Cédric Stempel went into 2020 with big goals and fierce determination to completely change his lifestyle and return to his former race fitness. Despite the challenges faced during the pandemic with strict lockdown measures through his home-country France, he persevered, stuck to his guns and wholeheartedly achieved his target. The 29 year old competed at semi-professional level for GSC Blagnac from 2012-14 before stopping competition to focus on his studies in transport and mobility. The sacrifice proving well worth it as he went on to achieve a master’s degree and has since gone on to have a successful career in urban and regional transport management at Keolis, based in the Auvergne region of France.
Throughout his year’s studying, he understandably had to let go of his ambitions in cycling and with that and the stress of work life, he fell into some unhealthy lifestyle habits. Although his former fitness had somewhat diminished, his passion for the sport and burning desire to race remained.
In 2018 his experience in the sport and skills had him recommended to Mummu Cycling by fellow staff member and his former coach – Jean Sébastien Abbal. Since then, Cedric has proven to be a pivotal member of the team. Well regarded for his sense of humour, friendly, loveable nature, strong work ethic and impressive management and leadership skills.
We recently spoke with Cedric to discuss his incredible transformational journey last year, his role at Mummu Cycling and what he’s most looking forward to on return to the races…
At the end of 2019 my dad came to visit me in France from Chile where I grew up. He is the one who encouraged me to get back into cycling and to return to fitness. 2020 was a hard year for everyone, but to keep my promise I started my training at the beginning of 2020 before the lockdown. The lockdown in France began mid-March and it was there that I decided to get back to real race fitness. I called Jean-Sébastien who was my coach when I was a semi-professional rider, and together we decided on the strategy to adopt.
The plan was to lose weight at first and to keep as active as possible, even though we were restricted to being indoors. To do that, I did a lot of Zwift rides - both training and races. By doing that, the moral was high and the motivation too. Because we didn't know when the races would start again, I didn't do structured training at the beginning.
In parallel, I adapted my nutrition. Overnight I cut out sugar, candy and sodas. I then started a ketogenic diet. The idea behind this approach is to eat low carbohydrate and high fat. But careful - only good fat! In five months I lost 30kg.
I stopped racing in 2014 because I wanted to finish my studies. Now that I have a job that I enjoy a lot and some stability in my life, I had this real desire to get back racing. I didn’t choose the best year to do this as we only had three months of racing, instead of nine. In those three months, however I was able to re-find my love for the sport, the adrenalin of racing and the camaraderie and friendship of my teammates. The final piece of the plan was to find a new team and to make some friends in my new home town of Blois, where I moved to after finishing my studies. I found the perfect fit to do so with Vineuil Sport cyclisme (VSC).
To get back to fitness, I would say it took me a good five to six months. With my coach Jean-Sébastien, we created a training program that was first focussed on losing weight, followed by gaining race fitness. The first part included a lot of low intensity training and the last part more high intensity. I can confirm that the program worked as I won my very first race back on the road!
Before talking about this, I want to say that the nutrition plan I adopted has helped me, but definitely isn’t for everyone. We are all different.
The only significant nutritional change I made was the ketogenic diet. Because I was motivated, I totally stopped carbs for two months and then slowly added them back in, but always in low quantities. Since last year, I have maintained this diet.
The key change I made to my training was the addition of a power meter. With the power meter, my training program is more structured and Jean-Sébastien knows exactly where I need to progress.
Finally, my lifestyle hasn't changed a lot. I'm not a crazy person, but now I make time to train. Before I was just lazy.
Cycling is a hard sport. To enjoy it you need a little bit of fitness, otherwise you will suffer more than enjoy it. When you build fitness, you start riding faster and enjoying more. So having my old fitness back was just awesome. I was at the front of the race instead of suffering at the back. At the same time I did some awesome challenges with my friends like visiting the Loire Valley and their castles on the bike and doing 250km rides with a lot of coffee stops.
In my years of racing, I had a lot of bikes, so I could see all the evolutions of technology over time. My first impression since I received my Factor Ostro is how light the frame is. But at the same time, the stiffness of the frame. I could see that the power went straight from the legs to the ground without losing any watts. I'm someone who prefers to have an aero bike over a climbing bike, but with this bike I have the best of both.
This year, the plan is to enjoy the races as they come. So far I don't know when I can race again, so I'm doing a lot of endurance rides and discovering the new region where I recently moved to for work. In France, only the semi-professional riders can race. August should be my biggest month in terms of racing with two five day tours. I was able to finish second at one of them in 2020, so I hope to go back to defend that position. At the end of September, the Regional TT championship will also be a big goal.
What I enjoy the most is the responsibility that Mummu give me and the trust they have in me to do a good job. By challenging myself in different roles on tour, I’ve been able to see that I'm capable of managing a large group all over the country. This gave me confidence in my work as a tour leader and also at my full time job.
In the last three years of working with Mummu Cycling, I have been in every workspace; from luggage management, to logistics, to ride guide and tour leader. I see it as an accomplishment of my work that Mummu Cycling continue to give me more and more responsibilities. Being a tour leader has added pressure but with preparation, discipline, organisation and good co-workers, the task is easier. Plus, when working on something I love, it doesn’t feel like work.
It's been a while since I have seen the Mummu crew! So the first thing to do will be to grab a beer with them! Then it's to meet new awesome people that are guests on our tours. In every tour I have been part of, I’ve made new friendships and shared a lot of cycling history with them. Having guests from all over the world like Australia, England and the United States and discovering new cultures is pretty special and something I am very grateful for.
In terms of riding, I won’t be trying to beat everyone up the climbs, even though it would be nice to brag about it! For me, it will be more about seeing guests testing their limits and doing historic climbs like Alpe D'huez, Galibier or Mont Ventoux that they had never imagined they could achieve. That's when I can be confident that I’m doing a good job as a tour guide or leader.
The Tour de France was a huge part of my childhood. Every summer I would watch the Tour on TV and love every minute. To be part of this worldwide event is a huge honour. Plus, visiting the countryside of my beautiful country and discovering new cities while following the Tour is the cherry on the cake.
To keep up to date with Cedric’s continued journey and ride adventures, follow him on: