{"id":37666,"date":"2025-08-01T14:38:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T14:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/37666\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T14:38:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T14:38:08","slug":"i-only-took-the-test-after","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/37666\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI only took the test after\u201d –"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aude Biannic is back at the Tour de France Femmes with Movistar, less than nine months after giving birth to her son Noah, becoming the first French rider in the WorldTour era to return to the pro peloton as a mother. Racing in her home region of Brittany, Biannic\u2019s comeback is more than symbolic \u2013 she\u2019s once again a crucial part of Movistar\u2019s line-up, riding in support of Liane Lippert and Mareille Meijering after the early exit of Marlen Reusser.<\/p>\n

Speaking to L\u2019\u00c9quipe, Biannic revealed she unknowingly started both the 2024 Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix while in the early stages of pregnancy. \u201cI didn\u2019t know it yet, but I was already in the first month of pregnancy,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt something was happening, but I had decided to take the test after Paris-Roubaix. It\u2019s a race that I really like. I couldn\u2019t have raced it knowing that I was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WC23<\/p>\n

After giving birth in November, Biannic resumed light training by riding gravel near her home in Quimper. \u201cI continued to train for months, but without intensity, just to have fun and clear my mind,\u201d she said. \u201cThe night before I gave birth, I was even wondering if I should go for a little ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biannic returned to racing in May and earned her place in the Tour line-up just two months later, competing in the French national championships in June with Noah watching from the roadside. \u201cNoah gives me a strength I didn\u2019t have before,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to return so quickly, or so well. I had some fears about my level, and there were moments where it was hard to juggle training and caring for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he was sick in February and March, and not sleeping through the night, I was exhausted. I couldn\u2019t train properly, and I thought it would be really hard to get back to a good level. But I listened to myself and trusted that things would come in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WC23<\/p>\n

The balancing act has required careful planning. Biannic\u2019s partner is a mechanic with FDJ-Suez, meaning both parents are often on the road. \u201cWhen he\u2019s at a race, I\u2019m at home, and vice versa. We planned our schedules so Noah always has someone with him,\u201d she said. Family help and nursery support fill in the gaps when both are away.<\/p>\n

Now 34, Biannic is nearing a contract extension with Movistar, where she\u2019s spent the last six seasons and served as a long-standing road captain. At this Tour, she\u2019s riding in a selfless role, but clearly relishing the chance to race at home with Noah in attendance \u2013 especially during stage 2 between Brest and Quimper.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving him at the side of the road gives me something extra,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I see him there, I won\u2019t be thinking about my legs. I\u2019ll be thinking, I have to do this for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AudeAude Biannic<\/p>\n

Though other riders such as Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk have returned to racing post-pregnancy<\/a>, Biannic is the first to do so from France in the WorldTour era. She hopes her example encourages more French riders to see parenthood as something that can fit into a professional career, not end it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany girls have asked me for advice, and are surprised. It\u2019s important to show that it\u2019s possible in France too, that you can have a child and come back to racing just a few months later, like others have done,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it gives ideas to other French women, I\u2019m all for it. You come back home from a bad race or a tough training day, and you see a smile \u2013 it makes you forget everything else, and remember how lucky you are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aude Biannic is back at the Tour de France Femmes with Movistar, less than nine months after giving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,33926,784,85,23293],"class_list":["post-37666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-biannic","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-womens-cycling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}