To practice this sport, you must have endurance, like to escape but above all, want to surpass yourself!
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Introduce yourself in a few lines
My name is Benoît Schaefer, I have been financial controller of the Abylsen Group since May 2018. I am responsible for the correct reporting of the group's financial performance indicators.
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Can you list the different sports you practice?
We will do with the current list, it will be simpler: mountain biking, road bike, trail running and running. Which already occupies me a lot! To which I add a touch of alpine skiing, hiking and swimming, to vary the pleasures.
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Tell us about your passion: how did it come about? What led you to practice these sports? Since when do you practice? What does a typical year look like for you at the sporting level?
I started mountain biking with friends in college, at the age of 15, at the creation of a club with a practice rather focused on downhill (ie. descend a developed runway as quickly as possible). Then I evolved and this led me to discover different facets, efforts and performances over time: dirt, enduro, cross-country (especially in multi-sport raid). Having moved to Paris at the end of my studies, my practice opened up to road cycling. I also practice running (road and trail) for the more condensed and simpler aspect at the logistical level. My typical year does not exist, and adapts mainly to my desires and availability of my loved ones (holidays, birthdays, weddings, weekends, …) and my state of form at the moment.
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What are the qualities necessary for the practice of these sports?
Endurance, the desire to share moments when you surpass yourself (either post-race for individual sports such as trail running, or as a team during multisport raids, outing in a peloton by road bike) and love to escape.
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What does your passion bring you on a daily basis?
Already, since I love festive meals, it allows me to keep a semblance of line! When I start my day with a workout, it allows me to have a toned awakening, and to be effective and focused immediately when I arrive at the office. And sometimes, when the conditions do not allow it, I train in the evening and it allows me to let off steam physically (my job is quite sedentary) and mentally (take stock of the events of the day, set the direction of the following days). Endorphins also help me keep positivism in more tense situations.
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How do you reconcile your professional life and the practice of sport?
Abylsen allows me to have flexible hours, as long as my job is done. It is also an opportunity to exchange with sports colleagues who have the same disciplines as me, or to open up to other horizons. Sometimes this gives interesting ideas and gives rise to new desires for challenge.
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What are the highlights of your upcoming year?
I plan to run the Paris Half Marathon at the opening of the season, then the Nord Trail des Monts de Flandes 42km to continue my running momentum. The rest of the year is quieter: a bit of medium mountain hiking during a trip to Peru, and maybe an M or L triathlon in June or September. We also have a Chamonix-Zermatt mountain bike project with friends but I'm not sure that our agendas match this year. At worst, it leaves perspective for next year!
