Lose sight of the shore

The year was 2018 (sounds historical now, right), it was a hot summer (even a weather analogue), and my racing had been going really well as I was on my way to finish second overall in the U23 World Cup (which I did achieve). I was at a point in my career where I had to stop and wonder what to do next, 2019 would be my first season in the elite category. I was finished with my Gymnasium and maybe it was time for something new?

In my U23 years, I had been under the wings of our National team and Ghost Factory Racing. Unfortunately, I ended up messing up my relationship a bit with the Ghost team leaders towards the end of my contract, that was one of the first lessons I got as a 22-year-old Malene on how to manage, what to do and what not to do in this space. 

​By the end of 2018, I was in contact with the Scott team, where I hoped I could make my next jump, but so was Kate Courtney, and as she went quite fast at the World Championship in Lenzerheide and (also) as an overall absolutely awesome person Scott took her in and here I was empty-handed again.

That’s the name of the game in this world, so time to look forward. I decided to head down to Roc d’Azur and talk with some of the French teams. Maybe that could be the place for me for the next step in my career?  
I met Pierre Lebreton and Michel Hutsebaut in a hotel on the Rivera, and they showed me their new partnerships and riders for 2019-2020. It all sounded so exciting, and they welcomed me with open arms. Little did I know that that was going to be my team for the next 6 seasons.

For the first 4 years, I was racing under (legendary) Sports Director Pierre Lebreton, an absolute delight, I learned so much from him. The late Michel Hutsebaut was the team manager and owner, and together, we had some of my biggest successes. Podium and top 10’s at the World Cup and World Champs, Olympics and becoming Danish national champion, to mention a few. But I guess more important than the results was the feeling that these people had their hearts in the right place - I also learned these years how failure can be such a dominant presence in sports and how humbling it can be. 

For the next 2 seasons, we came back to the French roots and raced on Lapierre bikes and Mavic wheels. At this time, Michel’s daughter Celine Hutsebaut had taken over the team and a new era of this team (with a very long history of racing, I believe 27 years) had begun. With Enrico Martello as the new DS, and a completely new set of staff. We always joked that I was the OG (original gangster), of the team as I had been there the longest - along side our Videographer, Enric Cabot. Over these 6 years, I achieved great goals, overcame hurdles, got stronger, got defeated, failed, you know all of it. But I think the most important journey was the growth and progress I made as a young adult. When performance and sport is your fulltime job it brings many things to your life. And I think especially in the hardship I learned most about my core values and where I want to go in this life. 

We are now parting ways. I believe everything has an end, and at some point, you need to be brave and jump. Who knows what the future holds? 

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner

​The future looks bright, thanks for reading along. /Malene