Megavalanche - Qualifying Photo Epic
The Megavalanche is a race with a fearsome reputation to those who haven't done it, and to those who have done it too. An hour of descending, a mass start, snow; it all adds up to an epic event. This year the snow is still covering a huge amount of the hill, more so than normal, although no worse than in some of the earlier races according to the older veterans. In practice it's been surreal to say the least when seeing skiers going past you at the top of Pic Blanc when practicing the finals course. Today though was qualifying, and with the volumes of snow down even at the 2800m start for this, the heats were reduced from the normal 200 to 110 riders per heat.
Men's Results
Womens Result's
Thanks to Hoshi Yoshida for the images!
 |
 With day after day of rain every afternoon this week it was a blessing to see the weather improve from Friday onwards. This was especially so for those in the later qualifying heats which were set to run right around the time the rain had been hitting. The thunder and lightning had been impressive but it sure disrupts practice when it turns trails to mudbowls in seconds, and more critically, gets the chairlifts turned off sharpish. Alpe d'Huez may have woken today as an island in the clouds, but it was the right kind of clouds, and made for an altogether more positive breakfast in preparation for racing. |
 |
| Mullets ahoy. The Dudes of Hazzard crew definitely go in for the dodgy haircuts, luckily partially obscured in silhouette here. The Scottish boys were early converts to trekking all over Europe for enduro events, and have done a lot to make the Megavalanche a key feature of their season. Unfortunately Joe Barnes, Fabien Barel's Canyon team mate, fell victim to the mass start event and looks unlikely to race on Sunday. It seems fairly doubtful that it was an accidental move on the part of the other rider, and it's a shame that some riders feel the need to play dirty in what is a non-contact sport. |
 |
| A quick run up one lift, a bit of a cross country ride along an alpine fire road, and then a queue. As you sit in the queue waiting for your turn to get in the telecabine alongside nearly forty other riders, nerves build, pressure increases and the feelings of nausea increase. For those who haven't raced it before, it's a leap into the unknown whilst for those who have, it's a leap into the known potential for utter carnage to ensue once the Europop starts blaring and the tape is lifted. |
 |
| So much snow. Ordinarily in qualifying the snow begins further down and is pretty easy to navigate your way through. However, this year the amount of snow left after the winter is huge and left organizers with a massive headache to resolve the problems in the run up to the event. The piste bashers had been out in force for the week and shifted a huge volume of snow to clear a trail for racing on. With heats reduced to 110, the rows were still left at 25 riders wide; which was fine until you saw the narrowing aperture in the snow for every rider to fit through. The holeshot was definitely key here! |
 |
| A sea of calm on the outside, a raging torrent of adrenalin, endorphins, and pure, pure fear. Eyes focused and on the job is the only way when you see the 30 second board lifted in front of you. |
 |
| And then begins the carnage. Remy Absalon is a man in control, and no stranger to the Mega'. Here he leads Damien Oton, and proving perfectly well why he has the #1 board, continued to do so to the finish. For the finals, your row is dictated by finishing position in each heat, and then your position within that row by your finishing time. It can lead to some interesting results dependent on whether you had an easy or a difficult heat. With all this, Remy will be lining up in fourth on Sunday's final as despite winning his heat, he wasn't the fastest overall. Simple(ish). |
 |
| With some judicious line choice it's normally possible to hit only a handful of metres of the white stuff. Alas this year is a slightly different ballgame and this is just the first of two snowfields to deal with. From a comfy armchair it looks easy. From a less comfortable saddle it's packed sugar snow, melting by the minute into deeply grooved meandering ruts beyond axle deep that constantly fight you for control of the bike. Hard work, especially when surrounded by other riders all looking for a way to gain advantage. This was where the majority of places were to be won and lost. |
 |
| Of course the snow wasn't the only place to pass as James Shirley shows here with a brute force move on Franck Parolin. After spending a New Zealand summer riding and training away from a Scottish winter, Dudes of Hazzard's Jamesy Boy is on a mission. |
 |
| Melting snow + dirt = mud. Lots and lots of it. It was drying in places, but where there was snow, the mud steadfastly remained, almost necessitating tear-offs. |
 |
| Sometimes it doesn't take much to win a place or two. Here, Saracen's Sam Dale scopes out potential for some sneaky moves on the opposition. A win should have been on the cards but a snapped chain through the snowfields left him with a losing battle. A pushing hand from Irishman Greg Callaghan helped along the fire road where a chain was not just useful, but essential, and a lot of hardcore pumping of everything in sight allowed a recovery to fourth, and a spot on the second row. |
 |
| Like Remy Absalon, Cannondale's Jerome Clementz is a force to be reckoned with on these events. A genuinely nice guy, he has all the speed it takes to win the Megavalanche... |
 |
| ...which was in no way hindered by his heat win today which left him eighth overall and on the front row for the main final. |
 |
| Nicolas Quere sits alongside Remy Absalon on the Commencal team and is clearly learning well from the master with a faultless heat win. Here he leads the opposition across the barren lunar landscape. |
 |
| Are reflections in the water a metaphor for the reflective thoughts going through many riders minds tonight? Who knows. What we do know is that Yoshida Hoshi's pictures definitely capture the spirit of the event superbly! This could be the beginning of the pack, or the end but it matters not; for every rider has their own personal battles to fight, and their own personal goals to strive for. |
 |
| The landscape and scenery around Alpe d'Huez is simply stunning, and if seeing the amazing trails framed by the landscape leaves you feeling cold then something's wrong. Even on the trail this corner left you feeling like you were riding into the abyss, until you railed the slight berm to see the trail laid out in front of you, a snaking ribbon of fine dirt among the massive outcrops of alpine rock. |
 |
| Richie Rude may be better known for his abilities on the World Cup downhill tracks but as with anyone at the top level of their sport; talent has to be matched with fitness. And fitness is definitely required at these high altitude events. A mid race tangle with James Shirley demoted the Scot to an eventual third while Richie was able to recover for the win and fifth fastest time of the day. |
 |
| Descending closer to town, the turns got deeper, and the berms bigger. Laro Garay might not be a particularly well known name but a heat win shows his ability, having fought off Arnold Marco for the lead all the way to the line. Just two seconds separating them over the course of twenty two minutes is ridiculously close. |
 |
| This time last year the lake next to the DMC lift's top station looked inviting enough for you to want to swim in it. This year the same would only have applied if you, like Andy Murray, were a fan of ice baths. Warm it was not. These berms signaled the start of the narrower trails, and a more processional race although overtakes could still be had if you had either the balls or the ability to make them stick! |
 |
| Anne Caroline Chausson is a legend. End of. She's been racing bikes for an eternity, and no matter what the wheel size or discipline, has wins to show in them all. The Enduro World Series may not have gone to plan so far in 2013 but here shows a return to form. Maybe a map of the snow would have been a good idea though as getting lost and having to push back to the right course makes a serious dent in your winning margin. |
 |
| Second place Ines Thoma was just seven seconds back but the Canyon rider looks unlikely to race tomorrow, suffering from a really bad cold that would not be helped by the 5am start to get to the top of Pic Blanc for 9am. |
 |
| There were of course more girls racing than just Anne Caro, and here Switzerland's Pauline Dieffenthaler leads Anais Pajot of France. |
 |
| Cam Cole was a relative unknown when he won the World Champs in his home country back in 2006, but is now a household name. He's no new face to the Megavalanche either, and the Kiwi took a relatively unhindered win in a racing format he knows well. |
 |
| But of course there was only one real winner in the mens today, and that was Dan Atherton. After fifth place in the Les Deux Alpes (L2A) World Enduro race last weekend, ee smoked his heat today, and had a five second lead for a prime spot on the start line come Sunday. |
Men's Results
Womens Result's
Thanks to Hoshi Yoshida for the images!
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
Guess what..
They are now sponsored by Nuke Proof and finished 1st / 2nd /15th in each of there heats...
Congratulations to Chris, Frazer and Joe.. an inspiration to all who want to race Enduro!!!
Great joke finnrambo, I laughed big time
anne caro is a machine - saw her racing there 3 years ago and it was embarrassing how much she destroyed the womens field by (and wouldve placed highly in the mens)
Maes is sitting it out.