Hello Joel! To begin, can you introduce yourself?

J.B.: My name is Joel, I’m 39 years old and I’m living in Thailand for more than 15 years now. I used to be a teacher for many years, but I’m now fully committed to cycling since few years. Originally, I’m from the USA, but I grew up in Eastern Africa; my parents are missionaries and they moved from USA to Kenya when I was young. So, I have kind of a double-culture!

Can you tell us more about your sport background? What brought you to cycling?

J.B.: When I was in Kenya, I was doing different sports like football, basketball and of course running. I loved running! But if the passion for running is very strong in Kenya, there is a lack of infrastructures and the training system is very poor. So, I decided to move to the USA for my studies and to join the track team of the university, hoping to compete at a higher level. Unfortunately, I got injured and I had to stop my running career. Then I discovered cycling for the first time, realizing that this sport doesn’t hurt my knees. So, I just bought a bike and used it for transportation. I was studying in Michigan, where weather is generally very cold, so I wasn’t training a lot at that time.

After my studies, I moved to Thailand where I graduated to become a teacher. I wasn’t cycling anymore at that time, but after few years I discovered cross-country and MTB, and I started to ride again. It was all about fun! I finally joined my university cycling team and started to compete on amateur races. The overall level in Thailand is lower than in Europe, so there is less pressure and you can have lots of fun!

How do you combine your professional life with your cycling passion? Did you find a balance?

J.B.: For many years, I was juggling between teaching at the university and doing amateur races, which was very intense. But a few years ago, with the key support of my wife, I decided to focus on my cycling passion at 100%. So, I left my job at the university and we moved to another part of Thailand, in the mountains. Now, I no longer teach and I’m concentrating on cycling at full time, which is awesome!

I left my job at the university and we moved to another part of Thailand [...] Now, I no longer teach and I’m concentrating on cycling at full time, which is awesome!

What’s your cyclist profile? What type of race do you like the most?

J.B.: I think I can consider myself as a climber. Not a pure lightweight climber, but definitely not a sprinter neither! Regarding the races where I succeeded, it seems that the longer the climbs are, the better it is for me. If you talk about a climb that needs more than a hour to be done, I know that I’ll be good at it!

So, what’s the hardest climb you ever done?

J.B.: I travel a lot on my own for cycling and for finding new climbs. For me, the difficulty of a climb strongly depends on your physical condition, on the weather, … On a very good day, not too hot, not too cold, a though climb can seem to be not that bad. On the other hand, it could also make it even harder!

I went to Taiwan once for a very famous KOM race, where you have to climb from the sea level to the top of the Wuling mountain, located at an altitude of 3,275 meters. It’s a very long climb, that usually represents more than 4 hours of ascent. Can you imagine, 4 hours of climbing? It’s crazy! I did a very good time with 3 hours and 40 minutes of ascent, which is like Top 20 on Strava. So, I was very happy. This is certainly the hardest climb that I have done. I think the other very difficult ones are located in Thailand. Here, the climbs are not so long but can be very steep, with like +1,000m of elevation in 8 kilometers!

And what’s the toughest cycling challenge you ever done?

J.B.: Last year, I did the Everesting Roam challenge. Are you familiar with the Everesting challenge? It’s reaching the Everest positive elevation gain (8,848m+) in one single ride, by repeating the same climb over and over. But there is another challenge called “Everesting Roam”, where you can draw an entire route that has to reach at least 400km and an elevation gain of +10,000m. So, I did this in last December, and it was very hard but so exciting!

You mentioned Strava. What’s your relation with this application? Do you mainly use it to share your passion with your friends? Or do you consider yourself as a ‘KOM chaser’?

J.B.: I started to use Strava as a tool to explore and create new routes, new segments. For many years, I mainly used the app to draw new segments. At that time, I was living in a region with just a few cyclists, so there was no real competition about segments and crowns. But then I moved to a bigger city and I discovered how challenging Strava could be. Since that, I really turned into a KOM chaser!

Chasing KOMs on Strava is very fun, and it helped me a lot to improve my skills and become a better cyclist, but now I start to come back to my initial mindset. I realized that it’s not so rewarding to compare myself to better riders, like professional cyclists. So, I went back to the things I really love, which is more about exploring, creating new routes that connect two areas together.

You are a Tour de France fan. Do you have a favorite rider? A cycling idol?

J.B.: I always liked Primož Roglič. He’s a contemporary rider and a very good guy. The time Pogačar beat him during the final TT in the Planche des Belles Filles (Editor’s note: stage 20, Tour de France 2020) made him my favorite rider. He lost the Yellow Jersey at the very end of the Tour, and despite this, he walked to Pogačar to shake his hand just after the finish line. For me, it was so beautiful and it showed Primož’s class and sportsmanship. And he still has good results on the Grands Tours. Maybe he’s not the best, but I think he’s an example as a person. I love that guy!

I also like one former French rider, Pierre Rolland. He’s awesome! He loves the hard breakaways and attacking. Even if the chances are low, he goes for it! I like him, he’s very cool!

What advice would you give to a cycling beginner?

J.B.: I would say to go gently and let you fall in love with cycling! Nowadays, it’s so easy to focus on the fancy equipment, especially with marketing and social medias. But in my opinion, it can take you away from the simple joy of riding your bike! My recommendation is to pick the bike that makes you want to ride it. Don't pick the one because of its price or because it’s recommended to you on the social medias. Be sure to focus on the feelings and the sensations of riding! And don’t think about speed, go gently. You don't need to have a highly competitive mindset right away.

Go gently and let you fall in love with cycling [...] Be sure to focus on the feelings and the sensations of riding!

Let’s talk about trainings and cycling preparation. What bike do your ride?

J.B.: My bike is a Merida provided by my team, so it’s a very nice bike! Before that, I had a FOCUS Izalco Max, the same model as the one from Team AG2R La Mondiale! I don’t know why and when I saw the team riding this bike, but I always wanted to have the same. So, I bought it for myself! It’s very cool and not the most common bike.

And on average, how many kilometers do you ride per year?

J.B.: I think that I ride 2,000 kilometers per month on average. Some months a little bit more, some others a little bit less. But I think that for the past 10 years I rode on average 22,000 kilometers per year.

In 2024, you finished 2nd on L’Étape Thailand by Tour de France. Was it your first L’Étape event? When did you discover the L’Étape Series?

J.B.: It wasn’t my first L’Étape event. I discovered the Series in 2021, with L’Étape Thailand. At that time, the event used to be organized in Phang Nga, a city located in the South of the country. My former team sent me to that race without giving me so much details; just the location and the date! So, I didn’t realize what L’Étape Series is about. But, when the race started, I figured out that the race was beautiful, challenging and that roads were closed! After that, I asked to my team why all the races are not like that? I think riding on closed roads worth the whole experience! After that, I rode L’Étape Thailand two additional times, in 2023 and 2024.

Last year, I also had the chance to attend L’Étape du Tour in France. It was amazing!

Talking about L’Étape du Tour, the 2025 edition is getting closer and closer … Do you have a specific training plan for the race?

J.B.: I think it’s very important to do some long rides, with the approximative length of time you’ll need for the race. For me, it’s like 5-6 hours of training. It’s very important to get familiar with this length, so as with the amount of elevation and the quantity of nutrition you’ll need during the race. It’s good to get that kind of experience a few times before the race. That’s the tip I learned for myself and that I give to people: try to do a six-hours training without stopping, and see how your body is reacting.

And what is your ambition for the race?

J.B.: Last year, I had such a good day during the race: no crash, no mechanicals problems, my nutrition went well, I was in a good group and I had a very good finish. It was actually far above my expectations. For this year, I don’t want to have too much expectations; I think it could be dangerous to expect that I will have the same race as in 2024. So, my main objective will be not to go in the red zone during the first part of the race and keep enough gas to give everything in the final climb. I had this conservative strategy last year, and I think I’ll be also conservative this year again.

My main objective will be not to go in the red zone during the first part of the race and keep enough gas to give everything in the final climb

Why would you recommend L’Etape Series?

J.B.: I already mentioned the beauty of the routes and the full road closure that contributes to the amazing experience. But I also have to mention the unique atmosphere of the races. I remember a story during one L’Étape event: I was a bit nervous before the last ascent, asking myself if I have enough energy for another long climb. At that moment, there was a family cheering on me on the side of the road, and it was so beautiful! It’s an incredible chance to have the exact same experience as the professional riders on the Tour de France. This family, and all the people on the side of the roads are cheering for the riders without knowing them. And maybe it can push and help the ones who are struggling, help them to finish the race. That’s so cool!