Max Cushway journal #04: from contract celebrations to second-place streaks

Our 2024 journal contributor Max Cushway rides for the Morbihan Adris Gwendal Oliveux team, a top-tier elite team (N1) in France, and recently switched to a French racing licence. In his fourth journal entry of 2024, Max reflects on his summer racing, marked by an exciting new contract, strong performances, near wins, and a few frustrating second-place finishes.

I’m starting Journal #4 on a high note, with some good news. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’ve got to enjoy the good moments, and this particular one resulted in a full family celebration at the Chinese restaurant! I’ve signed a two-year contract with the Groupama – FDJ Continental team. Back in May, I was introduced to Jens Raes, an agent at Wasserman, who helped me navigate what was both an exciting and slightly overwhelming time. I had just won the Prix Gilbert Bousquet and the Circuit du Mené, and my phone was constantly buzzing. Jens spoke with various teams, and long story short, the team that seemed most interested in my profile also happened to be the one that intrigued me the most when I first spoke with them.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’ve got to enjoy the good moments, and this particular one resulted in a full family celebration at the Chinese restaurant

The French team was particularly interested in my time-trialing skills, which was great to hear because it’s an area I think I can improve on, and I enjoy all the aerodynamic details that come with it. But they seemed eager to support all aspects of my riding, and when I spoke with them, I felt as relaxed as you can be when talking to a potential team manager or coach. I think both my agent and I quickly realised it was a great fit, and so the paperwork was drawn up. After that, in a strange way, I had to almost forget about it and focus on racing, because the schedule of an N1 cyclist is far from quiet.

Having spent what felt like a significant amount of time on my TT bike due to the various French nationals, U23, and amateur events, transitioning back to road racing was a bit of a shock. The training and preparation are different, and I felt like I had lost some of my punchiness, which was pretty frustrating. However, after my coach explained that I just needed to rebuild my road legs, I did some specific training, raced a few crits, and gradually started feeling like my legs were responding again. I managed to get into breaks at both the GP de la Ville de Vannes and the Ronde Finistérienne-Lorient, finishing 4th and 2nd, respectively.

I earned the nickname “Poulidor” from my mum, after the “eternal second” French cyclist

I was hoping for another win, but instead, I earned the nickname “Poulidor” from my mum, after the “eternal second” French cyclist. This was because I went on to secure another three second-place finishes at the Saint-Brieuc Agglo Tour. This three-stage race had a strong field and began with a 160 km stage, where I finished 11th, 21 seconds behind the leader.

The individual time trial was only 9.1 km, but to be honest, my legs felt terrible on the long flat stretches and only woke up during the technical corners. This resulted in another second-place finish. Heading into the final stage, I needed to make up some time. The 27-year-old French amateur road race champion, Titouan Margueritat, finished solo, 15 seconds ahead, while I won the sprint from the 10-rider breakaway group, which meant another second place. To top it off, I finished second overall in the GC, missing the win by just 3 seconds. I should’ve made up that time in the TT or the first stage, but that’s how racing goes sometimes.

Even though I was a bit disappointed not to have won the overall, I did secure the youth jersey and was happy to see my form coming back toward the end of the season. But just when I thought things were looking up, I was hit with the classic “ups and downs” of cycling: I caught a virus. I didn’t realise it at the time; I raced the GP Plouay determined to get a result, despite feeling awful during several attacks.

I’ve become pretty good at listening and understanding my body and so I was straight down to the GP asking for a whole bunch of tests

The next week, my legs felt like I was riding through sand. I’ve become pretty good at listening and understanding my body and so I was straight down to the GP asking for a whole bunch of tests and unsurprisingly it revealed I’d had a virus and I knew the only way to have a small chance of coming back for my last objective, the Chrono des Nations, was if I had a small break. It felt horrible not riding my bike, resting, doing very little. I was bored, a bit fed up and after a week, my coach planned a very slow back on the bike schedule which really was just doing very light small rides and letting my muscles recover.

Which brings us up to date. Although the easy, short rides were a bit frustrating, I felt like my hard-earned form was slipping away, getting back on the bike made a huge difference. I quickly felt better than before, and despite the time off, my form came back fast. My body feels normal, and my legs feel lighter.

With just a week to go until the Chrono des Nations, my preparation has been on track, so let’s see how it all plays out!

[Ed: Max’s post was written ahead of the Chrono des Nations – Max finished 16th].

Featured image: In The Draft