 He also watched his cousin ride.He worked as a baker for 10 years in Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët before being discovered by Albert Bouvet, the deputy director of the Tour de France.Mangeas recounted in an interview with Vélo 101 that he had commentated on table-football games among friends when he was a child, and commented on his first bike race when he was 15 years old.