BH Suntour cyclists Laura Metzler and Hélène Marcouyre answered questions from the French magazine Velo101, in which they agreed with their team manager Michel Hutsebaut that the arrival of the two young cyclists Julie Bresset and Caroline Mani is an added motivation.

“We already know them, so there’s no concern about the atmosphere. I could give them advice, but I also thing that they have enough experience to adapt to the pace of the team.  They bring an added motivation,” said Hélène Marcouyre. “Our level is pretty homogeneous, and that’ll allow us to mesh well together.  It’s going to be interesting,” added Laura Metzler, who also thinks that she’ll get along well with Bresset and Mani, since they are all part of the same “generation” of bikers.

The team is starting off the season “with steadfast motivation,” said Laura Metzler. “In any season there are ups and downs, but I stay motivated all year long.”  The biker has her goals set. “They’re the same as last year. I hope to do well in the World Cup and improve my standing in the Elite category that I was in at this year’s World Championships and at the European Championships.”

For Hélène Marcouyre, “mentally, last season was very difficult. I almost gave up cycling twice, because I was all mixed up in my head. I started off the season great, and that gave me alot of hope that I could achieve the goals that I had for myself, but I came back from the South Africa World Cup with a virus that knocked me out, and I didn’t fully recover for the rest of the season. I won’t be doing any cyclo-cross now because I want to recover completely and start off the season gunning,” she said.