In the Wheel of… Océane and Dany, or the Secret of a Tandem that Rolls

A cycling career is punctuated by moments of glory and also defeats, but between competitions, love always finds its place. In a velodrome, on training roads, at races, Océane Tessier and Dany Maffeïs didn’t just meet. Champion and champion, they make headlines with their successes but also with their love story that they wrote together… So we took the wheel of one of cycling’s prettiest tandems. Perhaps the most glamorous couple in Île-de-France cycling, and shared three hours of their combined program on their training roads in Val d’Oise.

By Jean-François Tatard – Photos: All rights reserved

Sport, like any other field, is conducive to romantic encounters. Thus, while other legendary cycling couples have eventually formed, Océane and Dany don’t miss opportunities to ride together, such as on long rides or recovery sessions. “We spend as much time together as we can,” says Dany.

It was during a race in 2012 that Océane Tessier, now a professional cyclist with Team St Michel Auber 93, and Dany Maffeïs, an Elite rider with the Paris Olympique Cycliste team, met. And even though they had to wait until the spring of 2017 for their first kiss, today, despite their respective high-level athlete schedules, which inevitably differ, and despite unavoidable daily conflicts in their calendars, their shared passion always brings them back together.

At a time when we’ve never asked ourselves so much – are we meant to spend our whole lives together these days? – Océane and Dany send us a sweet romantic message and remind us that we must always believe in true love. But with a few conditions…

The first condition is that the relationship must be fulfilling for both. In a couple, you have to be able to admit that you might have chosen the wrong person or that it simply no longer works. “Staying in a relationship at all costs when nothing is going right leads nowhere; we only have one life, and missing out by being unhappy would be a real shame,” Océane explains. “As for us, we’ve been a couple for over 5 years, and in that time, I’ve seen couples form around me, and almost half of them break up” (are the statistics true then? Editor’s note).

One thing is certain: we have changed eras, and we certainly accept fewer things than our parents did. Also, happiness has never been as central to everyone’s lives as it is today. And so we don’t stay unhappy for long without taking corrective measures. But does that mean we manage to be happy?

Let’s not be pessimistic; a good half of couples stay together, and are they so unhappy? I don’t think so. So what is the recipe for a lasting couple? There’s a myth that everyone has a soulmate on earth; is it true? To each their own beliefs, but Océane and Dany’s destiny clearly put them on the same path.

Even though at the same time Océane teaches between races at Marcel Pagnol middle school in Saint-Ouen-L’Aumône as a biotechnology, health, and environment teacher to 8th and 9th graders, and Dany works in a bike shop at the Herblay crossroads, the common thread between the two partners is clear. This passion for cycling that they share together inevitably fuels most of their discussions. It’s what mutually drives them and, at first glance, brings them closer, if not merges them. But what this training with this lovely couple taught me is that you also have to give each other space.

Having common passions is very important, but also knowing how to let the other live their own. Everyone needs their own space, to do their own activities, spend time with their friends, and have their little secret garden. Wanting your partner to spend all their time with you can be very detrimental to a couple. You have to learn to exist as a person to be able to exist as a partner. Going out separately, having friends outside the couple, and spending some time without the other.

You have to know how to make concessions. You no longer live alone, and living as a couple necessarily means making concessions; it’s non-negotiable. Life is not meant to revolve around our little selves. And some things that may seem ridiculous to us may be very important to our partner. And so the most beautiful proof of love this couple gave me during these three hours was not their shared passion. The most beautiful proof they gave me is that they are very understanding of each other. And that reminds me that we must learn to put ourselves in the other’s shoes, grow, and work on ourselves to be lastingly fulfilled.

And another point… jealousy can kill a couple. There’s nothing worse than feeling that your partner doesn’t trust you. So, of course, we’re all a little jealous; it’s human. And some more than others, but it shouldn’t encroach on our relationship. In this tandem, neither ever oppresses the other out of jealousy or prevents them from living their life as they see fit. Each is interested in the other. Small daily attentions, that might be their secret. Preparing a refreshing meal after a race. Or just a hot tea before hopping on the bike to go to work. Giving a small massage the day before a competition. Helping to pack a suitcase before a trip to a stage race. Ironing a PCO t-shirt or tracksuit, a small attention for special occasions isn’t very complicated, but it maintains their love, that’s undeniable.

Taking an interest in what’s important to the other person or simply being attentive to their needs, that’s the lesson I take away from this discussion during this ride. But also “lifting each other up“! In my opinion, this is a constant in the alchemy of this romantic duo. They support each other, they are present for each other in their projects and desires. They encourage each other daily, and each helps the other to achieve their potential, which contributes to the happiness of both and strengthens their bond.

In the same vein, they respect each other even when they disagree. During this ride, Océane rides (very) fast or very slowly. She follows her very precise training program to the letter. On her headwind intensity session, hidden behind her wheel, my bike computer displays over 40 km/h, and my well-trained heart, sheltered in the wake of the Caledonian champion, is already at 85% of its maximum. But when she recovers, she really recovers. The computer drops to 25 km/h, and her heart quickly falls back to 110 beats per minute. “To ride fast, you have to know how to ride slowly,” Océane repeats to me. Dany, meanwhile, maintains an intermediate pace. He can spin the gear at 32 or 33 km/h for 3 hours without his heart exceeding 120 beats. She doesn’t worry about it. She can lose ground; she stays focused. This anecdote is, however, symptomatic of the very different ways each conceives of cycling. “Never insult or disrespect each other in your actions,” that’s Dany’s rule. It’s very important never to let this kind of behavior enter the couple because the situation can quickly become very detrimental.

Finally, I would say that no couple is perfect, and even when a shared passion, as emotionally engaging as cycling, makes things seem more obvious from the outside, it’s not that simple. So we all try to do our best every day. It’s completely normal to argue over a dirty pair of shorts lying around, or because one cooks spaghetti more often than the other. The division of household chores, even for a couple of cyclists, is the same source of conflict as in any other couple. But these two remind me that most of the time, it’s not serious. And more than shared passion, talking together, taking time for each other, and simply loving each other, that might be the key to a tandem that rolls…

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