Roc D'Azur 2012: Thursday Enduro Race

 I'm not getting how two dudes on a tandem had enough UCI points either.

 The guy with the cap on did not have a number board on, was he racing or just riding?

 when that happens in idaho, it means they wouldnt give you your points in your class, and you had to run a lesser class, and then you get called a sandbagger.

 And as the why you have people without plates, is that apparently, the last section of the Enduro race was just not interesting from an Enduro point of view, and there were 4 tracks on that part! (enduro, marathon, xc and another one, plus I think it was open to the public ... so basically anyone could ride, and could get in the way of racers ...)

 2 fingers braking is suicide. Lol at the lefty couldnt do right turns.

 That's mostly because we couldn't get a rider list to know who was coming and it was, errr, challenging to find spots to shoot on the fourth stage.

 I have no doubt...just not in this race...although racer #16879 looks like he maybe one of them.

 #16879 is from the YMCA.

 Look how long his hydration tube is. Wow.

 that's no hydration tube, it's a catheter.

 Guy with the n°2 plate is Hannes Genze, and n°3 is Jochen Käss, both from the Merida XC team

 The Enduro racing series in Europe are pretty rad...just apparently not in Italy...at an XC race.

 @donch15

What are you on?
Roc d'Azur is not in Italy, but south of France. Learn about the world.
And, then again, Italy has some pretty good enduro racing, in one of the nicest country I've been (yes, I went several times to the us of a) .

And, your other comment "Gotta love the gravity guys just giving it to the weenies. Based off of this write-up...the UCI needs to ban spandex (and XC racers) from enduro racing." just show how you don't get it.
Enduro is not about what you wear, not about what bike you have, but about how much fun you can have on your own, and/or with other "different" people. Nobody cares if you are a XC guy wearing lycra or a DH guy in baggy...
And, that part of France is not really chalenging, pretty flat (no big mountains), so, anyone in a good shape (like a pro downhiller) can have a good result.

 Sorry I wasn't aware of an obscure village in south of France...my bad. Good to know that French children learn about every little, obscure town in the U.S. in grade school.

...and you're right, it was me, not the author of the article making fun of the spandex clad, tandem riding, no helmet wearing buffoons making a joke of what looked like it could have been a sweet enduro race.

Enduro racing is all about riding what you brung and having fun with your friends...but unfortunately at this race, they didn't even let one of the best enduro racers on earth enter b/c he didn't enough UCI XC points...makes perfect sense.

 Who is the guy they didn't let race?

 I think the reason that enduro isnt quite as big on the other side vof "the pond" is that shuttles/uplifts are more freely available. To get the descent, we sometimes have to ride the up as well... to get some longer downs!
Enduro (not endurance) is not a recognised UCI category so no points are awarded for it (yet) so if all you race are these type of events and the organiser says you need points, he`s stuffed, unlike the WC XC racer who may be completely out of hjis depth in this kind of racing environment....
LONG LIVE ENDURO!

 "Sorry I wasn't aware of an obscure village in south of France...my bad."

@donch15

Its not hard:

maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=Roc%20D'Azur&gbv=2&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

 Yes this Enduro Race from Roc d'Azur was bad in 2012 : in all points, organisation, kind of specials, respect of national rules, some idiots on bikes.
However, to judge French Enduro Races in their globality because of one event...
Yes, what are you on about, Donch ?
I'm not sure that your are able to finish two days of a French Enduro Racing in the Alps, technically and/or physically.
We have much more AM competitions in France (in obscure villages) than in all the US, we were pioneers in rallyes & DH marathon, we got the top riders, I let you Rampage & DH races, also you can keep your contempt.
[Welcome in Roquebrune]

 Yeah...but unfortunately for you, this article was just about this silly "Enduro" race with a field seemingly full of buffoons.

The Enduro scene in France (& Europe) definitely blows the doors off of the races we have in the States. French riders also definitely dominate the genre as well. Evidenced by recent and historical results in the Mega and the Trans Provence.

Don't sit around eating croissants though...enduro racing is coming on strong in the U.S. I just got back from doing the Whole Enchilada Enduro in Moab, Utah. 21.2 miles of the roughest terrain on earth. Did it in 1hr39min...can't wait to do it again next year.

www.pinkbike.com/news/The-Whole-Enchilada-Enduro-Recap-2012.html

 Yes, like for a lot of non-UCI events, competitions are dominated by local riders, indeed that's difficult for a French or an Italian to participate in the Crankworx Enduro in Whistler, & for an American to come and ride in our Enduro Series. I think it's good that this kind of events are developing in the US, Canada, New Zealand etc., that's good for general level and Whole Enchilada comp deserves to be famous in European counties.

 If this was a Non-UCI event...why would they not allow the one guy who probably would have wiped the floor with everyone to enter because he didn't have enough UCI XC points?

I'm still confused how a country that has such an amazing Enduro scene puts this non-sense together at what is apparently, "...the worlds biggest bike race."

 I didn't talk about this Roc d'Azur rule (indeed, that is a non-sense).
I just wanted to say that, as long as Enduro doesn't have its UCI championship, numerous comp (even the most prestigious) will be national or regional events.
Maybe the actual situation is better for sport.
"the worlds biggest bike race", great words but there are not a lot of French & Italians who wait for Roc d'Azur events to ride their bike...

 that's natural selection for you....if you make choices like that you're gonna get weeded out. re tod did

 the open shirt and gold chain was classic as well......

 There was not only Martin riding this "stupid circus" bike. Four others started and two of them finished 15th and 18th...in front of some special
dedicated"enduro" bikes.
Milton Ramos, the one who finished 15th raced with exactly the same bike the Roc marathon and finished 29th out of twothousandsomething starters!
Hendry147 is right, those bikes were also raced in the maxi-&megavalanche, the BC Bikerace, various Enduros and XC races.
There they also finished in front of some others or even on the podium, just check the sandmanbikes.com website to find out more...

 I'm sorry for posting this two times and pushing someone's "arrow down button". It's my first time here.

 if I am not mistaken that guy on the "Circus bike" is Martín Campoy look him up online I think that he just did the Maxiavalanche with his bike,
Dude got some mad skills.

 Yeah, him and his buddy Adrianne layed waste to a lot of people it the BC Bike Race (one of them was top 15, forget which). His "stupid circus bike" held up just fine in both the climbing legs and in the the northwest tech enduro sections.

 I think that his photo is the radest of them all in this article.

 vimeo.com/40430718

 Bman33 Fat bikes are sick, have you ever riden one? Didn't think so. Why do you try it before calling it stupid.

 it looks capable, but heavier than pineapple earrings

 I have ridedn Fat bikes. Sorry....I find them a little useless for my riding. However...have fun riding one if you have one.

 no I don't own one or plan on buying for the same reason you just mentioned, but it doesn't mean it's not fun for somebody else. I love different bike designs, it makes the world a more interesting place. It would be really lame if everyone only one brand one design. Cheers

 There was not only Martin riding this "stupid circus" bike. Four others started and two of them finished 15th and 18th...in front of some special
dedicated"enduro" bikes.
Milton Ramos, the one who finished 15th raced with exactly the same bike the Roc marathon and finished 29th out of twothousandsomething starters!
Hendry147 is right, those bikes were also raced in the maxi-&megavalanche, the BC Bikerace, various Enduros and XC races.
There they also finished in front of some others or even on the podium, just check the sandmanbikes.com website to find out more...

 hey bro, it's like i've had your ass in my hands the whole race.

 There are some seriously good bike handlers out there racing XC these days, guys like Naf, Fontana and Schurter are awesome riders. Lycra on the other hand...

 I have no doubt...just not at this race apparently. Although racer #16879 looks like he might be one of them.

 Donch15 .... big deal the guys are wearing lycra. I don't wear it but thats cause I'm more comfortable with other riding gear. As far as XC guys being in Enduros, why not. Thats the great thing about Enduro is it brings both worlds of DH and XC and smashes them together and the rider with the best technical and fitness wins. If a XC guy in full XC kit and bike can shred down an entire mountain thats full of gnar and beats everyone with DH gear and big travel bikes then he deserves to win cause... well he's just the man. Go grab your XC bike and try to shred it down your favorite DH track at speed and see what happens.
Also since your from Merica and need a hero to justify yourself have a look at riding legend John Tomac back in the day when he used to race DH/XC/Road all on the same bike with dropbars.... Holy hell ! Are you gonna tell me that the UCI should have banned him too.... probably should have since he's clearly not human :p

 pushingbroom, fair points, but let it be known that your Tomac analogy needs some clarifying. He raced 15 MTB races with drop bars, and he did it because he was a full time road professional at the time and needed to stay in the form of a road rider. Thankfully he stopped racing euro road scene when he saw it was filled with cheaters and went back to MTB haha.

 kill it with fire.

 Ha!!! That's awesome!! Didn't think they would even make Lycra in that size!!

 shaving 0.0001 of a second off, whats wrong with that..

 it's not fun or easy to get blood out of matted hair and apply bandages that'll stick. if you're not gonna wear pads you'd better shave/trim your knees at least.