Tour Talk: Pierre Louis Costes.
In our final installment of Tour Talk we chat to 2 times World Champion Pierre Louis Costes for his thoughts on the present and future of the tour.
What have you missed about competing on the world tour this year?
It’s been a routine since I was 17 years old I would say, following the tour and organize my year around it was something I got used to. I miss everything about it to be honest. My life changed alot lately since I became a father and I wasn’t on tour full time like before. When I was competing I was enjoying it, being with friends, get excited to watch some heats, face the new generation… I miss the atmosphere I guess.
What have you enjoyed about not competing this year?
The positive side in my position was definitely bigger than the negative side. I didn’t plan to do the tour full time and after so many years traveling , I was finally able to take a real break which made me spend more time with my family, especially with my son, during the quarantine, even though if it was challenging, I was able to share and live incredible moments with my son.
Has the break from the tour made you re-evaluate competing on the tour next year?
Having a year completely off competing is probably going to make me miss it a lot, depending on the new calendar, the events, the financial situation post covid, I will re-evaluate my position next year but I still have energy and desire to compete at the highest level, it’s a different phase for me, I don’t have as much pressure as before and I quite enjoy it being in this state of mind.
Has it affected your sponsorship situation?
It probably will, I can only be thankful and grateful to my sponsors for helping me during this crisis but because nothing is certain until the end of the year, it’s difficult to know how affected my situation will be. I admire all the efforts done by the companies that support me.
Do you think that the current world tour model is the best format for crowning a world champion?
The model is good, few events around the world in different type of waves to crown the most consistent athlete is a great formula. It just needs to be better structured adequately with the athletes and promoters opinions.
Do you think that the current world tour model is sustainable going forward in a post covid world?
Hard to tell, I don’t know yet how affected the athletes are or the funding for the events. 2021 may be a transition year.
