Étienne Hubert
I should thank my parents. They took me hiking from a very young age and gave me a love of the outdoors. And they put me in a kayak for the first time.
My first memory is of just going around in circles. The sport is very technical, much like swimming, and it takes years to ingrain good habits on the water. I've been a junior and senior world champion and finished seventh at the Olympic Games but I'm still learning all of the time.
Like any elite sport, there are good things and bad things along the way. You have to be very selfish sometimes and it is easy to find yourself cut off from real life, in a 'bubble' which is only about one thing. But I love the challenge of the journey, looking ahead to the next goal and wondering how and if I'll get there.
Any victories along the way are always nice as well, of course.
Cycling is a key part of my training routine but it has always been more than that. Sometimes I have to ride alone but if possible I like to ride in a group, it's a great contrast to my day job which can be very individualistic.
When I was younger, I would spend time exploring by kayak and by bike with a group of close friends. This gave us all a taste for adventure and it is still there now. I've ridden across amazing landscapes in Patagonia, gone from Eindhoven to `Sedan on an old 'dutch style' bike and crossed through Andorra in the deep winter with plastic bags over my shoes.
The next trip, by bike or kayak, is always the best.
Where I Ride
Around Paris I've discovered some amazing gravel routes. Often I ride with relatives in the Ardennes and I keep a mountain bike at my sister's in the Ardèche.
What I Ride
Maybe I'm not really a pure cyclist if I don't love the road. But I love dirt roads. I love rough tracks and out of the way places.
Why I Ride
Kayaking is an aerobic sport, you need a big VO2 max and training on a bike helps. Really though it is for the discovery, the little adventure of going from point A to point B.
A Mont-Blanc Gravel Tour
After the last few months of training and the Olympics in Japan, I find myself constantly craving nature. I’ve thought about doing this tour for a while so this seemed like the perfect time.
Lake Émosson
The professional canoeist and Caravan athlete, Étienne Hubert, is preparing for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he lives. Part of his process is to take himself away from the metropolis, just him, a tent, his bike and of course, his kayak.
Paris by Night
Adventure is around every corner on a bike, even in Paris in winter. Olympic canoeist and Caravan member, Étienne Hubert, takes two kayaking veterans on a twilight tour of Paris.
