There are riders you can follow. Others you can hope to catch in the right breakaway. And then there are those, rarer, who force you to reconto amaze the very notion of speed… Samuel Plouhinec belongs to this last category. We tried, for a moment, to slip into his wake. But very quickly, the realization became clear: impossible. Instead, we preferred to stop, put our feet on the ground and listen to him. Because with him, the route is even more exciting when it is told than when it is speeding by at 50 km/h.
By Jeff Tatard – Photos: DR
When Samuel is asked what his very first memory as a rider is, he doesn't mention a major classic or a professional peloton, but a first victory in the junior category at Coudreucieux.This is where it all begins. A modest finish line, but already that unique taste: raising your arms, crossing before the others, feeling that simple intoxication. My first victorye, he said, in minor. That's when it all started. »
Cycling is sometimes reduced to a story of numbers — 409 victories in his case —, but it is in reality a succession of intimate markers, invisible milestones. For Samuel, this initial milestone remains fundamental. In Coudreucieux, he found more than a victory: a certainty.
The awakening of juniors
Two years were enough to transform this obvious fact into a life project.. As a junior, Samuel discovered that he was not just fast, he was really talented. It was around this time that I realized I had the ability. I began to hope to make it my career. Even though, since I was a kid, I had already said that I wanted to become a professional runner. »
This " I want to make it my job " is not a formula. For a young person from Sarthe, it is an immense horizon. Far from the television stars, he already imagines a life of sacrifices, travel, falls, but also battles won with panache.The dreaming child becomes a young man in route towards a destiny.
The wall of professionalism
And yet, This dream comes with a brutal priceIn the professional world, the light is as blinding as it is cruel. Plouhinec discovers a cold reality: " In the pros, everything is precise, the pressure is constant, and there is no room for error. »
His first two years at Cofidis are enough to encapsulate the harshness of this environment.Mononucleosis wipes out an entire season. Then, barely recovered, a dramatic accident: mown down by a car just before the Tour de l'Ain. Fractures, cervical compression, endless rehabilitation. And, as if that weren't enough, the chilling silence of the management. No more contract. No more news. Nothing.
« The only one to ask about me, he says, It was Cyrille Guimard, the one who had made me sign. "In the solitude of an injured runner, this gesture counts more than any podium. Samuel knows this: In this environment, we are judged by the result of the moment, never by the person.
The Amateur's Revenge
Alors he returns to where he feels truly alive: the amateur world. " As an amateur, he says, there is more freedom, raw passion, and above all real camaraderie. "There, Plouhinec is no longer a number on a contract: he is a runner who wins, who breathes, who embodies perseverance.
The numbers speak for themselves : 409 victories, including 29 in the 2011 season alone. The record of an insatiable man. I had no secrets. I was a winner. I loved to run, everywhere, all the time. » French Espoirs Champion in Apremont in 1996. French Elite Champion in Saint-Brieuc in 2009 — his best memory. It's the race everyone dreams of winning. For me, it was the culmination. »
Each jersey, each bouquet, each regional circuit becomes a chapter in this extraordinary list of achievements. But behind the numbers, there is above all a style: instinctive, offensive, generous. Plouhinec doesn't calculate. He attacks, he sniffs out the blows, he dares.His bike is an extension of his will.
The mind, the other engine
But his career is also marked by fractures. Both literally and figuratively. Falls and returns to the top level. Samuel Plouhinec has never lingered at the back of the pack.
How do you come back from so many injuries? How do you keep that anger going after broken bones, banged up knees, and sleepless seasons? Samuel looks down, thinks, then says simply: " I don't really know... I've always managed to keep my spirits up. I've never really doubted myself. »
This is not a pose. It is a raw truth. Where others sink, he persists.. Because for him, riding is breathing. His strength isn't just in his legs, it's in this absolute refusal to give in to fate. He's resilience incarnate.
Cycling today
In 2017, Samuel turned the page on competition. Without noise. Without emptiness either. I was prepared for it, I didn't feel any lack. "At the end of his career, he immersed himself in real estate, alongside his wife. A controlled, seamless transition. But cycling remains there. Not as a profession, but as a rediscovered joy." Today, it's fun. I ride several times a week, with friends, with my son Evan. It's a joy becausetagbe that with him. »
Evan, 14, is starting to show some good intentionsSmall in stature, but already with his father's pedaling skills. So Samuel sometimes returns to Masters competitions, encouraged by his son who wanted to see him race with his own eyes. The circle is complete: the child from Coudreucieux has become the father of the family who passes on his passion.
The baton passer
Because Samuel never cut the link. He supervises the young people of Brette-les-Pins, advises, guides, transmitsIn his speech, one word comes up often: simplicity. Today, young people no longer want to compete in small local events. Yet, that's where you learn. If you neglect them, organizers become discouraged, and an entire pool of talent disappears. »
His words sound like an alert, but also like a reminder: Cycling is not just about big TV scenesIt's a sport that thrives on anonymous people, village races, and passionate volunteers. Without this foundation, no champion can emerge.
A look at modern cycling
He lucidly observes the evolution of the peloton. " The level is consistent; the young people arrive very early, with incredible maturity. But they pay a huge mental price. Their careers may be shorter than ours. »
He expresses this observation without excessive nostalgia. Just with a clarity nourished by experience. He, the instinctive, the generous, knows that modern, ultra-precise cycling leaves little room for raw pleasure. This is undoubtedly what explains why he has always preferred the amateur world.
Philosophy of a winner
If Samuel had to write one word on a jersey for a young person, it would be: “ Be convinced of what you are doing, and do it thoroughly. " His entire career can be summed up in this sentence. He never did things by halves. Not training, not coming back from injury, not playing full seasons. This persistence is not vain stubbornness, but a way of being in the world..
« My philosophy? To see everything I undertake through to the end, with passion and conviction. "This is the finish line of a life. Not a checkered flag, but an attitude, a fidelity to oneself.
In his wheel, again
So what did we find, trying to ride his wheel? We didn't find a rider we could follow. We found a man who always rides a little further than usBut above all, we found a story of rare intensity: that of a champion who knew how to remain human, who won by the hundreds without ever losing what was essential.
His mark is not only in the charts, but in the routethat he continues to travel, in the young people he accompanies, in his son whom he guides. Samuel Plouhinec is not a former champion: he is still, today, a living lesson in perseverance.And if one cannot hold his wheel, one can at least hold on to his words, keep them as a viaticum: believe, persevere, attack, transmit. Because some men pedal too hard to be followed, but true enough to be listened to..
Bravo for this beautiful evocation of a great champion still active.