Interview with Cédric Gracia, ambassador of the first-ever UCI Snow Bike World Championships
Almost 30 years after being crowned Junior downhill UCI World Champion, Frenchman Cédric Gracia revels in his role of ambassador of the first UCI Snow Bike World Championships. The action will unfold on 10-11 February in the French ski resort of Châtel, in Haute-Savoie, and according to the 45-year-old Frenchman it is a not-to-be-missed chance to witness an exciting new development in the cycling world.
“I've always been a bit of a pioneer in cycling, be it dual slalom, four-cross or other formats,” says Gracia. “Riding on the snow is really interesting in terms of glide and drift. There's steering, and that feeling of going for the line, of technique, of speed. It has everything.
“I have this image of being a bit crazy, but what I love is to be on the bike and have fun. It’s important to have fun.”
Gracia’s obvious enjoyment is something that he consistently shared with spectators and fans. Always ready to put on a show, he was a crowd favourite at competitions thanks to his showmanship and the unexpected figures he sometimes threw in for good measure during competitions. He was a daring rider, who paid for his audacity on several occasions with injury and extended stays in hospital.
“When I was younger, I wasn’t always very reasonable. But what a lot of people couldn’t understand was that the desire to ride was stronger than the fear of getting hurt.”
Gracia has multiple UCI World Championships medals to his name, as well as victories and medals at alternative events such as the Megavalanche de la Réunion and the Redbull Rampage.
When asked about a career highlight, he doesn’t hesitate:
“A downhill competition in Leysin, Switzerland, in the early 2000s. I think it was a UCI World Cup. At the start, it was pouring with rain and there was fog everywhere. And I was just laughing. I said to myself ‘how will we ever get down?’ I set off, and the further I went, the better it was. I didn’t want it to end. It was catastrophic but just amazing. I got to the bottom, and I won.
“I won without analysing, without over-preparing, without getting on the home trainer and doing sprints. No, I just got on my bike, put on my helmet and went for it. I think that sums it up… if you arrive at the start with a smile, you’ve already won something along the way.
“Even today, when I climb into bed, I think about sensations like that. You have to think of the fun.”
When Gracia moved into coaching after his competitive career, he stressed the importance of the amusement factor to his athletes, regardless of their level and ambitions. Nevertheless, he concedes that mountain bike has evolved enormously over the years, with much more at stake, and more professionalism.
“It's incredible how much young athletes train these days. It was perhaps a bit more fun in my day, but it's great to see the young people of today because they're real professionals. I admire cyclists like (Tom) Pidcock, (Mathieu) Van der Poel and others who manage to succeed in a lot of different disciplines. They're multi-tools, the Swiss army knives of cycling. They know how to do everything.”
Among Gracia’s own career successes is silver in the dual slalom at the 2001 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and gold in the speciality at the European Championships the same year. Dual slalom is no longer part of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, so Gracia is delighted to see it on the programme of the UCI Snow Bike World Championship (on Day 2 after the Super-G on the opening day of competition).
“I always loved the dual slalom. In downhill we are often racing against time, like in ski. In dual slalom you want a good time, but you’re also competing against the person next to you. You have to beat the other person at all costs. There's a direct result and that is huge motivation.”
Although he retired from competition a good many years ago (“there’s a time for everything”), Gracia spends every minute he can on a bike of some sort..
“That's the beauty of cycling. There's no age limit as long as you're having a good time. Whether I'm riding on my own, with friends, with people who ride once a week or with professionals, I'm having fun. Whether it’s E-mountain bike, downhill, or enduro it doesn’t matter.
“Mountain biking is a blast.”