Maghalie Rochette tops the Paris to Ancaster podium, with Ellen Van Loy in second and Christine Vardaros in third. © Cyclocross Magazine
Maghalie Rochette burst onto the ’cross scene last year, taking podiums across New England for the CyclocrossWorld team, and we featured her in our Issue 23 special on the new faces in ’cross. Now, she has a contract with the Luna Pro Team and a win in the Paris to Ancaster gravel race, considered to be the Canadian Spring Classic. We caught up with a muddy Rochette post-race to see what she’s been up to since ’cross ended, and how life on the new team was treating her.
Cyclocross Magazine: That was a crazy start, with all of the men and women together!
Maghalie Rochette: Super crazy start! I didn’t do any warmups so the first five minutes were tough, I felt really bad. But I felt better fast and was able to make my way up.
CXM: Tell me about your race, since it was hard to see the women’s action.
MR: I was at the back at the beginning of the race, just following wheels. I was with Jeremy Powers, who wasn’t really racing, but still! We got up and in our little group we managed to catch Ellen Van Loy and we were the second group but all of the women were there so we just raced together. At the end, I knew that the last little technical downhill was where it would happen so I sprinted a little before it and went, got a little gap, and just went until the end!
CXM: How was that last hill?
MR: It was really hard! I knew I had a little gap but had to keep pushing until the end. It was really fun though!
CXM: In your ’cross offseason you’ve been mountain biking a lot, how has that been?
MR: The beginning of the season wasn’t super successful for me. I had a lot of crashes, DNFs, DNSs, I got sick a lot. But I learned a lot, and I’m feeling good and prepared for the next races!
CXM: What’s next?
MR: The Mont Tremblant World Cup, and ten we’ll fly to Europe for the World Cups in Czech and Germany.
CXM: What about ’cross season?
MR: I’ll try to do a lot of races, maybe—and I’m just talking like, nothing has been said year—but I’d love to do some Euro races, my first Euro ’cross races.
CXM: And how is the new team [Luna Pro]?
MR: It’s awesome. The girls are so cool, the staff is awesome. I feel like I have a new family, four big sisters and a few brothers.
Stay tuned for more from Paris to Ancaster!
