Adding another celebrity to this summer’s growing list, top British MTB rider Marc Beaumont is in town to promote next season’s downhill bikes for his team, GT Bikes. I fully admit to knowing nearly nothing about mountain biking but had heard a rumour that the team were in town to allow MTB journalists to try the new equipment on our trails.
Photos and info about the new bikes is strictly embargoed until next week, so for now you’ll have to make do with this photo of Ben and The Boyfriend checking them out…
As you can see from the photos, posts and video, I spent most of the weekend trailing MTB riders around Les 2 Alpes. Despite this year’s winner knocking a whopping eight minutes off last year’s winning time, there weren’t too many injuries. Only one trauma was reported, two broken elbows and one broken knee… ouch!
Riders in today’s Mountain of Hell MTB race in Les 2 Alpes needn’t have worried about the snow slowing them down on the first descent… a clear night meant hard packed, icy snow on the glacier and a chance to get up some serious speed.
British rider Hazel Wakefield stunned herself and her team-mates by finishing top in the female category of this year’s downhill race, the Mountain of Hell. With a time of 00:39:09 she beat off fierce French competition but had no expectations of a place on the podium. The 27 year old isn’t a professional rider and came out to Les 2 Alpes for the first time this weekend with a group of friends from the Cornwall Freeriders club.
The 2010 Megavalanche is over and I had a great time filming and photographing the crazy event, widely considered to be the most extreme MTB race in the world. Check out my flickr page for more photos and here’s the video of yesterday’s final…
Filmed in Alpe d’Huez and Allemont this morning, the latest video from Destination Oisans brings you the speed and the snow of today’s Mega Ladies race. Hope you enjoy it…
Winner of today’s LadiesMega, Anne Caroline Chasson, completed the course in just over an hour, with British rider Meggie Bichard coming third, with a time of 01:18:00. The ladies started on the glacier above Alpe d’Huez at just after 9am, riding across the snow before hitting the freeze level and the more forgiving, muddy trails.
Content with its status as a mecca for cyclists, this week Alpe d’Huez adjusts its loyalties and welcomes the chunky tyres, full body armour and death-defying speeds of the sport’s rowdy younger siblings, the mountain bikers. It’s Megavalanche week and if you’ve not heard of this event before, here are some stats: 2000 riders; 40% Brits; 1450m vertical drop to qualify; 2600m vertical drop in the final; fastest recorded time: 45minutes, 37 seconds. It’s mental!
And I’ll be there over the weekend to take a few photos and catch some of the race on video. There’s just one slight problem. It’ll take me about about twice as long as the competitors to get from start to finish, and that’s not even on a bike. I’ll be recording in the snow at the top of Pic Blanc, 3330m, and at the finish line down in Allemont at 730m. The finals take place on Saturday (Ladies and Mega Challenger) and Sunday (Megavalanche and Mega Amateurs) and with temperatures hovering around 30ºC, it’s bound to be a hot and sweaty weekend. Check in later for photos, videos and results.
The Mondial is over and it’s suddenly very quiet in Les 2 Alpes. Despite a few downpours and overcast skies, it was a great event and enjoyed by all, especially Brit MTB stars Sam Pilgrim and Grant Fielder, who chatted to me on Saturday afternoon. Watch this weekend’s video to get a taster of the event…
