"I started riding at 8 years old, it took me 9 years to win a damn race": Maxime Marotte says goodbye to the World Cup with an emotional message

The French Maxime Marotte is one of the bikers who are already part of the history of mountain biking, he has been a protagonist of the XCO World Cup for 10 years and this will be his last year as a professional. About to compete in his last race at Mont-Sainte-Anne World, he has shared a farewell on his social networks that we leave here in full and surely fans will appreciate.

Maxime Marotte says goodbye to the World Cup as a professional cyclist

Everything points to Marotte continuing to be linked to mountain biking in the coming seasons, but he could do so in a very different role than as a cyclist. That will be next season, for now it is worth reading carefully the reflection he has just shared reviewing his career and life trajectory. Maxime Marotte is a true reference.

Here comes my last World Cup, one last time lining up to the song of thunderstruck. I will cry, yes, not because I am sad but because it means a lot to me. I have done it all my life, I don't remember a day without thinking about how to be faster. As a child in school, I was already thinking about my next bike ride on those long days. I know I will miss the adrenaline of competing with the best in the world, but there are many other things to do, like going out for a drink when I feel like it. When I look back, I remember the good, I remember all the fantastic people I have met, all the good times we have had. And damn... it was a hell of a ride.

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What to say... the classic 'got more than I thought I could do and lalala'. Truly not what I want to write. In the end, as an 'old man' now, I enjoy what I have done in terms of results, but when it comes time to fold everything, I am thinking more about what a journey it has been. I started racing at 8 years old, it took me 9 years to win a damn bike race. Then, step by step, I climbed onto the podium of an Elite World Cup. I kept climbing for 12 years. Then I fought more in the last 2 years. I lived like a normal person: I met my wife, got married, and had a son. I lost some friends along the way, riding a bike and skiing is still dangerous. The worst was when my mother committed suicide almost a decade ago. Life can hurt you a lot, but it is never a reason to stop moving forward. Riding a bike has always been my therapy and there is no reason to change it. I did not lose my passion for that fantastic sport, but with the birth of Louis, my life changed quite a bit. Your perspective is changing, that is a fact. Being away 180 days a year is not a problem, the problem is not being available when you are present. I no longer want to say 'No' because I am tired of burning my lungs for hours. Obviously, my body is also saying enough on that side.

So the time has come, last World Cup and then Roc d'Azur next week, a mix of relief, joy, nostalgia, tears, and smiles... a bit of everything but with a promising future ahead, a new world for me. So let's go 'A bloc' one last time.