The great roll of cycling results on Sunday brought back a name we had lost track of: Simon Pellaud he won the Tour of Binzhou, a classic of the Chinese calendar, taking his first success in a road race in the international road calendar of the season after many centres in gravel, which has been his main activity since this year.
Pellaud, a Swiss rider of Colombian origin, is a true citizen of the world so it is not strange that he found a home in China, Li Ning Team which is the main formation of the great eastern country. The call that comes from the other side of the world, when the Swiss is in a warm Beijing where he has just finished his training day, is almost a ray of sunshine and you can tell by his ringing voice.
«I'm having a great time here, honestly. They respect me, I make the calendar I want while protecting the gravel activity which is primary at this momentWe have a spectacular, very strong team that wins stages or overall classifications every time, so things work also because there's a good turnover, everyone wins a bit. So I'm really happy, delighted with this experience."
What kind of race was the Bingzhou one?
Meanwhile, it wasn't my first road victory, I had already won the first stage at the Tour of Thailand and had worn the jersey for 5 days before giving it to our Danish sprinter Alexander Salby, so we finished first and second overallSunday's race was a fairly flat one, seemingly ideal terrain for sprinters, but there was a bridge, one of those very long stretches that are typical of Asia, and there was a huge selection process there, especially since it was an out-and-back route. It was a truly intense race, with no control over the course, so much so that at one point I thought I was in a Belgian kermesse… We averaged almost 50 km/h.
How do you feel at Li Ning?
It's the number one team this year. We don't have many Chinese racing on the team, but there's a reason. Here the local riders are divided into the various provinces and it is the local bodies themselves that build the teams, among other things they work mainly for the Chinese games which take place every 4 years.They're a kind of local Olympics, and all the national riders are focused on them. This year, they'll be in November, and those who stand out will be able to enter the local Continental Championships. And in my opinion, this is somewhat holding back the development of local cycling.
So next year things will change…
Yes, this year we only raced with two or three Chinese drivers, in 2026 we will definitely have more, it will be different. Because from my point of view that is also important, to make people understand that to emerge you have to compete as much as possible with the best that there is abroad., it would be even better if it could be competed in Europe.
After a few months there, do you think it was the right choice to go to China?
I have no doubts about it, first and foremost on a human level. I'm getting to know a different culture; being here is certainly not the same as coming with a European team and racing for just a few days. You have to be there to fully immerse yourself in local life, to truly understand what this great country is all about. It's also a great professional experience because here I'm not just a rider, but I'm a sort of sports director in pectore, I do the briefings, let's say I'm gaining experience in view of a future that I would like to build on myself.We have riders from New Zealand, Denmark, Belarus and I must say that they listen to me, respect me, and rely a lot on my experience.
But this year you're favoring gravel...
Yes, in some ways. I run on the road to be stronger in my gravel-related seasonal goals. It's important to find the right rhythm to improve your level even in training.
Speaking of gravel, why do you change your kit when you race off-road?
I have two contracts. My license is with Li Ning, However, I also kept the contract with the Tudor relative to off-road, in fact I do gravel and also mountain bike races, in fact last week, before the Bingzohu race I was in the USA for a race.
Will you be at the Gravel World Championships?
No, because my main goal this year is the Life Time Grand Prix, which is a series of six races, the most important in America, with the grand finale on October 18th. In gravel there is a strong opposition between the UCI and other organizations that do not like the rules that the international federation wants to impose., then I don't really like these World Championships when they are held in Europe, it's like running a Northern Classic, but for those there's already road cycling...
A final curiosity: you speak so many languages, how do you get by with Chinese?
No, I'm far from saying that I can express myself in Chinese, it would take at least a couple of years to learn, I'm getting older now and I'm struggling…
