Kayakers Péché and Klauss, from the paddle to the console – release

Their primary red boat had always dominated the meander. Marine race car, formidable medal hunter suddenly halted his race in the Prague Basin in summer 2018: cut in two, literally. Equipped with a chainsaw, both Klaus and Matthew Bechet found this symbolic gesture to express a mixed feeling of anger and lack of understanding after announcing the abolition of their system, the two-seater canoe (C2) from the Olympic Games and World Competitions. The bronze medalists at the 2016 Rio Olympics, overwhelmed by them, had to turn the page on a rich career and try to reinvent themselves. not easy. They launched a textile brand but their obsession haunted them: reclaiming adrenaline at major events and expanding their horizons.

Tired of his job as SNCF agent, Matteo Petsch is the first to take the lead. In May 2019, Vosges joined Team Vitality, the largest French esports club with 200,000 subscribers on their Twitch channel and nearly 600,000 followers on Twitter. “The environment got my attention so I asked Neo [Fabien «Neo» Devide, co-fondateur de la formation en 2013, ndlr] Who have offered to attend my sporting experience and to participate in the development of discipline. ” A role he did not take on on his own, he was joined a few months later by the loyal boat crew.

“I’ve always loved video games, but I discovered their professional side in the whole build. I was impressed with the enthusiasm that it provokes,” Explains Klaus Gauthier. At the age of 33, they hold a management position within the gaming structure and oversee about ten players. Each has its own section: Rocket League (a soccer-inspired car game) and Fortnite (a co-op shooting and survival game) by Gauthier, and Counter-Strike (a team-based shooter) for Matthieu.

‘They are a fusion’

An unexpected way to extend their shared history. It started in Saut-le-Cerf, in Epinal (Vogue), where the two working friends, who were barely 7 years old, were enrolled at the local canoe school. Love at first sight for this sport is immediate. Very quickly, the duo pursued the shows full of promises. Will not leave the children. In the boat, Matteo is in front, Gauthier is in the back. They leave their hometown to join Pôle espoirs France in Nancy. There, they still take DUT art marketing together, before packing their bags.

Direction Pau, where they join the Business School. “They are two brothers. They are a fusion,” Thierry Saoudi fired their former France coach, who is also from Epinal. They are both very different. Their personalities are not far from the opposition, Dennis Gargoud, a similar-generation Kayaker and Olympic single-seat champion at Rio, laughs in 2016. Matthew does not like procrastination, Gauthier is more perfectionist. “ But there is one thing they have in common: a win. “They have born competitors. Victory is their engine.”

So the failure at the foot of the podium during the London Games in 2012 was a huge disappointment for the couple … but above all it was a pillar of revenge four years later. “Matthew and Gautier work hard. In the water they chant their scores. But they also have a great ability to improvise. It’s their strength, they are artists”, Thierry Al Saeidy gets excited. Creative fibers both men love to find in e-sports. “There is a culture of show that fascinates me. During my first trips abroad, I was surprised to see how the players are stars,” Matteo Beach says.

Their role as new managers is to reconcile that spirit with the demands of a high standard, as details make clear by Bruno Martini, former goalkeeper for the French handball team, who has also been converted to Vitality’s general manager position. “They have a central role. Apart from the administrative work, they provide players with the physical and mental keys used in traditional sports, but unknown in this field, to enable them to become the best on the planet.”