Anne-Caroline Chausson’s legacy needs no introduction. But the odds that you’ve ever listened to her speaking is very unlikely.
Despite her absolute domination during her career, Anne-Caro is a shy person outside of the bike and nerver opens up. It’s only when she puts her helmet on that she feels like she is able to transform her energy into a massive weapon of competition’s destruction.
Only one thing was powerful enough to take a bit of her energy: cancer.
But in this conversation, you’ll see that illness is not even strong enough to take her down.
As one of many who watched Anne-Caro’s career on races and TV, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend 2 days with her, riding and recording this 2hrs+ episode.
During this conversation, I had the privilege of speaking not only with a legendary champion who left an undeenayable mark on her sport, but also with a woman whose resilience and determination to overcome immense challenges—both in sports and in life—deeply moved and humbled me.
In this episode, get ready to discover:
– How, coming from BMX with no prior experience, Anne-Caro found herself in the legendary Sunn team, the biggest mountain bike team in history.
– Why she made the switch from BMX racing to mountain biking and how she adapted to it.
– Why she was feared on the World Cup circuit—not only by her female competitors but also by the men.
– Why she started mental preparation very late in her career and why she now believes she should have done it sooner.
– A deep dive into her meticulous and unique preparation for the Beijing Olympics, including some fascinating details about her race strategy to beat her competitors.
– An update on her health, her battle against illness, and the role of sports and mental strength in overcoming treatment challenges.
– And much more.
This was originally a french speaking podcast. Originally.
The Dijon-born rider, 12-time Downhill MTB World Champion and the first-ever Olympic BMX Champion in history at the 2008 Beijing Games, was recently a guest on En Roue Libre Podcast.
But right after the recording, I knew I wanted this conversation to reach beyond the French-speaking audience.
But to do a proper job, using AI was out of the question.
The results from automated translation solutions are mediocre, unbearably dull, and devoid of any emotion.
Far from the experience I want to offer with En Roue Libre.
So, I used the same dubbing techniques found in documentary filmmaking and cinema.
I also enlisted my amazing partner, who, despite having no experience in this field, absolutely nailed the English voice-over for Anne-Caro.
It was a colossal task, and I hope it will be appreciated by English-speaking cycling enthusiasts.
This translation and voice-over work for this 2h15 episode was made possible thanks to the support of Max COMMENCAL, Anne-Caro’s first sponsor, who continues to support her today through COMMENCAL BIKES & SKIS.
A huge thank you also to buycycle for supporting En Roue Libre and helping me create content that resonates with passionate cyclists.
The episode is now available in audio format on all podcast platforms and in video format on Spotify and YouTube
I also had the occasion to see a few of ACC’s bikes
Missy’s Cannondale Furclum that she received for testing. She admits she only rode it a couple minutes
One of her first Sunn Radical
The Cannondale Judge, 2001
Her winning bike in Beinjing 2008 Olympics