MEGAVALANCHE SAINT-PAUL
LA RÉUNION
Every year for the last 20 years and just before Christmas, a large contingent of the French enduro and downhill racing scene head south to sunnier climbs and to the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean, and the iconic Megavalanche Réunion.
To most riders the Megavalanche means one thing; hundreds of riders thundering downhill from the snow capped top of Pic Blanc in the French Alps at the annual Alpe d’Huez event. Around 5500 miles south of Alpe d’Huez lies the tiny French volcanic island of La Réunion, the location for this very French end of season getaway. Officially the furthermost outpost of the European Union, La Réunion is located west of Madagascar and a stone's throw from Mauritius in the other direction.
Although touted as a serious race the event is more than that, and has become an annual holiday for riders with their mates/family/partner with a bit of friendly competition thrown in.
Practice in the loosest form takes place throughout the week, but due to the hour plus uplift to the start of the track at le Maido's 2205 meter peak, the competitors are limited to one run per day followed by a relaxing afternoon on the beach. Le Maido is a spectacular mountain, perched high on the edge of the Cirque de Mafate, which is a huge and ancient caldera formed from the collapse of the large shield volcano, the Piton des Neiges.
The full Mega course can only be described as complete and the eventual winner has to be on top form in all aspects of riding. Starting flat out on the brutal ancient solidified lava flows is just the beginning of what is a true all-round test of skill, strength, fitness and good old-fashioned balls. As you descend the climate changes and therefore so does the terrain. The dry dusty forest section that follows the start is tough, making it difficult to maintain flow due to roots and small sharp inclines, not to mention the single track, which is interspersed with technical rock sections and deep dust. Dropping further down the track you enter what feels like the tropical section of the track. The cloud builds up at this level so there is more moisture in the ground with a mixture of deep loam and slippery roots, but all technically challenging and a lot of fun! This section gets progressively wetter as riders make their way down with the final 300 metres before the first liaison being like an ice rink with a mixture of steps, roots, rocks and compressed slick earth, which was hard to slow down for let alone stay on line! The liaisons are fairly short and not that steep on a mix of tarmac and concrete roads, and for me at least, were a respite from the constant battering your body was taking on the rest of the track carrying all my camera equipment.
The bottom half of the track is extremely fast, passing through farmland and fields of sugar cane. Although mostly on fire road type tracks, these were a whole a lot of fun with loose volcanic soil plus the added bonus of about six inches of dusty powder in virtually every corner. That makes for some pretty poor visibility unless you are out front. The final section of the course follows a brutal old road (although I doubt many vehicles would get up it!) and a seemingly endless stream of punishing rocks and boulders in between tight turns and the odd section of technical singletrack to break it up.
QUALIFYING
This year the enduro qualifying format of last year was replaced with a shorter mass start affair. Waves of around fifty riders covered the last (extremely fast) third of the whole megavalanche course as previously described. As it was so fast and open, the racing was tight with finishing positions determining grid positions for the main event.
RACE DAY
Race day means an early start for riders, mainly to get on the road and beat the tourists to the top of le Maido. On arrival, there is a pretty relaxed vibe on the go, with predominately French and Reunion Island racers mixing with the mostly bemused holiday makers. The start is split into three waves. First are the fastest qualifiers in the main Megavalanche, followed by the depressingly small field of just four Women (let's get some more top female racers here next year!) then the rest of the field in the Mega Challenger.
The start isn’t quite as impressive as the ice, snow and bonkers speed of the Alpe d’Huez event, but it is far more brutal. The field sprints off the line down a tarmac road for about fifty metres then a tight chicane, followed by a right hander onto the ancient lava flows. There is a massive line choice at this point. Racing across the incredibly rough rock, most of the field are aiming for the tightest line and the largest part of a small drop off the main road. After that, the riders are into the tight stuff. As a photographer, that's pretty much all you see of the main race as the start is over in seconds and the real racing takes place lower down. After that it was time for myself to join the back of the Challenger race and see where I ended up!
Race favourite Rémy Absalon takes the win on Réunion for the 6th time… That's the third in a row. This win pushing his Megavalanche victories to 10 when you combine the Alpe d’Huez wins. Local Alexandre Sicard maintains his strong start to take second and Théo Galy in third place.
La Réunion is a truly stunning island with a lot more riding to offer than just the one track of the Mega. The island is crisscrossed with multiple trails many of which take in the three main craters, including one live one. As well as this there is a thriving downhill scene on some impressive tracks. The climate in amazing, the scenery incredible.. this need to be an international end of season race/blowout for the enduro and downhill scene not just the French!
Check out the race action here as well:
Full results here: ucc-sportevent.com/megavalanche-saint-paul/
MENTIONS: @AndyLloydPhoto
Devinci All Tricks rider Theo Galy takes the steps before the first lengthy wooded section next to the cloud filled Cirque de Mafate.
ep1.pinkbike.org/p5pb12942483/p5pb12942483.jpg
Incredibly outdated.
Africa is West of Madagascar.