The joker, the jester, the class clown, you'd be a fool to think Yoann Barelli isn't serious about riding bikes. With results capable of hitting the top ranks of the World Series this is one rider who takes his racing seriously, but those who know how to work hard, know how to play hard too!

A new year, a new team, we catch up with one of the most entertaining riders on the world circuit before the season starts to find out what makes him tick. With a huge social media presence, and fantastic racing results, how does the rider who likes to play the fool manage to balance professional riding with entertaining his fans?

Who is Yoann Barelli? Where are you from and how did you get into mountain biking?

I’m a mountain biker, a very jovial person, I love being a professional athlete, and I know it is a huge chance that I have to do what I love the most as a living. I’m from the south of France, Nice, I grew up chasing My brother Nicolas Filippi (ex-junior XC world champ) but also Nico Vouilloz and Fabien Barel. They inspired me a lot when I was a kid, and I now live in Whistler, I am lucky enough to live my dream.

You burst onto the enduro scene in 2013 and haven't looked back, how did that happen? Were you racing already?

When I started to race enduro in 2013, I just fell in love with this sport. I was loving the idea of taking my bike and going for a bike ride anywhere, no shuttle, no worries, just me, nature, some good trails, and I became the happiest that I’ve never been. When I started to race the EWS in 2013, I was still working as a Cycle Manager in a big sports store in France. I was taking time off work to attend the races, and when I saw the Giant Factory Off-Road Team at the races, I made a promise to myself “next season, I’ll be with them, and this will be my job!”

Mid season I quit my job and put everything aside so I could train and reach my goal, and at the end of the season, I signed my first professional contract with them after 15 years of racing! I will never be thankful enough to them for giving me that tremendous opportunity and to have believed in me more than anyone else. Thank you, Joe Staub, and thank-you An Le.

Now I’m just following my way, and loving mountain biking every day a little bit more!!

We are seeing a huge range of Enduro World Series events, with different styles, formats, etc. Which type of racing do you like best? What was your favourite event of 2017 and why?

I like long or short descents, very technical, gnarly or high-speed terrain. I like to feel the adrenaline growing in me. I’m not a huge fan of easy, flowy trails for racing as I get bored! But we need a bit of everything to make everyone happy. The EWS crew is doing a fantastic job taking us to many different places around the world; it’s awesome.

I love the mass start format like the Megavalanche, I love the blind racing format like the Andes Pacifico or all the trance races, and I love the intensity of a full week during an EWS. The event I liked the most last year was the urban DH in Taxco! The vibe at this event was just insane; I can still feel it, I’m coming back this year for sure.

What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses for Enduro racing?

Well, here is the thing, I’m gonna be honest with you. It’s been four years that I’ve been racing the full EWS circuit and all the time when there are some long uphill or long flat during a stage; I’m a bit behind the fast guys. When there are some short sprints during a stage, I can hold the intensity of the effort and be at the front. If it’s a long stage, gnarly and mainly descending I’m at the front. If it’s a short stage technical and descending, I’m at the front. But unfortunately for me, the difference is mainly made in those long uphill or long flat sections!

I’m training to reinforce this weakness, but also to enhance my strengths, so we will see this year. At the end of the day I think it’s better to have a very sharp V6 than a lazy V12, don’t you think so? I’m also very good at reading a terrain, finding lines (not French lines haha) and making my own plans. There is lots of strategy involved when you race at the EWS, and I’m good at that.

What does the future of Enduro look like to you? Bigger stages? More days? Lifts or pedalling? Should they all be the same format?

I think the future of enduro is pretty bright as long as all the different forms of racing keep their own entities. Right now you can choose in between a huge range of different formats, and it’s awesome. If you want to race a multi-day, blind and adventure oriented event, you have the choice of maybe 20 races around the world with the Andes Pacifico, Trans Provence, Trans NZ, Trans BC, etc.. If you want to race a mass start event and experience something crazy, then you have the Megavalanche and Maxi Avalanche. If you want something cool and relaxed, then there are thousands of local events that are pretty rad. If you want to race an EWS and experience the intensity of these events, then you can…

You can basically experience everything in one season if you want, that’s what I do, and I love it.

What are your goals for 2017? Win the EWS overall? Have you planned for any other races other than EWS?

Everyone wants to win the EWS, and I do too, trust me! My goal is more about putting all the check marks in the “positive” category during the whole season. Racing the EWS takes a bit more than just disconnecting your brain at the start of a stage, that, everyone can do it. For me it’s more about getting to the start of a stage, confident, relaxed, and ready to do what I do the best, riding my bike full gas. But to get there, to get to this feeling, to put yourself in this autopilot mode, there is a lot of work to do before that.

Things you do every day, gym, interval training, rest, sleep, hydration, nutrition. Things you do at the races, practice, track walk, watching GoPro footage, hydration, nutrition, sleep. If I can have all these check marks all year long, then I’ll be ready at every stage, I’ll be ready to do what I do best, riding my bike as quickly as I can, and when I ride my bike totally unlocked, I go fast no matter the terrain! This is my goal!! 

Your videos are hugely entertaining, and you have a massive social media following, is this something you aimed for? Or did it just happen?

Thanks! I just realised a few years ago that I wasn’t good enough on the bike to make millions of views with a video. However, on the other hand, I am pretty easy going in front of a camera, I have lots and lots of fun riding my bike, I love being a clown and make people laugh. This was (and still is) my cocktail, and this is what brought me where I am today. By doing that, I’ve found my way, I became a better rider, I became professional, and I’m now racing a world-class circuit and fighting for the top spots. I’ve realised that there aren't any limits in life, we can do anything and change our destiny at any time. Every day I live my life open to see where this positive, fun and light way of playing with life is going to take me.

This is also what I want to give to the people that are following me; I want to show them that by following their dreams, by taking a few risks sometimes, and by doing things with passion, life will always reward them and we end up doing what we want.

Is the image of enduro too serious? Do riders and racers take themselves too seriously? Should racers all be having more fun like you?

I think that everyone is having lots of fun doing this you know. It’s true that if you come to an EWS event, you could believe that the racers are too serious, but everything is so intense that you can’t really waste your time by being a goof, you have to be focused if you want to perform. Being focused and doing a serious job doesn’t mean that you are not having fun. There is a place and a time for everything; I’m not always full gas, I’m not always joking around, I also like to do the job.

Your image is one of a laid back guy who likes a joke. When the camera is off, how much do you train and what do you do?

I train pretty hard, like everyone I think. But I’m not the type of guy that is going to be crazy about his training. Let say that I train 10 to 12 hours very intensely (gym, workout, interval training) per week, the rest of the time; I play, I’m on my bike or on skis in winter, I’m outside adventuring. A normal week would be in between 20 and 25 hours of activities.

What do you get up to when you're not riding your bike? You mentioned skiing, that must be pretty great to have access to such great terrain in Whistler

It’s been my third winter in Whistler now; it’s rad. You get up in the morning, check the snow forecast, go for a few laps, a good ski tour, then go back home, lunch, plan videos, train… This year we went to Europe for a month in December/January with Katrina, to get some sun, some good weather, to see my family and to do a bunch of riding.

I also like to chill; I like to go in my garage, just to check how my bikes are doing haha, to measure stuff, test different things, work on the bikes ready for the summer. It’s a good life.

How did your move to Commencal come about? Did you seek Commencal out, or did they come looking for you?

I’ve known Max (Commencal) for quite a long time now, and during the last few years we’ve been in touch, talking about working together and it was just at the end of the last season that I made up my mind. I’m very happy to work with them, the vibe at Commencal is awesome. This winter we went for a visit at the Commencal HQ, and I was stoked to see how everyone works together in a big open space, everyone is mixed, even the boss, it’s awesome really. It’s a very dynamic brand, and everyone in the company is motivated to move forward. It’s a perfect fit for me; we are going to do some great things together.

How have you adapted to the new bike? Does it take a while to settle into a new ride, do you just hit the trails and see what happens, or is it more scientific than that?

It takes a bit of time for sure, especially in my situation; I changed all my sponsors except SRAM/Rockshox. Just imagine, riding for four years with the same bike, same handlebars, same grips, same shoes, same goggles, the same everything then, suddenly you change it all! It feels very strange at first, and I felt like a stranger on my bike! But after hours and hours of riding you start to learn, your body starts to adapt itself to everything; the feeling comes back. Commencal has been very close to me during this process, I’ve been in touch with the engineers regularly, and we still are, we talk about what I feel on the bike, they give me new things to test, they tell me different set up to try. So I ride, I’m gaining confidence, there is no stress, it’s just rad.

The power of Commencal is that they listen to us, the racers, but also a lot of the consumers, we all work together. They make you feel engaged with the brand; you feel like at home when you ride a Commencal!

So you'll be racing the new Meta V4.2? What set-up are you running? Stock or custom? Size? Coil or air? How do you set your bikes up, is it different for every race? Are there any special touches?

Yes, Meta AM V4.2 size L completely stock except for the paint that will be custom soon.

During the last few months, I’ve been testing a bunch of different things on the bike, caps in the head tube to make the bike longer or shorter, angle set from +1° to -1.5°, a swing arm welded together to check out if more rigidity would improve anything. All of that, to come out to the conclusion that the bike is great and works amazingly well the way it is! All this data isn’t wasted; we will use it for the future.

I’ll run an air shock for the first two EWS, then I’ll see, I need to test the coil on the Meta. My bike is a bit different from one race to another; I’ll change tires, handlebars, rotors, air shock or coil, and maybe the wheels. It depends on of the terrain; I adapt myself to it.

You caused a stir with your Cyclocross riding in Whistler, showing what can be done on skinny wheels. Commencal doesn't make a Cross bike, do they? How will you manage?

Well f$£k, that’s what everyone says! I think we “seriously” have to do something about that, and quickly. Don’t you worry Whistler bike park, I’m coming for you again hahaha!

Will we see some more videos and #tutotuesdays this year, or is it all about the racing?

Of course, you’ll see some more #tutotuesday, of course, you’ll see a Barelli goofing around and having a hell of a time on his bike and off the bike. Racing only happens at the races, and only the important ones, not all of them have to be taken seriously in my opinion; otherwise, you can burn out! Some of them are more about the adventure, having a great time with the friends, and the story that you are going to tell about them.

Well done on your result at the Andes Pacifico. 6th Place! Were you happy with your result and did you enjoy the race?

Thank you, yeah 6th place, I'm very happy with the result. Andes Pacifico was for me the best way to see where I was at and to see if my good feelings on the bike were right or not and also to see my state of fitness.

There are a lot of positive things coming out of this race, when it goes downhill I'm feeling confident on the bike, I can let it go, I just let the bike do its job. It's pretty amazing to feel already that good on my bike that early in the season. In terms of fitness, I wasn't as ready as the other fast guys, but that's ok, the race was now a month ago, there is a huge step forward that has been done during this month ;).

Did I enjoy the race? I loved it; I'll come back next year for sure. Everything about this race was rad, from the organisation to the unique terrain they made us ride!! It's an adventure, a unique experience, I recommend it to everyone!

Was this your first time at the Andes Pacifico? Tell us about the event; what makes it so good and unique, how about the anti-grip?

Yes, it was my first time, and man, what a rad event. It was just so cool to leave winter for two weeks and be in full on summer for a bit and to see all my friends again. Even if we race "against" each other, we are all friends, and when we are all together for an event like Andes Pacifico, without pressure, it's like summer camp for adults.

They say at the Andes Pacifico that it's "the experience of a lifetime", they are right. From the beautiful landscape to the gnarly long stages, to the fantastic food they give us, from the free and unlimited draft and delicious beers to the gnarly long 4x4 transfers on really sketchy roads, plus the smiles and the good vibe of all the organisation staff. To finish at the beach with a crazy party, this race is unique and rad, I think everyone loved it.

Anti-grip, yes, of course, haha, but that's ok, you just start to learn how to ride on it on day 5 stage 4 (the last stage of the race) haha!

We shared a lot of amazing moments, we met a lot of cool and interesting people, and I say a big thank you to everyone involved to make this race happen. Also very special Thank you to Pablo, who simply took care of me like if we were the best friends since forever! Thanks, bud.

Who are your other sponsors for this season?

I ride with the support of Commencal, Dakine, Sram/Rockshox, Vallnord Andorra, Hutchinson Tires, American Classic, Smith, Tioga, Renthal, Northwave, T9 Boeshield, HuckNorris, Crankbrother, E-thirteen, On energy organic, Effeto Mariposa, Pulse Session, Aerozine, SB3, IceToolz

I’m racing in the Commencal Vallnord Enduro Team, managed by Cedric Ravanel.

Any shout outs and thanks?

A big thank you to you first, for these rad questions, also to all my partners of course, but also to all my ex-partners, without them I wouldn't be here today :).

A big thanks to everyone that’s following me, pushing me and supporting me no matter what. You guys are awesome; I love you!

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us!

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Welcome Yoann !
By Ewen Turner
Ewen Turner is a self-confessed bike geek from Kendal in the Lake District of England. He runs a coaching and guiding business up there and has a plethora of knowledge about bikes with an analytical approach to testing. His passion for bicycles is infectious, and he’s a ripper on the trails who prefers to fit his working life around his time on the bike.

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