By Bhawna
Justine Gherkiere, the 26-year-old lady came up with cycling during the lockdown and then represented Belgium at the Worlds in 2022. She has opened up about this. There are many who enter the pro peloton later in life. Justine Ghekiere also had an introduction to cycling as a hobby and enjoyment. She raced just for fun. Ghekiere started cycling just for enjoyment. She then started riding for Zwift and then came up with cycling.
Early life
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She started riding bikes when she was 16. She said that she started because she wanted to do something with her dad. But again, that was for fun. She said that there was no competition or anything. And there were people who asked her if she did competition as according to them she rode very well. But she said that it was just for fun.
Cycling was like a pastime for Justine. She did cycling at the university as part of her degree along with other sports. She didn’t have much time to spend riding on bikes. She also had to study. She liked going out with friends.
Lockdown was a big change in that. And in 2020, she could not do the gym where she had a personal trainer and also she had spinning classes. She switched to Zwift after that. She said that she was addicted to Zwift and then she spent two or three times a day on rollers. She liked it a lot.
She even participated in a competition in which one was supposed to complete the most kilometers in a week. There she won. She doesn’t remember the exact figure but places it around 1200 km. The man who was with him in the competition said that she had good powers and he could send her to some UCI teams in Belgium. And so the journey started and she started cycling in a competition two years ago.
Her experiences
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Justine signed for the Belgian Continental squad Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire Cycling Team. She ended up badly at the Classics racing. Her first race was the 1.1 Le Samyn des Dames. There she got 73rd place. She was with Jolien d’ Hoore. She will take direction from her at her new team, AG-Insurance Soudal Quick-Step.
It was difficult for her. She remembered the first moment she was in the peloton. She could not make out where she was. She was scared also. She thought she was not made for this as when there were rollers she had nobody but in the field, she was surrounded by 100 of people.
Despite all this, she had good results. She thought that maybe she can do good things as compared to other riders. Then she got selected for the race Flanders. She also had an upcoming race that was her first Women’s WorldTour Race. She said that she was selected for big races and she liked it very much.
Like many latecomers in the peloton, she had a disadvantage. This disadvantage was her positioning in the bunch. Her positioning was not good. She was always at the back of the peloton. She said that that was a weak point. But she held firm and believed that she had the power to do more and to race more. She is still working on the positioning part of the peloton. But last year she showed that she is capable. And it turned out well.
Belgium World Championships
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After a successful 2021 season, she had more things coming up like being placed 12th overall at the Tour Cycliste Feminin International de l’Ardeche. There she also had two Top-10 finishes on hilly stages. And then she was picked up by Plantur Pura for 2022. She was very happy about it. She learned a lot. The food was good. Everything was well there. She followed Plantura well and she had a lot to learn from their advice. She stepped a level up. Because of this level, she was selected at the Belgium World Championships in Wollongong.
She felt honored by this. She had hoped for it. She had worked hard and her results were also good. She was riding in support of Lotte Kopecky. She got a respectable 19th position for herself. She had a great time. But she was also a little stressed because she didn’t want to let Belgium go down. She also had to win for Lotte as she had a big chance to win. So, she wanted to do the best for her. But she did everything to help Lotte. It was her one of the best races also. She was happy with the result. She was facing Annemiek and she said that Annemiek was on another level so she had to do a lot to beat her.
Although she enjoyed her time with Plantura Pura and got their support, but when the invite from AG Insurance- Soudal Quick-Step came, she couldn’t say ‘no’. She liked the vision of the team. The vision meant that there will be young riders and middle and older riders. And she thought that this was something that is really good. Another important factor was that she was racing alongside Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, a rider who inspired her in her early days. So, this was the most important reason that she changed the team. She can compare herself to Ashleigh Moolman.
Justine also says that she has similarities with Moolman Pasio who is ten years her senior and her age.
Future Plans
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She said that she likes stage races. So, she was asked that does that mean the Tour de France. And she said that she really wants to do that. She said that she hope to do it this year.
What she likes about racing
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The thing that she likes about racing is that she sees a lot of the world. There are new places to go to. And maybe you get to go there for the first time. And the other thing is that you get to know so many people around. But one thing is that you miss your family and friends.
