Maxime Bouet (born 3 November 1986) is a French former road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2023.
Career
Early years
Born in Belley, Ain, Bouet participated at the French national track and road championships as a junior in 2003. At the track championships he won the silver medal in the individual pursuit, while at the road championships he took the bronze medal at the individual time trial.[5] In the following year (2004) he improved both results, winning the gold medal in the individual pursuit and the silver medal in the individual time trial.[5] In January 2006 Bouet took part in the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, a stage race in Gabon where he finished in 15th position overall.[6] That same year, on 1 May he finished 19th in the under-23 version of Liège–Bastogne–Liège.[7] He also reached the fourth position of the sixth stage in the Giro della Valle d'Aosta, an individual time trial over 10.1 kilometres (6.3 miles) where he finished 51 seconds behind winner Dan Martin.[8]
In 2009, his last season for Agritubel, Bouet also started off in the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, this time claiming the 7th spot, one minute and seven seconds behind winner Rémi Pauriol.[13] That same month he finished 19th in the Tour du Haut Var and also won his first race of the season, the first stage of the Les 3 Jours de Vaucluse, including the leading jersey. In the end, he finished in the second spot behind teammate David Lelay.[14] Bouet competed in his first Paris–Nice race afterwards, finishing in 64th position overall. At the Volta ao Alentejo Bouet won another stage race opener and wore the leader's jersey for two days until Héctor Guerra won the individual time trial in stage 3.[15] However, with a third place in the 5th and last stage of the race he reclaimed the lead and took the overall win, one second ahead of Guerra.[16] After finishing third in the general classification of the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour Bouet focused on some of the classic races. He reached the finish of La Flèche Wallonne in 138th position, but did not finish Liège–Bastogne–Liège.[14]
Bouet was added to the Tour de France shortlist for Agritubel and was preparing for his first grand tour. With a win in the Boucles de l'Aulne and a seventh place in the Grand Prix of Aargau Canton he confirmed his form and made the final selection.[14] In the third stage from Marseille to La Grande-Motte, a race won by Mark Cavendish, Bouet sprinted in the bunch to a ninth position, earning him his first and only top ten result of the Tour de France that year.[17] A great result in the 20th stage from Montélimar to Mont Ventoux in which he finished in 17th place, Bouet ultimately secured a 69th overall ranking when finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris the day after.[18] The 2009 season for Bouet ended in August after he finished third in the second stage of the Tour de l'Ain where he claimed the 11th spot overall.[14]
In August 2016 Bouet announced that he was following team-mate Gianni Meersman to Fortuneo–Vital Concept, joining the team with an initial two-year deal from 2017. The move reunited him with team manager Emmanuel Hubert, who signed him to his first professional contract when he was in charge of Agritubel. In his announcement he expressed a desire to race as a team leader with the French squad.[27] With his new team he participated in the 2017 Tour de France, placing 55th in the general classification.[28]
Bouet retired at the end of the 2023 season, after 16 seasons as a professional.[29]
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