Les Français sur leur canot en plein milieu du Saint-Laurent gelé pour la course de l’Isle aux Coudres au Canada. DR
Une équipe de Français prendra le départ du championnat du circuit international de canot à glace canadien à partir du 1er février. Un Sétois sera à bord.
Rimouski, Isle aux Coudres. These names may not mean anything to you, but they are nevertheless very well-known in the world of ice canoe racing. They designate the places where one of the most important events of this extreme discipline takes place each year in Canada.
For about twenty years, French people, including a Sète resident, have been donning their lycra suits, neoprene socks and crampon shoes, heading for the Canadian International Ice Canoe Circuit Championship. Five races in two weeks on the frozen St. Lawrence, at -30°C some years. “When you're on the boat, you don't feel the cold!”, assures Eric Bonijoly, secretary of the Cettarames club in Sète and starboard-back for the French crew.
The French, including members of Cettarames in Sète, have been taking part in the adventure for about twenty years. DR
Making their way through the “slush”
This year, there will be six of them in the French team that will take part in three out of five races (including the carnival in Quebec), starting February 1, 2025. Among them, Didier Voindrot, the captain from Toulouse (who was the first to embark on the adventure with the president of Cettarames, Annick Artaud), Thierry Barthes from Grau du Roi, Gaël Ledu from Nantes, Richard Tremoles from Blois and Thomas Campion from Montpellier. Average age: forty. “We are not a French team, we did not go through a selection process to form our group”, recalls this outstanding rower. But the group certainly combines great qualities as both paddlers and pushers. Essential for making your way through the “sloche”, this wet and very melting snow.
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“She had trained in the fridges of the auction”
Eric Bonijoly from Sète, a member of Cettarames, caught the canoe racing bug in 2019. Hélène Admirals
A rower on the boats in all the jousting tournaments in Sète, Eric Bonijoly, 54, was not destined for this type of challenge when he joined the Sète club in 2007-2008. “One day in 2009, I received a message from President Annick Artaud at 3 a.m. She asked me if I wanted to participate. At 3:01 a.m. I said yes! When I signed, I didn't worry about the cold. When my jeans froze with cold at the airport, I realized,” Eric smiles. With the new kids, the team has a little ritual: “When we arrive, we inhale an icy breath”, just to ward off the cold. To get in shape, “the first year, Annick Artaud wanted to do the race, she trained in the fridges of the auction”, says Eric Bonijoly.
“We can go up to 60 km/h”
Today, the team members each train in their respective clubs, on oars, rowing boats or simple ergometers (rowers). Once there, the competitors tame the ice canoe (a Kevlar and carbon hull 8 meters long, weighing only 90 kg) and work as a group on the very technical transitions called ice (push) and rowing. “This year, we all know each other well and we know what to expect. We'll be able to get started right away.” Understand: jet lag doesn't matter. The Isle au Coudres event follows the route of the ferry connecting the island to Saint-Joseph de la Rive. It can last 45 minutes or more than three hours: “It depends on the currents, the formation of the ice, the wind, physically it's hard and it can be very dangerous. When the ice is a skating rink we can go up to 60 km/h.” On their feet are rugby shoes equipped with spikes generally attached to snowmobiles. “It's an idea that the Canadians have even taken up”, says the Sétois.
Canadian sponsor
The French, crazy about skiing, have been “adopted” by Isle aux Coudres, located north of Quebec. They also found their sponsor there, the Pedneault cider house. Unwavering support for five years. “They pay for the canoe, its assistance and take care of travel between races“. The team also and above all finds Canadians there, who have become their friends.