Bytagand the publication "Emmanuel Brunet, the discreet alchemist of French cycling"
He opened his door to us straightforwardly, just as he is. Emmanuel Brunet is the kind of guy you listen to. Not because he's imposing, but because he speaks clearly. In his office, among the piles of papers and souvenirs, we can sense the path he's taken: demanding, discreet, and lived-in. We didn't come to paint a flattering portrait. We came to understand. What it means to truly commit. To train, to pass on knowledge, to seek accuracy again and again. With a simple question: what do we leave behind when we've spent our lives helping others grow?
By Jeff Tatard – Photos: FFC-Patrick Pichon / DR
The threshold of a house full of bicycles
When Emmanuel Brunet turned the key in the lock to welcome us, the corridor immediately transformed into a lived-in museum: an old Gazelle with polished mudguards, two track frames leaning against each other, a gravel bike covered in dry dust, a tubular hanging like a rosary. Here, every bike has its own story " he says with a smile that speaks of both pride and simplicity. He really " opened his door ", both literally and figuratively, and confided in us a little of this intimacy which nourishes his vision of performance: a composite vision, made of childhood, science, high standards and a never-negotiable part of pleasure.
Childhood in freewheeling: genesis of a passion
Before accumulating diplomas and sitting at the heart of the Federation, Emmanuel, like so many others, started out playing. In 1993, he and his brother Aymeric invented a daily Tour de France in their housing estate: they traced the passes in chalk, counted the points for the best climber, and crossed imaginary finish lines. I believe my passion was born from the freedom and adventure that cycling allowed me when I was a child. " he says. The anecdote is not decorative: it explains his current obsession with creativity, with the rejection of sterile routines, with the idea that " innovate " is — and will remain — his greatest challenge. Where others get stuck in protocols, Brunet remembers that you can still draw a pin on the ground and take a leap, just to see.
From runner-coach to FFC strategist
Emmanuel never really left the field. At only 17 years old, he already took on the dual role of rider/coach at Cours-la-Ville Cyclisme. Very quickly, he obtained his federal diplomas, fed his curiosity at the STAPS university, and multiplied the weekend courses. This first cycle of apprenticeship ended in 2005, when he won the sports teacher competition and became a Regional Technical Advisor in Burgundy. Eight years of fieldwork, of "relatively basic means" and of constant ingenuity: organizing a scene, setting up a pole of hope, convincing the leaders, seducing the young people, rallying the educators. You are constantly in action; you have to be more inventive to remain attractive “, he summarizes.
These years have forgotten the craftsman, but It was in 2014 that he took on the role of architect: general director of performance at the FFC. Delicate context: relocation of the headquarters, reorganization of the poles. Also stimulating context: almost blank page. Between two boxes, Brunet builds a " Research & Performance cell » which, over the course of the Olympics, would become one of the secret levers of French success. We owe him the rise of applied aerodynamics, the integration of PhD students who became doctors, and the creation of new analytical metrics. However, when he was pushed to draw up a balance sheet, he shies away: « Coaches and athletes would answer this better than I. There are things they don't see, things that happen in the shadows... ».
A leadership woven with tributes and gratitude
Humility is not a posture for Emmanuel; it is a reflex.. Each time he talks about his career, he calls upon a gallery of inspiration: Jean-Paul Canet, first club president (" He would be proud up there "), Régis Auclair, passionate sports director " to the point of madness ", Alain Pradier in Burgundy, Vincent Jacquet at the DTN, not forgetting the national coaches, fellow researchers, the athletes he has worked alongside—from Thomas Voeckler to Juliette Labous. For him, performance is essentially collective. In a team, every player counts " he insists. And if he prides himself on anything, it is having allowed " sports scientists » to hatch: invisible catalysts between laboratory and track.
Science, field and human demands: the daily equation
How do you reconcile, day after day, the rigor of a scientific protocol with the urgency of a rider who wants to win on Sunday? Emmanuel responds with a three-step process. First, based on the needs on the ground: " Scientific questions must be performance issues, not a researcher's whim. ". Then, write and defend the projects by involving everyone, even if " the coach is always in a hurry "Finally, plan like you plan a fitness photo: clear objectives, precise follow-up, permanent. This research has no beginning or end; it is constantly nourished by our experiences and our conferences. "And when data becomes actionable, it changes the fate of a sprinter in the Olympic final or a women's pursuit team suddenly propelled to the fourth fastest time in the world.
This constant dialogue between research and fieldwork, between data and intuition, between rigor and adaptation, resonates strongly with the proposals of several high-level experts. In this regard, the Cycling Performance Academy podcast offers fascinating insights into this fine articulation between science and practice, often invisible to the general public but decisive in sporting success.
From Medals to Scars: Learning from Failure
Brunet does not romanticize defeat; he dissects it.. Doha 2016, Yorkshire 2019, Innsbruck 2018: so many “ trauma » which force him to reinvent himself. He then takes up the athlete's lexicon: analyze, train, come back stronger. Perhaps this is where proximity with champions is played out: in this same intolerance to failure, a vector of progress. He again quotes Thomas Voeckler: after Innsbruck, the two men spend hours restoring confidence, rewriting plans, refining details. Three years later, the results prove them right. Like athletes, I learn from my failures. " he confides, adding that he prefers lucidity to the culture of the alibi.
A philosophy of performance: complexity, movement, bytage
Ask Emmanuel about the very definition of performance and you'll see him frown as if he were looking at the horizon. : " I define it as complex and changing. " Nothing is ever fixed; the density is constantly increasing; you have to reinvent yourself or disappear. Its cardinal values: listen, analyze, study, tester, work, all of it " in a spirit of partagand collaboration ". An effective framework? One that accepts complexity, that does not hide behind the " job well done " but wonders if we have really made progress. A transversal, post-Fordist management, where each skill irrigates the other, where the omission of the final objective - winning - would be nonsense.
The call of the Games, the temptation of the UCI
After contributing to Tokyo 2020 and preparing for Paris 2024, Emmanuel is moving to the International Cycling Union., where he became Senior Equipment Manager. The innovation man joined the technical rules control tower. This involves regulating, approving, controlling, but above all establishing permanent consultation. " The motivation? To stay in cycling, to stay as close as possible to the challenges he has always been passionate about, and to take on a family challenge: moving with the whole family. At the UCI, he will no longer think every morning about the performance of a single athlete, but about the overall framework that will allow everyone to perform without cheating or putting themselves in danger.
Think globally, act locally: two major global challenges
For the future, he identifies two threats. First, a Generation Z stuffed with data and AI but poor in critical thinking: “ We must move away from stereotypical practices ". Then there is the frenzy of recruiting young talent by professional teams, which disrupts the harmonious development of riders and threatens the balance of amateur cycling. Here again, his response combines regulation, education, and collective responsibility. As for the " French model ", he refuses to erect it as a standard: each nation must tinker with its own alchemy, provided that it aligns research, means and long-term vision.
Keeping cycling alive: an idea for young people
What would he pass on to the next generation? Cycling is a big adventure made up of many smaller adventures. Live them to the fullest, seek inner joy, and always think about your safety and that of others. " Behind the phrase, there is the man who, as a child, drew his stages in chalk; the scientist who ensures that an aerodynamic optimization does not bring a rider to the ground; the manager who refuses to sacrifice fairness on the altar of performance. In short, the same ethical consistency, from the sidewalk of Cours-la-Ville to the high-tech laboratories, from the track of Saint-Quentin to the corridors of the UCI.
Conclusion: Under the helmet, wisdom
« Excellence "If he had to sum up his years at the Federation in one word, Emmanuel Brunet would choose this one - not to brandish a trophy, but because he considers it a daily duty. Excellence of gesture, of reflection, of human relations. He leaves us on the steps with that look we see in chronic enthusiasts: already elsewhere, already tomorrow, already in the next idea. His final piece of advice resonates like a mantra: innovate, yes, but never at the cost of humanity.
As we close the door, we think back to those piled-up bikes, those new tubular tires mounted on a 70s frame, that freedom that hasn't aged. Perhaps Emmanuel Brunet's real secret lies there: a rare ability to combine past and future, childhood and expertise, play and research.. To make every corner exit an opportunity to pick up speed again — and come out a little wiser.
