A few weeks ago I did the Trans Savoie, a 6 day enduro race high up in the French Alps with 6000m descent per day as well as lots of pedalling. We began in Val d’Isere, racing in different areas of the Savoie Alps and camping overnight with the finish at Mont Blanc.

It rained over night before day one and clouds swirled around the mountains as we made our way up in a chairlift to over 2000m to the start of the first stage. The day had some good variety including bike park, really technical awkward rocky singletrack, rooty woodland, fast flowy trails and looooong climbs with stunning views. First day nerves and wet greasy trails had me riding like a muppet for much of the day, pinballing down the hills and loosing time with stupid crashes and mistakes. The nightmare situation would be to crash out on the first day so I was happy to get to the end in one piece and hoped to settle in as the week went on.

Day two was based around Bourg St Mource where there were more clouds and some rain on the cards. Some more time on the gondolas and well as some uphill pedalling and lots of long, technical, intense trails made a tough, tiring day. Having missed a turn and climbed an extra 500m, by the time we got to the top of the last stage I was so exhausted I wondered how I could survive a 900m descent. It’s amazing how a great trail can energise you (combined with eating a load of energy gels), and after 30 seconds I’d forgotten the tiredness and was racing absolutely flat out in pissing rain down an insanely fun bike park track. The unusual black dirt had an unexpected amount of grip so you could com screaming into rock garden and bermed corners flat out, wheels drifting but somehow always stayingng upright. There were riders close by in front and behind so motivation to push hard was even higher and left everyone was bouncing of the walls by the end, buzzing on endorphin’s and excitement. Awesome but didn’t sleep well that night, kept getting flashbacks of loamy corners and smashing berms!

By day 3 I’d lost track of were we were but the first stage started at the top of a huge mountain with massive 360 views of surrounding peaks and glaciers. It a real epic day with two 1000m+ descents starting up above the tree line, crossing open mountains before dropping into woodland trails with more switchbacks, today with dust included as the sun made an appearance. The last trail was on more unusual grippy black dirt along a river with some incredible steep drops, roller coaster whoops, pedally sprints and tight switchbacks. Stoke levels one again high and the day seemed less exhausting than day 2.

Day 4. We moved closer to Mont Blanc riding in the Meribel/Courchevel area withthe big snowed capped peak providing a backdrop to much of the days riding. The sun was blazing down, the trails offered another big mix of technical, bike park and flow. This was the kind of day you forgot you were tired, the views on the transitions were stunning so it was impossible to complain about the pedaling between stages. I joined up with a few of the other girls so that we could get a good run on the tracks without worrying about having to let faster guys past. It was one of the most fun days on the bike I’ve ever had, the last two trails left us with a severe case of ‘over stoke’, we rode flat out chasing each other down loamy corners and flat out pine needle woodland but finding extra breath to whoop and holler in excitement as the trails just got better and better. By the end of the day we were literally exploding with endorphins, I can’t imagine how heroin can offer a better hit.

Day 5. The pervious day’s madness where tiredness was masked by adrenaline, meant I woke up feeling exhausted and realising that I could be in for a tough one. We had a couple of chairlifts but a lot of climbing between stages meaning a long day in the saddle. My forearms were like solid lumps of concrete from all the arm-pump and it was becoming difficult to pull the brakes and stay focused for the full length of a descent. There were some rad trails, mostly technical and steep but fun. The last one, just as everyone was feeling really exhausted, was probably the hardest of the race. In a damp forest, the whole thing was litttered with greasy rocks and steep grippless corners that required full commitment to ride. Having felt good on the bike all week this reduced me (and a lot of others!) to feeling like a beginner. I was too tired to focus and didn’t have the strength to get myself out of mistakes so ended up running down sections. Not the best end to a day but that’s all part of the challenge!

I woke up to day 6 after a bad night sleep in the tent somewhat saddened that the adventure would be soon over but also looking forward to not riding a bike! We were now in the Les Contamines / Mont Blanc area and I was blown away by the scenery. We spent the day riding in the shadow of Mont Blanc with closeup views of stunning glaciers. Once again the trails were awesome but tiredness was taking over. I was in survival mode having to slow down as my fried brain was unable to process the trail fast enough to make the quick decisions needed to ride at speed, strength to hold the bars and pull the brakes was also lacking and a 1000m climb to the 2nd stage didn’t help. The last stage was pretty special, we took a furnicular normally not allowed for bikes, up to the bottom of the glacier on Mont Blanc and then raced down 1200m to the bottom of the valley. Once again we got girls train going and somehow extra energy reserves (and the thought of a cold beer at the bottom) kicked in as we raced flat out through dusty corners and fast rock gardens to the finish line.

Overall an absolutely awesome week. Every day had you pushing your comfort zone, be it through the long transition climbs or surviving racing blind down long and technically challenging trails. In the end it was more the mental fatigue that I struggled with than the physical, staying 100% focused for 10-15 minutes, 6 times a day is utterly exhausting. Camping out in the mountains for a week, doing nothing but eat, sleep and ride was a brilliant escape from normal life and it was hard to burst the bubble and come back to reality. Going with my brother Eóin and a bunch of friends from Zürich made it great fun but it was also brilliant to meet and ride with similarly minded, fast people from all over the world. Surviving the challenge and the buzz it brought made dragging ourselves out riding in sub-zero temperatures on dark winter evenings all worthwhile, it’s not an event to be underestimated and the fitter and stronger you are the more you can enjoy it.

I race on my Banshee Rune and couldn’t have been happier with the bike. I didn’t have a single issue with the bike the whole week, it got me out of multiple sketchy situations, gobbled up rocks and roots, got me a reputation for nailing switchbacks (its the bike not me!) and generally took any abuse I could throw at it. Thanks to Magma Bike for getting it running perfectly before the race.

Already considering next year and planning the next adventure as an antidote to coming back to earth with a bump…

Thanks to Mick Kirkman and Ronan Duggan for the photos.

Fork unlocked, shock unlocked, gears shifted, saddle down, full face on. Ready. 3, 2, 1, Go! Pedal, look ahead, arghh whats that i cant look up, shit forgot to put goggles on and they’re in the way behind my head, should i stop? faff faff loosing time, ok stop and sort it, panic panic 30 seconds wasted, right forget about it, back on it, focus, corner, on the brakes, look ahead, shit thats steep wasn’t expecting that, yeaow this is fun, drop, watch out for the rocks, off the brakes, more steep corners, legs burning, wheels drifting wow these tyres are amazing thought i was a gonner, flat bit – saddle up, pedal…!

Read at high speed and you have an idea of stage one of the Bluegrass Enduro in Rombach at the weekend.  Another trip to a random little village in the depths of the forest covered hills of Alsace in France and another fun enduro race on awesome trails with cool people. The trail builders in this area have a very definite building style, the courses are always full of tight steep loamy switchbacks and bus stop features. In Rombach the trails were steeper and more technical than Dabo, one section we rode twice finished in the centre of the village with the track switchbacking down what looked like a cliff face when you looked at it from below. In the race there was no time to consider how steep it was you just have to get on and do it, and riding it in a downpour the second time made it even more fun.

The stages were long, 2 of them around 11 minutes and when you’re trying to be 100% focused its a long time to concentrate and also an absolute killer on your legs since you’re standing on the pedals the whole time. I still haven’t get my head around blind racing, I felt like I rode large parts of the race well but lost far too much time making stupid mistakes and finished 6th. Overall a great event, plenty of chance to chat to other riders on the liasons and it was cool to see loads of girls from all over Europe there this time.

Nice video of the race here. Thanks to Bilger Lionel for the photos. 

The next round is in Ireland with a separate race for the girls, will be savage – do it!!

Even managed a cheeky stop off in Finale on the way home for a couple of descents and a beer on the beech. Rad.

The area is a biking paradise with a rabbit warren of biking trails running through the forests. Most of the course was through loamy pine trees with plenty of roots, switchbacks and the perfect spring sunshine  on race day even bringing some dust. The organisers had put in a huge amount of trail building work and some of the freshly cut sections switchbacking through deep, soft pine needles and moss were amazing fun to ride. Other sections were more rocky and although in general the trails were more high speed than technical, there was plenty of variety to keep you on your toes.

The transitions between the stages were also great to ride, often passing through tiny villages or farm areas with views of the surrounding hills and lots of little singletrack climbs. Infact there were some positively adventurous sections, we had to do some via ferrata style rock climbing carrying bikes at one point! The time limits were generous so there was plenty of time to chat and enjoy the relaxed friendly atmosphere. After the race oven cooked pizzas were served beside a lake for all the competitors – love the French attitude to making these events so sociable and fun!

I was really looking forward to getting underway with racing and putting the new Enduro 29er to the test but didn’t have the greatest of races. Not a total disaster, I finished 5th, but can do better! I can’t exactly say why, it was just a frustrating day where things didn’t come together and I got to the end of each stage thinking I should have been much faster. Brakes not fully functioning, terrain I’m not used to, a minor crash, head not in high speed gear – all excuses, will ride faster next time!

Race video here – I’m worse at interviews than I am at riding bikes.

At the weekend I raced in the Bluegrass Classique Enduro series in the pretty Alsasce region of France. There were 5 timed stages raced within a 30km loop which started at the top of a mountain 800m above the town. Stages were 10-15 minutes long, almost all on loamy forest singletracks full of dusty switchbacks, swoopy bombholes and tree roots. Since there was no practice of the course allowed, everything was ridden blind, a real skill in itself to go full gas when you don’t know whats coming but there was nothing too scary and it was loads of fun to ride.

The higher sections had some nasty little sharp rocks perfectly positioned to deflate your tires as you were in full swing. I flew down one such section on the first stage passing half a dozen guys fixing punctures and thinking to myself ‘be careful or you’ll get a puncture’, sure enough 2 minutes later  my front tyre went pssssstttttt. I chose to ride on the flat, wildly sliding out on the corners to the bottom but in hindsight on such a long stage fixing it would have been better. The race was more or less over, I lost 6-8 minutes.

After that I was there for fun. Stage 2 had a 3 minute uphill pedaling part which I attacked like a maniac so that my lungs were almost popping out of my mouth, xc race skills were not going to go to waste there and I clocked the fastest time on that stage. The race finished with a 40 second sprint in the town centre, jumping wooden pallets and riding skinnys over a pool of water to the finish where a live band, dinner and a dirt jump contest awaited. A great race, well organised with really nice trails and friendly chilled out atmosphere.

Overall I was 7th but some geeky results analysis shows if you discount the puncture stage I was 2nd fastest. Gutted! time to go tubeless.

On practice day it rained non stop. After a chairlift to the top, we were allowed to pre-ride two of the descents and the rest would be raced blind. The ‘easier’ one was a real challenge to get down never mind ride fast. Thick slippery mud everywhere, some really steep sections and lots of sharp greasy rocks. Having been told by my downhiller companions that the second descent was really technical I was starting to get worried and with good reason. It was nothing short of a downhill trail, switchback after switchback of incredibly steep rocky trail that was so so hard to ride but equally impossible to walk. In the dry it would have been manageable but covered in greasy sloppy mud it was pushing me way out of my comfort zone. I finished wondering how on earth I would survive two days of racing. It did make me feel a bit better to hear former downhill world champ Tracey Mosely also saying it was tough.

Saturday Race – 4 timed stages, 3 chairlift rides, 1 long non-timed climb
The first run was the easier one I had practiced the day before but due to a mix up I was entered in the men’s category and rather than racing separately with the girls I had to deal with loads of irate testosterone filled French guys screaming at me as they flew past. It was freezing cold, wet and muddy and I’m not sure how much I enjoyed it but I survived. It’s unbelievable how much time you can loose with a small mistake, dab in the mud and a minute disappears in no time, smooth riding was the key, practice required.

The second was a blind stage, and with more pedalling and slightly less vertical, rooty forest trails that were at times like Ireland, I started to enjoy myself. Sprinting flat out for two minutes so that you’re full of lactic and breathing like a donkey and then having to compose yourself as you drop into a technical descent is not easy but at least I started to feel I was racing.

After a long, non-timed climb to the start, stage three was a slightly altered and longer version of the horrible downhill we practiced the day before. The top section was amazing fun, sliding around in the mud and pushing the limits but with little pedalling required. The really steep part was a survival challenge and I was happy to get down in one piece without being taken out by any over enthusiastic euros.

After an extended lunch break and a lot of jet-washing the last stage took in some sections we had ridden in the morning along with some really fun, swoopy bomb-holes in the forest that were filled with noisy spectators. The weather had improved slightly so that it was in places almost dry making it great fun.

Having already been given breakfast and lunch, in the evening the organisers provided a three course meal with wine for all the competitors, a welcome break from shivering in my tent. Despite the weather there was a very friendly relaxed atmosphere and it was clear that racing in France has it’s benefits.

Sunday – 1 chairlift, 1 downhill stage
The weather got worse rather than better, it rained solidly all night and by Sunday the top of the mountain had disappeared in cloud. The race was postponed for a couple of hours and rather than a planned pursuit stage, we repeated stage 4 from yesterday. Shivering on the chairlift covered in a bin-bag poncho to try and stay dry before arriving to a sprinkling of snow at the top didn’t help my enthusiasm, but I had go this far so was determined to finish. It took me half the run to get warm but after the halfway sprint I got into it and had an amazing time. The mud had got so wet that there was nothing to do but slide, and once you accepted that it was so much fun! Although there is loads to improve on I learned a lot and was happy to finish, only 212 people did with nearly 650 entrants starting. Results here.

Thanks to Greg for the shelter in his van!

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