‘It was a magical moment’: BMX gold medalist Joris Daudet gets hero’s welcome in Bordeaux

2024-08-08 16:41:52

At 11 a.m., the car carrying Joris Daudet, who won the Olympic BMX in front of two other tricolor players, Sylvain André and Sylvain André, six days ago, pulled up in front of the Aubiers BMX Stadium, where about 300 people were waiting for the autograph session. Tournament title. When the France cap was turned upside down, Saint-Tonguet of the Stade de Bordeaux walked out holding the hand of his 5-year-old son Jeter.

Ethan from the Cavernack Club was first in line. This little student has been here since 8:30 in the morning, and he was asked to sign his jersey and posters…

At 11 a.m. the car carrying Joris Daudet, who six days earlier had won the Olympics in front of two other tricolor players, Sylvain André and Sylvain André, pulled up in front of the Aubiers BMX Stadium where about 300 people were waiting for the autograph session. BMX competition title. When the France cap was turned upside down, Saint-Tonguet of the Stade de Bordeaux walked out holding the hand of his 5-year-old son Jeter.

Ethan from the Cavernack Club was first in line. The young trainee had been there since 8:30 in the morning and had 500 copies of his jersey and poster printed by the Bordeaux team. It’s the epitome of patience, the first quality that comes to mind when considering the fate of your idol.

model of resilience

Already a favorite at London 2012, the three-time BMX world champion showed rare strength of character to overcome all disappointments and finally make it to the top after his fourth Olympics at the age of 33. On the Olympic medal podium. “It was crazy,” recalls Mickaël Clerté, a consultant for French television, and the coterie was filled with excitement at this exciting and great moment. “In Tokyo, Joris was third in the final when he slipped on the last corner. In London we saw a lot of falls. There were some jumps that took turns and caused funnels. In Evelyn St. Quentin, they have four separate straight lines, no chicanes, these things cause friction and it makes these movements exciting »

The national BMX athlete hails from Biganos, where he lives, and is easily identifiable with his haircut, with the sides shaved, mimicking the bronze medalist’s hairstyle. “During the qualifying rounds, I said on the live broadcast to Christian Chopin, who was commentating on the event, that if a Frenchman became an Olympic champion, I would let Romain Mathieu advance. » He accepted the challenge and even dyed his hair into a purple, reminiscent of the color of the Girondins of Bordeaux, though without contact “When you wash your hair, it turns lavender, like the 2024 Paris Olympics. “


Joris Daudet with his parents and French TV BMX consultant Mickaël Clerté.

Claude Petit/SO

Among the crowd gathered in front of the Stade de Bordeaux were the parents of 1983 French endurance champion Joris Daudet, Isabelle and Ketty. “Joris has always been a great athlete at heart,” the mother said, her voice still clear. “He didn’t get out much. He was watching TV. As a kid, he wanted to be Gerald Holtz. He learned to ride a bike and ski early. His dad wanted him to race motocross. But for me It was impossible. At the age of 6, at the Bicross Club Saintais, they saw his potential in our cul-de-sac in Boussac-sur-Charente and his father installed it for him out of logs and boards. Bumps »

Bruno Ripault, former president of Sants, today chairs the BMX section of the Stade de Bordeaux, organizers of a celebration organized in honor of its most famous franchisee. “Joris came to Saint-Jean-d’Angely with us as a cadet to attend, together with his coach Jean-Christophe Tricard, the BMX Performance Center created in 2008 in the Creps de Bordeaux-Talence, which later became the Federation’s New Hope Center – The Aquitaine region, which is managed by our club, is a leader that I have known since he was 10 years old and we created this structure with the idea that Joris would come there.

“Joris remains who he is, very humble and above all very friendly. He will not change.

In front of the microphone of the stadium, Bruno Ripault enlightened those in the know, when passing on the injury he mentioned that “we hide the injury from everyone, so as not to bring comfort to the souls of the opponents”. A source confirmed: “Three or four weeks before the Olympics, I fell while training. My shoulder was injured again where it was injured in February. »

Olympic champion Joris Daudet took first place in the BMX competition on Friday 2 August.


Olympic champion Joris Daudet took first place in the BMX competition on Friday 2 August.

Mauro Pimentel/AFP

But this is all ancient history. The Olympic champion simply had to enjoy himself surrounded by admirers before returning to the capital for the closing ceremony. “There were inevitably frustrating moments over the years, but I questioned myself and tried not to make the same mistakes,” he reflects. I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time. This is a magical moment. »

However, at the finish and on the podium, he was the least enthusiastic of the three. “I didn’t really realize it at the time,” he said with a smile. Just thirty-one seconds of effort requires years of training. » His mother admired this aspect of his character: “Joris has always been a bit humble. He remains the same, very humble and above all very friendly. He does not change. »

What’s the impact?

The president of the Bordeaux BMX club said the French club’s membership has increased by “10 to 20%” since Beijing BMX was included in the Olympic program in 2008 and he expects to “manage a huge influx of new members” September . The ideal goal of his club is to have a track that meets international standards with a starting gradient of 8 meters and a starting gradient of 3 meters in Aubiere (preferably Bordeaux Lac) in order to create a cycling centre.

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