Alpe D’huez Day 11 – 20 It had been exactly a year since I last stayed in Alpe D’huez where I had competed in the Mega Avalanche Cup. After having such a brilliant week at the Mega last year, myself and my friends made a pact that we would be back again the following year and so the planning and preparation began in January. T-shirts proclaiming our top three priorities of last year were made – Beer, Wifi, Bikes : ) My two weeks of living in the van were now done for a while as I had an apartment share with three friends. Although I love vanlife, it really was nice to have the comfort of a shower and toilet facilities! This is the one hardship of vanlife I reckon! The next day was spent just chilling and working on the bikes. Change of tyres, brake bleeds, cable changes, it was nice to get the chance to give the bike and body some tlc. That evening, I met up with the gang who had just arrived from Dublin for the week. We spent the next two days practicing the Mega run and the qualifier run from the top of the glacier right down to where it would finish in Allemond. The weather was perfect and the track was awesome with clearly a lot of work done on them. The bike was running smooth and after a decision made to get new brakes, a swift delivery from Chainreactioncycles the next day of Shimano Saint brakes and new rotors, I was riding these trails with a whole new level of confidence! I couldn’t believe the difference a decent set of brakes had made to my riding. I no longer needed to pull the brakes for long, a quick bite and my speed was scrubbed, allowing me to maintain my speed and be smoother on the bike. Better brakes to go faster, now there’s a juxtaposition right there! After riding from Monday to Wednesday, I took Thursday off to rest and tend to my bike, ensuring that I had everything ready for the Qualifying run the next morning. Qualifier Race Up at 5.30am to get the 6am lift, it was a very early start but I was feeling really good, excited about the race and the adrenaline nerves soon kicked in. The womens race started at 9.30. We took the first cable car ,hen had a short transition on the bike to the final cable car which brought us up the start of the qualifying run at 2200m the top you were able to see snowcapped mountains for miles and I took a walk over the snow to look down on the track below which looked awesome. In no time at all, I was on the start line at the front, the music started to play the usual start song 666 and we were given the 1 minute flag. I could feel the adrenaline running through my legs at this point, which gave me that jellylike feeling and that butterfly feeling in my stomach. The 10 second flag went up and then suddenly, before the 10 seconds were up, the tape was down and we were off. As I was expecting the full 10 seconds to run, I wasn’t on the ball and a few got in front of me immediately, causing me to get caught behind a bunch at the next corner. I rode as best I could down the shaley switch-backs, down towards the rock slab where there was a small section of snow. Where everyone was going straight on, I took a line to the left, which was faster but then got caught behind two riders on top of the rock who had come to a halt. Getting past them, I focused on getting speed through the slushy snow and made up time and places on the singletrack as I sprinted for as long as I could. I maintained my speed from then on, feeling great on the rocky technical sections and sprinting on the pedally singletrack. As this was the qualifying run, it was much shorter than the Main race run but a lot more intense. Half an hour of intense riding at full throttle, right down to the race village in Alpe d’huez. At the last section, I caught up with four guys who were in the race before us, losing a bit of time behind them as it was difficult to pass on the singletrack. I eventually got passed them all and put everything I had into the last part, sprinting to the finishline into the smiling faces of all my friends! I was knackered but loved every single minute of it! I was delighted to hear that I had come 6th overall, a big improvement on my 11th position the year before. No beer reward just yet, we had the main race the next day and it was going to be a very early start. We hung out in the race village for a while until we had fully recovered and had some lunch that was provided. Then back up to the lifts to wash the bikes and to the apartment to chill out and get ready to do it all again tomorrow! Main Race After doing my best to get a good breakfast of porraige, scrambled egg and avocado into me at the early hours of 5.30am, I was back on the lift to the top of the glacier, all set for the big event. This was it, I was determined to hold my position of 6th or even go for 5th, it was a case of being quick of the startline, no crashes and pacing myself in this hour long decent. We were all up at the top at 3200m by 7am and had a two and a half hour wait ahead of us. They get all 2000 riders up to the top of the startline and everyone goes off in their wave, ebikes category first, then women. The slope had been piste-bashed the night before and was glistening in the morning sun, reminding me of an ice-rink. It was a black ski run afterall……I can imagine every rider has asked themselves at this point if they are insane! It really does look worse than it actually is, and in no time I found myself lining up at the startline amonst fifty other women in fullface helmets and goggles, smiling and chatting nervously but with an air of excitement and anticipation. The 10 second sign went up and this time I was ready. I was off, one foot out with my ass back, gently feathering the brakes as I picked up speed. I had a good run, managing to stay on the bike while girls around me were falling like dominoes. I got to the first big corner and took it way too wide that I had to slow down and got caught in a tangle of two riders down. Back up on the bike and this time I tore down, absolutely loving the speed and amazed by the grip I had. I was soon off the snow and onto the rocky section of singletrack. Catching two riders here, I had to come to a halt on the most technical part of the rock as they had slowed right down, not good as you really need momentum for getting down technical sections. I lost my flow and had a nasty over-the-bars. The girls passed me as I was down and so once I was back up, I was determined to catch them up but also felt that I needed to ride a bit more cautiously. I worked my way to 6th position in the end, sprinting hard whenever I could and riding smooth through the woods. It was a fantastic run but I felt that I could have done better, so there is always next year! Massive thanks to Chain Reaction Cycles for sorting me out for the race with such quick turnaround. To VitusBikes, WTB, Sweet Protection and OLFI Action Camera.
After months of preparation, planning, stressing and excitement, I was finally taking off in my VW T5 for my annual roadtrip to France to ride my bike and get my fix of some epic alpine loam! But first up, I had to make sure the van was looking sharp and had its annual pre-trip pimping before hitting the road! Day 1 – 3: Dublin to Morzine Day 4 – 7: Morzine Day 8 – 10: Chamonix Day 11 – 20: Alpe D’huez Day 21 - 23: Geneva - Les Arcs Day 23 - 27: La Thuile Day 27 – 29: La Thuile to Dublin Total KM: 3000km Day 1 – 3: Dublin to Morzine I arrived in Morzine midday on Thursday, two days after leaving a warm and sunny Dublin. I had taken the overnight ferry from Rosslare to Cherbourg and took the 10 hour drive to Morzine at my leisure, stopping off in the big town of Auxelle for the night and managing to get the second half of the Ireland V Italy match in a nearby pub. Setting off early the next morning, I completed the second half of my journey by lunchtime, with a cheeky stop off at a giant Decathlon where I had to exercise extreme levels of willpower. Day 4 – 7: Morzine Within minutes of arriving in Morzine, I bumped into fellow mountain biker, Monet-Rose Adams, and made plans to go and chill at the beautiful nearby lake in Montrond. This was the hottest part of the day so after two days of not showering and driving in over 30 degree heat, I was straight into the icy cold lake for a refreshing swim. That evening, I continued on to Champery, where I was to begin the 80km Passport du Soleil the next morning. I parked up for the night under the ski-lift and got my bike and gear ready as I was keen to get going for an early start the next morning. The Passport du Soleil was something that I had heard of last summer and was keen to find out more about it. I thought, as I was travelling to the Alps alone, it was a perfect event for me to do as it was a good opportunity to meet new people and gently break myself into alpine riding with 10 hours of riding, I would sufficiently work up a healthy dose of arm-pump, something I had missed all year! The MTB Pass'Portes du Soleil is a mountain-bike ride ranging from 1000 to 2250m in altitude, in both France and Switzerland, where you follow a map that takes in over 6000m of descending, 1000m of climbing and over 80km of trails with food-stops along the way that provide riders with the most amazing food from chicken curry to chocolate fondue! It was a great event to ride completely at one’s leisure, with the only time challenge being to make the last lift at 6pm! I spent the next three days hanging out with Canadian and Kiwi downhillers Jaime Hill and Victoria Armstrong, who had been on the road since the end of May, racing the UCI World Cup Downhill Series in Scotland and Leogang and just generally hanging out in the Alps riding their bikes and living the dream! We had an epic all-mountain ride on the Sunday, starting in Morzine and following singletrack (as well as lots of lifts!) to Switzerland and back again, riding the supercool Col de Cue ridgeline which was well and truly worth the climb in the midday heat! Day 8 – 10: Chamonix My first time in Chamonix and to say that I was blown away by the beauty of this place is an understatement. Driving towards Chamonix, I found it hard to not get distracted by the views of Mont Blanc, getting closer and closer to the mountains with each kilometre. It wasn’t until I was parked up in the town of Chamonix and found the nearest café, that I could really take it in and get some photos of this beast of a mountain that surrounded the town. It was 8pm but still the sky was a beautiful blue and the contrast between the white snow of Mont Blanc against the sky was just stunning. I walked through the town, over a little bridge where I had to stop and appreciate the gorgeous flowers that covered the wooden railings. Not usually one for stopping to admire flowers, the contrast of these vibrant pinks and purples against the fast flowing, turquoise alpine river below, made me stop in my tracks and just stand and listen to its powerful sound. After a short wander around the town, I stumbled across this small but very cool pub with a crowd outside watching the England game on a big screen. I sat down, got myself a pint, a very quickly got chatting to a girl who came over to say hi. It turned out that she and her boyfriend were playing a gig there that night and so I ended up staying and having a great night listening to this super talented duo, who go by the name of ‘Reel Relish’, and play real feel good vibe music with a bit of ska, jazz and reggae mixed in. If you’re ever in Chamonix, you should definitely watch out for these guys! The next morning I headed to the bikepark in La Tour, a few kilometres away. It was a real scorcher of a day so I made sure to take a full bladder of water in my bag. I spent a few hours riding the bike park, having fun on my own and practicing my cornering! As a popular destination for hill-walkers, I shared the lifts with many and got chatting to a few. It was fun to compare our sports, both polar opposites but yet share a love for the mountains. After pretty much doing every run three or four times, I decided to head off on an all-mountain spin. I’d been told about a trail that involved a ridgeline that was well worth doing so off I went in search for it. I traversed the mountain and got myself onto the trail which was basically a natural walking trail. It was brilliant! It descended starting from the top of open mountain, through loose rocky singletrack, snow sections and then down through the woods which was technical and fast! I must have been on this for about an hour and a half until I eventually got to the town of…… From there it was an hour and a half back on the main road to La Tour. I got back to the van exhausted but really happy as I had been on a solo adventure in Chamonix and didn’t get lost! That evening, I decided to treat myself to a meal out as I was so tired and hungry. Up until this point, I had been cooking in the van, so it was definitely a treat. I headed back to Chamonix and parked up for the night. I woke up at 4am with stomach cramps and couldn’t sleep. For the next two days I was laid up with food poisoning! Nothing serious, and luckily I was able to go to the local outdoor swimming pool for a swim and a shower, but I started to feel worse as the day went on. I spent the rest of the day just lying in the van, dying with stomach cramps and trying to stay cool in the 30degree heat. I decided I would check into a campsite for the night and get a good rest. The plan was to head to La Thuile the next day to ride but as I was still unwell the next day, I decided that rest was more important and went straight to Grenoble where I was picking up a friend that night and then onto Alpe D’huez from there. Alpe D’huez Day 11 – 20 It had been exactly a year since I last stayed in Alpe D’huez where I had competed in the Mega Avalanche Cup. After having such a brilliant week at the Mega last year, myself and my friends made a pact that we would be back again the following year and so the planning and preparation began in January. T-shirts proclaiming our top three priorities of last year were made – Beer, Wifi, Bikes : ) My two weeks of living in the van were now done for a while as I had an apartment share with three friends. Although I love vanlife, it really was nice to have the comfort of a shower and toilet facilities! This is the one hardship of vanlife I reckon! Les2Alpes Day 11 - 12 Two of the guys I was sharing with were racing in the Mountain of Hell in Les deuz Alpes that weekend. Myself and Bex Baroana, who was also staying with us, headed over to Les deuz Alpes the next day to do some riding and check out the event. There was a real buzz to the place with mountain bikers everywhere, and the race village set up with stalls and bike companies advertising and selling their products. We headed over to enquire about the price of uplifts for the weekend and found ourselves at the race entry table asking how much to enter. A moment of potential race entry impulsivity was quickly squashed by our sensible selves, deciding that even though it would be cool, that we would definitely stick to our plan and not race it as we had the Mega the next weekend and then the EWS the following week. Wise decision!! The riding in Les 2 Alpes was just unreal. A huge bike park with some brilliant red and black runs, full of jumps, big berms, tabletops and techy trails through the woods that were physical and long. Arm pump was the order of the day and with my rear brake not working well, I was struggling to maintain speed with the constant braking and giving my hands a tough time! Cant exactly complain though, it was great craic. Following Bex down the trails, trying to keep her in my sights, hitting drops and finishing the day with a big hour of power xc climb on the adjacent mountain, we were pretty wrecked by the end of it and treated ourselves to pizza. We drove back that evening to our apartment in Alpe d’huez, had an early night and drove straight back to Les deuz Alpes the next morning for another days shredding. Day 2 was eventful as we spent it on the mountain watching the qualifier race and managed to find ourselves on a red run that was part of the race! Little had we known when we dropped in, that within minutes, we had become part of it and just had to go with the carnage of it all! It had just been raining so the dry tracks had transformed into muddy, slippery trails, which, with the steepness and speed of these, were an absolute blast to ride! Especially in the middle of a race that we weren’t actually racing! Next up....the Mega Avalanche Cup! Watch this space.....
La Thuile - by far my favourite place in Europe to ride. I loved it in 2014 when I raced the EWS there, but loved it even more this year as the crew really stepped it up by producing six exceptional stages that challenged even the most skilled and fasted riders in the world. Arriving early evening on the Wednesday, I parked up, set up the bike and headed out for a spin to stretch the legs. I returned two and a half hours later thinking I had only been out an hour! I checked into our apartment, a gorgeous property in the cute town of Thovex, just above La Thuile centre. The next two days were spent practicing the six stages, and just enjoying the trails without the pressure of racing. On my second day of practice, I was lucky enough to spend the day riding with Ewen Turner from IMBikeMag. Some epic riding was had that day! Race Day one started with a gruelling two-hour climb half on road that reminded me of the famous ’21 Bends’ of Alpe d’huez and the other half on singletrack that traversed the mountain and exposed the most stunning views of the valley and lake below us. Being the hottest part of the day, it was as if everyone was in their own bubble of suffering on this climb and no one was talking. Finally at the top, we had a good 15 minutes to chill and gather ourselves before kicking off. I was feeling a little tired but rode fairly well and kept it clean coming in at 23rd position. The transition to Stage 2 consisted of two lifts, a short pedal and a push up to the start line. I was now starting to feel the effects of the past two days practicing and the transition up to S1 and didn’t feel as fresh into S2 as I would have liked. I started off well but I dropped my chain quite soon and struggled for at least 4-5 minutes getting it back on as it had got caught outside the chainguide. Finally after a lot of swearing and brute force, I got it back on and rode as best I could but finished in a disappointing 32nd position. Stage 3, the final stage of day one, was my favourite one of the day as it had a great mix of fast flat out singletrack, rock drops and technical sections through the woods. I had ridden it twice in practice and got down it pretty smooth, loving every second of it! And it showed with my best stage coming in 21st position. All three stages were at least 15 minutes long and required huge levels of concentration and focus. You couldn’t switch off for a second. Finished by 2.30pm, I headed back to the apartment after a quick recovery bath in the icy river and spent the rest of the day washing my gear, bike, eating and napping. Day Two – Stage 4, 5 & 6 This was the more technical of stages and one that I was really looking forward to. It was nice that we had a late start time of 11.30 so I spent my morning doing some yoga, having a hearty breakfast and taking my time to get ready. No stress! Stage 4 started really well until a third of the way down and I clipped a rock and had a big over the bars. Fairly shook, I carried on but rode conservatively as this was the longest stage of the weekend and pacing was important. I rode well but right at the very end of the stage, a moment of not being focused meant that my bars clipped a tree and sent me flying. It took me a minute or two to get the bike up and running again and with crooked bars, I finished the stage but in a disappointing 29th position. At this point I was really disheartened, in pain and confidence really knocked. For the first time ever, a voice was telling me to just give up and quit as the next two stages were even more technical. With some encouragement from friends down at the race village, I decided to keep going and not let this affect me. It was too important and quitting is just not an option, no matter how hard things were and badly they were going. My goal now was to just finish the rest of the day and not push it, ride conservatively to get down without crashing. I was tired, this was the biggest cause of my performance. Stages 5 and 6 went well but as I was riding really conservatively, I came in 25th and 28th positions consecutively. An overall of 25th, I was disappointed that I didn't achieve my goal of coming in the top 20 but proud of myself for finishing this brutal and tough race when I was so close to giving up. It was a race where everyone struggled with mechanicals and crashes, so fair play to everyone who finished and commiserations for all the riders who couldn't finish due to injury or mechanicals. |
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