Ams this weekend. I took about 3 weeks completely off after Rochester since the last time we spoke. The rest did me good! My blood values came back to normal, and my energy levels did too. I then started training very gradually. So far I’ve done about 2 weeks of training. Nothing crazy and still very conservative, but I’m feeling good.
Mostly, I want to try to race and see how it goes. I want to see if I’m back to being able to push for 50 minutes in a race. But there aren’t many races left in North America this season, so the weekend at Really Rad seemed like a good place to try. I don’t want to fly all the way to Europe simply to try and come back if I’m not ready.
Zach Schuster: What are you hoping for out of this weekend's race?
Maghalie Rochette: I’m simply hoping to be able to push throughout the whole race and to be in the race. If I can push and “play” with the other racers, then I’ll have fun and I’ll be happy. I don’t even know if I’ll be racing all three days. I’ll start with Friday and see from there.
Zach Schuster: You've won twice before and if you were at full strength everyone would expect you to win. How are you planning on managing those expectations?
Maghalie Rochette: People can have all the expectations on me that they want. I can’t control that, and although it could add pressure, I choose to not listen and not add pressure on myself. I’m being careful with my own expectations. I know what kind of training I’ve done and I know I’m not at the highest level I’ve been. But I’m also keeping an open mind. Who knows, I could surprise myself! I’m excited to try.
Zach Schuster: Are you still planning on racing in Europe this season? Will Friday's race play a role in that decision?
Maghalie Rochette: I would love to, and we have vehicles and other things booked in Europe already. But my biggest goals are long-term—to come back better than I’ve ever been. So if it turns out I’m not ready, then I’ll wait and keep building more slowly.
So yes, how this weekend goes will definitely play a role, but it also is not the last chance to try. If I’m not ready now, it doesn’t mean I won’t be ready in another 3 weeks.
Zach Schuster: How has your recovery gone since we last talked? Were you able to do nothing 100%?
Maghalie Rochette: Haha yes, I mostly did nothing at 100%. It was a challenge to really do nothing and not work, but it’s been really nice and relaxing. I think I really needed that; it was nice to not have every day planned out weeks ahead of time. I could wake up in the morning and choose what I would do. Like I could decide to go see my mom and go book shopping with her. That is a luxury that literally never happens. It was nice.
Zach Schuster: I assume you have been able to ramp up your training to make this decision to race?
Maghalie Rochette: Yes and no. I ramped up a little bit, but what I’ve done is nothing compared to what I was used to doing. I did one week of 12.5 hours and one week of 14 hours, which used to be a recovery week for me. But honestly, I think that’s a good thing. I’m learning to be satisfied with fewer hours and more quality. I’m trying to ditch my ego telling me that more is always better and I’m learning to listen to myself a bit more and to rest when I’m really tired.
The nice thing is I’ve felt a lot more present in each of the sessions I’ve done. I’m able to do better quality, in terms of technique and tactical decisions and things like that. I think the power and fitness will come with time and consistency.
I’ve also gone back to working with people I used to work with years ago. Strength and conditioning and mobility professionals. I went back to doing yoga a few times per week. Those are little things for me, those are important pillars of building back properly.
This last year, I started having small nagging injuries and didn’t feel as mobile or comfortable on the bike. Starting to work with these people again, and adding those practices to my routine feel really nice and I think will be beneficial in the long term as I ramp up training more.
Zach Schuster: Was it difficult being at home and not at the races? How did you manage that?
Maghalie Rochette: It was hard for sure! I watched the first World Cup and had the biggest FOMO. But then I used it as motivation, and as a confirmation that this is really what I want to do. I have no doubt that I love this sport, but a reminder like that is nice sometimes!
At the same time, I tried not to constantly look at what other riders were doing. And instead of focusing on what I couldn’t do, I was really appreciating the things I could do. Like the luxury of being home in the fall. I was making sure to soak it all in because I know that if I go back racing and spend 3 months in Europe again, at some point I’ll dream of being home. So you know, that’s kind of a stupid thing—we always want what we don’t have! So I was making a conscious effort of appreciating what I did have.
Zach Schuster: A lot of people have been struggling with similar symptoms from illness. Do you have any advice for folks in similar shoes?
Maghalie Rochette: I think the verdict for me was that I had already been burning the candles at both ends for many many months while ignoring the signs my body was sending. So I was already super tired, and then I got Covid. I didn’t respect Covid enough and started training too soon. And that’s where my body said no more.
What happened is I ended up having super-low white blood cell counts and super-low hematocrit. As if my body tried so hard to fight an infection that it drained the white blood cells, and it then drew from the muscles to keep trying to fighting. Which would explain why I felt so exhausted and had such weak muscles.
If someone is in a similar situation, I would just say rest and give yourself some time. I made sure to eat well and rest and sleep a lot. That’s what worked for me and my values are back to normal. I even stopped working for 2 weeks with no computer work. It is scary to stop like that, but I’d say it was a great lesson for me. I’m not indestructible, and I can take days off sometimes.