(Quebec) The daily life of Antoine Cyr is envious. Between overseas trips and his morning coffee at the foot of Mont Sainte-Anne, the founder knows how to enjoy good things. And for him, happiness does not only reside in the little things, because he is a candidate to lead a life of ambition.
Autumn is in its teens and the weather is gray in Quebec City on this Wednesday in mid-October.
Antoine Cyr arrived at the Ice Center at 9:20 a.m., knowing well that La Presse was going to follow him all day before his departure for Europe to start a new season. Make no mistake, the 25-year-old athlete hasn’t swapped his skis for skates.
The first part of his day is devoted to a 3000 meter exercise test. Running around the ice oval with his teammates from the Pierre-Harvey National Training Center (CNEPH) as part of a study carried out in collaboration with a physiotherapist accustomed to gravitating around the team.
Cyr takes off his Salomon hat and jacket before putting on his running clothes.
He greets everyone, jokes with some, asks about others. It’s a bit as if the captain had just entered the team’s locker room.
The best cross-country skier in Canada does most of his laps with his teammate Olivier Léveillé, three years his junior. Cyr gives him training advice, particularly on how to do his chin-ups better.
At 10:20 a.m. the test begins and Cyr runs the 3000 meters in 9 minutes and 20 seconds. “I’m not very good,” says the sweaty skier. I don’t like running. Oli is better. Oli is very good, actually! Lucky me I go skiing! »
The author of five top 10s last season towels off briefly, changes his clothes and goes into the arena cafeteria.
The clock has not yet reached the eleventh hour and Cyr sits down, putting down his granola bar, his bottle of water and his cell phone.
“We’re happy when the weather isn’t nice,” reveals the Gatineau resident, looking outside through the large windows of the dining area. The meeting took place during the peak duck hunting season and Cyr is a lover of the discipline. “We often go there after training, at the end of the afternoon, it’s hot! It’s a great hunt, it’s a sporty hunt. »
However, starting November 24 in Ruka, Finland, he will be in the hunt for medals.
And at his level, every detail can make a difference. Or distance it from its Norwegian, Finnish or Italian rivals, to whom it must grant money, financing and resources. So his routine must be flawless, because imperfection never wins a race.
“I do everything in my life to optimize my training,” he maintains. And we’re not talking here about the 900 hours of training volume per year. But of everything that surrounds them.
He eats well, drinks well and sleeps well. It’s fundamental. “Where I’m trying to optimize right now is, yes nutrition, but it’s mostly sleep and rest. I try to aim for nine hours a night. »
He will recount later in the day going to bed around 9:30 p.m., limiting screens for at least 30 minutes before heading into Morpheus’ arms. All this with the aim of arriving ready for your training the next day.
Cyr and his teammates will therefore take back the collar in the coming days. During the winter, the Quebecer will arrive in Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Germany and the United States.
“At the World Cup, people think we see the country,” explains the Olympian. But the reality is that we train, we rest, we eat and we ski. In Davos, we don’t go for a walk. Before last year, I had landed at the airport seven times, but I had never been to the city. I just visited it last year. We are really here for our work, at the end of the day. »
However, he wants to take advantage of these moments when he is on the Old Continent, because he knows that they are fleeting, to a certain extent.
“I’ve done two hours of skiing, I’m heading to the hotel and there’s dinner waiting for me, a massage in the afternoon and I have to ski afterwards. I am not to be pitied! It’s a lifetime. I don’t like to talk about sacrifice, but it’s a good mix of choice and fun. And fun is important, because we’re not here for the money! »
After an hour, Cyr arranged to meet us at his home, 45 minutes from the big city.
The day is grown up and the sun is finally the main character in the landscape. Mont Sainte-Anne is monumental.
The skier from Gatineau has made a nest at the foot of the mountain. It’s almost 3 p.m. and Cyr is making coffee.
A barista in his spare time, he purchased a machine to make his own caffeinated drinks. In the middle of the afternoon, just before going to the training room, he pours himself a small cup of what appears to be a flat white. “It’s still strong,” he says.
We go out through the courtyard and once in his car, Cyr heads towards the CNEPH. Windows down, sunglasses on your face and a Jay-Z song on pause. A behind-the-scenes discussion on the World Cup circuit takes shape.
“It’s certain that there is a difference [between the skiers], because in amateur sport, the ultradominants, in their country in Europe, they are superstars. Everyone knows them. But after that, you don’t need to go far down the list of results and then you start to no longer recognize the names. »
From now on, Cyr is one of the best cross-country skiers in the world, having finished 16th at the legendary Tour de Ski last season, including a 6th and a 4th position. He sometimes even gets recognized at the airport in Norway.
To this day, Cyr is amazed at being able to ski alongside his childhood idols. “Guys like [Federico] Pellegrino, who was there a long time ago, I was a guy and I watched him win world cups and here I am next to him and we are fighting for the same races. It remains a wonder,” he says on a sloping road towards Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges.
Cyr arrives on the asphalt roller ski trail at Mont Sainte-Anne. On which he trains in the summer. A course thought and designed by Alex Harvey and coach Louis Bouchard to help Canadian skiers during the warm season. The course, in terms of degree of difficulty, is comparable to World Cup tracks.
The skier rolls on the slope, describing the smallest nooks and crannies. And why this slope or this turn makes this course essential in the preparation of athletes.
The sun is approaching retirement and Cyr is preparing to go for his last indoor workout of the day.
He parks his car in the driveway and is unable to hide the joy on his face when someone wishes him good luck for the upcoming season.
He will travel, ski and, ultimately, do what he loves. And what he worked for all his life. He wouldn’t trade his daily life for anything in the world.
“And not everyone can say that. »
