At the Omega Phama-Quick Step team presentation in January, Cyclingquotes.com took the opportunity to sit down and talk to the Belgian team’s classics and time trial specialist, Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel.

Chavanel, 33, ranks among the most experienced riders in the peloton, and as he is on the verge of entering his 14th season as a professional rider, he possesses an innate knowledge of his form.

“My form is as good as it is supposed to be. I’m ready to begin the 2013 season where I ought to be. Boonen is right. Once a rider reaches a certain age, he knows where he is at and what he lacks. I’ve been working on my basic fitness level, my legs feel good and all I need to do now is to settle into a certain rhythm of racing. It’s really that simple,” he says. And he adds ominously for his adversaries, “I’m ready!”

Paris-Roubaix main objective

Despite his status as an “elderly statesman” within the peloton, the French star doesn’t feel that his age poses a problem as he continues to enjoy riding his bike.

“My motivation is as high as ever and I always look forward to the races.  Reaching and maintaining a high level of physical ability is rather demanding, but the prospect of being in the races motivates me.”
 

His 2012 palmares is testimony to Chavanel’s durability as a rider. His performances in the time trials were the highlights of last season for him though he was also pleased with the outcome of the spring classics.

“Last season was a good one for me. Generally speaking it went quite well. I did particularly well in the time trials. I usually finished in the top five and I managed to win the French time trial championship. I finished 8th in Paris-Nice and 10th in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, even though I had two flats in the latter race. That was the disappointment of the season. I had high hopes for that race.”

“The Hell of the North” is once again a primary target for the Frenchman this year.

“Surely, Paris-Roubaix is one of my objectives this year too. My preparations are directed towards that race. After that, I’ll recuperate for a while and then start looking towards the Tour of California. In addition, I would like to be able to repeat my time trial performances.”
 

A Spanish Frenchman in Belgium

Being of Spanish descent, Chavanel wasn’t cut out to be a force to reckon with in the Flemish classics. However, these windswept and rain soaked roads in Belgium and Northern France have become his home cyclingwise.

“Yes, it is quite paradoxical but I like it up here in Northern France and Belgium. I like the rough conditions, the wind, the rain, the cold. I don’t mind the warmer conditions down south, but I seem to be at my best when the climate turns severe.”

For more than two decades France has failed to produce a serious contender for overall victory in the Tour. Thomas Voeckler, for many years considered to be French cycling’s biggest star alongside Chavanel, came close to a sensational win in 2011, but when it comes to the future aspirations of French cycling, Chavanel points to one of Voeckler’s domestiques from that Tour.

“True, prior to Voeckler’s achievement in 2011 no Frenchman came close to winning the Tour during the past 25 years or so. Pierre Rolland, however, is a rider with an incredible potential. Generally speaking, French cycling enjoys a very promising generation right now. While Rolland may be the most prominent rider of his generation, it also includes sprinters Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Démare as well as climbing talent Thibaut Pinot, who all ply their trade with the FDJ team.

According to Chavanel, one of the reasons for the promising prospects of French cycling may, oddly, be found in the doping related controversies in the Armstrong era.
 

“Compared to that certain period in cycling, when evidently everybody doped, we’re quite strong now. Maybe the explanation is as simple as that.”

5 years retirement plan

His hope for the current season is that the team can manage repeat performances of a highly successful 2012, which saw Omega Pharma-Quick Step win the world team time trial championship and finish the season on top of the ranking alongside Team Sky. Chavanel is proud to emphasize the fact that he rides for one of the strongest teams on the ProTour.

“Yeah, we do have an enormous potential in most fields of combat, the classics, the time trials and the bunch sprints. We might lack a serious contender for the overall classification in the Tour, but otherwise our roster is complete,” he adds, and declines to identify Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s main rival for the season. “I won’t name any other teams at the moment. There are many high-quality teams around, and they are all highly professional and time will show who our main rivals will be. Suffice it to say that the competition is very tough.”

Asked about his retirement plans, Chavanel replies, “I figure I’ll be around for another four or five years. But I’ve reached the point where I take one year at a time. It all depends on how things develop from here.”

Supported by his strong Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, Chavanel now looks confidently ahead to the Belgian classics where the team seeks to repeat several wins from last year. Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is on today’s agenda, while tomorrow sees Chavanel et al in action in the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.