This article was produced in collaboration with Van Rysel and was published in Issue 138 of Rouleur
When he was 12, trekking in the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, Victor Bouscavet found his calling in life. He and his family often went on hiking holidays around the world, but these three weeks spent crossing multiple 5,000 metre-plus mountain passes in northern India had a profound and long-lasting effect.
“It filled me with curiosity and a huge appetite for travelling by my own means, with my own strength in the mountains,” he says. “This trip both transformed me and made me the adventurer I am today.”
Now, the 29-year-old Frenchman is one of the best ultracyclists of his generation, with an impressive palmarès that includes wins at some of Europe’s biggest events – most recently 2024’s Transpyrenees, a 1,000 kilometre race from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, with the small matter of the Pyrenees and 27,000m of elevation gain in between.
But racing and winning over mind-bending distances is a product of his passion, rather than the central aim. His real motivation is something much deeper: a chance to rediscover his life’s calling.
Bouscavet might have had a unique childhood, but his early adult years traced a well-trodden path. University in Paris, where he discovered a passion for creativity, was followed by four years working as an experience designer in the French capital. Cycling was present – as a means to get from A to B in the city – but his life had drifted from its explorer roots. “I really lost track of the young adventurer I was during my studies,” he says.
The spark of change was the pandemic, when he delivered food to homeless people in Paris by bike. “I got used to a certain rhythm of riding every day, and I really enjoyed that.” When things returned to normal, he continued cycling, making a subconscious link back to the itinerant hikes of his childhood. “I started to use it as a form of travel – bikepacking trips with friends – and then everything kind of accelerated. I figured that I wanted to make cycling the centrepiece of my life. I really loved the job I was doing, but I wanted to be sure I was only working on things that got me passionate – I didn’t want to wait for the wake-up call.”
Before he’d even entered his first race, he quit his life in Paris, giving up a job, apartment and friendships to throw his all into ultracycling and content creation. “It was really tough – having no apartment, income, a life that is really different from what other people have – and sometimes I questioned myself about why I prioritised adventure so much. But every time, I realised that my passion was always increasing, and I’m really aligned with the life I live.”
It didn’t take long to discover that the new path he’d chosen would be a successful one. His first race was 2022’s inaugural edition of DesertusBikus – a 1,200km, self-guided crossing of Spain’s deserts and badlands in arid and challenging climates. Despite lining up against some of the sport’s more established names, the unknown Bouscavet won.
“I was a complete rookie, but I was already the person I am today – I love everything about planning, strategy, equipment choices, ergonomics… It was a complete surprise though: I didn’t study the race thinking that I could win.”
Going deeper than he’d ever gone before, he discovered an ability to manage on very little sleep – catching just seven minutes of shuteye over three days. He also had an epiphany that proved to himself that he’d found his calling. “I don’t have huge trust in myself, and I think I struggle a lot in my life with this. Close to the end of that race, I started to cry because I realised I had the strength – it was physical proof of what I’m able to achieve. It was so intense and this moment was so strong. I knew I wanted to continue with these kinds of experiences.
“Ultracycling unlocks a certain kind of psychological mindset. In a short amount of time, you can dig deep and make some huge discoveries. It’s both inner and outer exploration. I got into ultracycling to escape the life I didn’t want and an urge of filling the blanks and chasing intensity, overcoming my limits. But I also ended up finding peace.”
Winning his first race legitimised Bouscavet’s decision to ditch a conventional path, but it also unlocked added pressures and anxieties.
“I wanted to show that it wasn’t just down to luck. I did the same race a year later, and I almost wanted to scratch after 15 hours of racing. I ended up on the side of the road, laying down to sleep, but I couldn’t. I burst into tears and it was really tough for me to get back into the race and say to myself, ‘You want to do it.’”
The Frenchman got back in the saddle and carried on to win again, but knew he needed to change his mental approach. “I always had a fear of judgment, and I wasted a lot of energy on this. If my passion was to raise my arms at the finish line, I would just spend all the races being scared of losing. I now try to focus on my own capacities, but also my own reasons why I do it – the actual riding.
“One of my learnings is also to focus on the present. I would always drag myself into anxiety or think of the worst-case scenario, and I ended up forgetting about the present moment. It’s something that also applies – if you focus too much on past achievements or the future, you do nothing.”
His shift in mindset has also made it easier to deal with the lows – injuries, mechanicals, sickness – that come when races extend into days and routes cross entire countries. “Those moments bring relief – elevation, ups and downs,” he says. “I try to remind myself that everything has a start and an end. Even bad moments end and they can unlock some really nice things after. I also love those moments because they teach me to remain positive, become resilient and have a handle on my body – it’s a tool, and I’m learning how to use it.”
The renewed approach has worked, and Bouscavet clinched victories at 2023’s Race Across France and the 2024 Trans Pyrenees. But he’s also happy when he doesn’t finish on the podium’s top spot. “This year, I ended up second for the first time, and I was really happy about the experience I had. It also brings contrast, and I like there is something to chase – I need to improve and learn.”
The event in question was Bright Midnight – a 1,100km mixed-terrain bikepacking adventure across the highlands and fjords of central Norway. “It was insane. Norway in summer is incredible – it has endless sunsets and sunrises, and the light conditions are perfect. It has the widest and whitest mountains that I have ever seen; we don’t have this kind of environment in France, and I really loved that.”
A relative rookie on gravel after a baptism of fire at the 2024 Traka 360, Bouscavet went into the event armed with Van Rysel’s new EDR CF Ultra – the French brand’s premium endurance platform, which boasts a lightweight carbon fibre frameset, generous tyre clearance and triple bottle bosses, ideal for remote, rough, long-distance adventures.
“The EDR is my soulmate and it’s already taken me to places I would never expect before,” he says. “I love it because it’s an adventure platform and you can use it for practically everything – you can race it, carry it in the mountains, put a shitload of bags on it and travel for a long time. It’s so flexible and versatile.”
He also showed that, thanks to 38mm tyre clearance, you can also compete in a gravel race. “My only set-up changes were switching to a gravel-specific groupset, big tyres and an off-road combination for my aero bars.”
Bouscavet would finish second in 58 hours, 28 minutes, five hours behind ex-pro Filip Eidsheim. While he might not have been as experienced as the rest of the field on the terrain, he applied his design-centric approach to give him the edge over other competitors. “I’m really focused on the way we experience things and try to make any usage simple,” he says. “Ultracycling is such an extreme environment – we all ride sleep deprived, so we have really low cognition – and if you succeed in making a design simple enough to complete on the bike, then you end up winning.”
A prime example is the small, plastic flowerpot cable-tied to the stem-end of his aerobars. “It’slightweight, aero and practical to put food in,” he says. But this also extends to his refinement of gear and race strategy. “I look outside of cycling for inspiration. I use a running trail vest with a water bladder that I can just unlock with one hand. But I’m also selective with water fountains. For example, if it’s on a descent, it’s not good because you use a lot of braking power. You need altitude and to be climbing – when going from eight to zero kilometres per hour, refilling is then quite fast.”
He also took the opportunity to use Bright Midnight as an education, while remaining focused on being in the moment. “My off-road technical skills are really low. But I learned a lot with Bright Midnight and I had fun. That’s the most important thing – to have fun – because last year, all the gravel I did was just painful. Bright Midnight was the right step for me, and so I think now I’m curious to learn a few more skills and try some other races in the same range.”
When race distances stretch into four figures and last for multiple days at a time, the idea that ultracyclists have a ceiling might seem strange to the average club rider. But Bouscavet is very methodical and mindful in his approach to adventure.
“My main limitation is my lack of trust in myself, and fear of judgment. I think I could extend my comfort zone and I have this philosophy of going step by step – I took some big steps sometimes, but I’m going slowly and I’m not doing all the long, crazy races like Transcontinental yet because I want to be able to handle properly what I have now, and I want to be sure.
“In this era of social media and the inspiring stories we have everywhere, it’s tough to know what your own dreams are, and to not chase other people’s. I love ultracycling for what it brings to me but I’m not sure I’m always aligned with fighting against other people. When you’re out there and there is a guy in front, it helps you push more and the competition can unlock more intense emotions. But I prefer to run my own path, and I think my whole life is about trying to create something we haven’t seen elsewhere.”
Given his story so far, and with the support of the Van Rysel EDR Ultra beneath him, maybe Bouscavet has no limits.
