Supermountain Round Two, Pila - Saturday Qualifying
After the August break, it's back to racing here in Italy. The Superenduro team have headed to Pila, in the shadow of Mont Blanc, to kick off the second half of the season with one of their epic Supermountain races. Pila is a resort that's always been popular as a day-destination with the Morzine crowd as it's just a quick jaunt through the Mont Blanc tunnel and then up the hill. It's also a regular destination on the European downhill race scene, even hosting a World Cup round back in 2005. For this kind of mass-start, marathon downhill racing (just to be clear: this isn't an enduro race as it's over a single, long descent, not a series of timed special stages) it's a natural home and the race had to be shortened to 'just' 900m of vertical descending. They decided 2,200m might be a bit too much for some people as they are trying to attract a wider range of riders to these races.
Apologies for the lack of details, names today, but with the steam-powered internet here in the mountains it's been tough just trying to get the photos up tonight.
www.superenduromtb.com
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 This is one of those places where you constantly want a wider lens and a bigger sensor. An old 1D and a 17mm lens just aren't big enough to get in the majesty of this area, and this is only the view from one side of the mountain... If this were wider, Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, would be in here too (it's just off to the left of the photo). |
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| On the far right of the photo above you can just about make out this monster, lost among the other giants. This is a mountain that haunts the dreams and nightmares of mountaineers - The 4,478m high Matterhorn. |
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| To really understand the terrain surrounding Pila you need to study the names and numbers on this trig point. The best fact I've heard here so far? 80% of the peaks in the Alps that reach over 4,000m are here in this valley. Big mountain country indeed. |
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| Every once in a while you're lucky enough to talk to someone who's managed to figure out life. I never even got round to asking his name, but I suspect his words will stay with me many years to come. He worked hard when he was younger, provided for his family and now spends his days in the high mountains with his dog and a pair of binoculars. His house down below has a huge window facing Mont Blanc so he can sit there and watch the mountains, see the weather systems form and break on their faces. |
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| That's not a bad backdrop while you're getting ready to set a qualification time, is it? The race will set off from a vertigo-inspiring 2,700m... |
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| The top section is all about holding it wideopen on the rocky fireroads. |
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| If there are people going fast down fireroads, there's always time for a panning shot. |
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| Vittorio Gambirasio making it look effortless. You just had to watch the rest of the field to appreciate how pinned the top riders are. |
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| Just to break up the fast descending there's this ugly little climb. It may not look like too much, but at around 2,500m up it's hard to get enough air in to push on the pedals. The good news is that the mountain ahead is Mont Blanc, so you can look at something truly majestic as you suffer. |
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| Manuel Ducci smashed qualification today, coming down in under 12 minutes to get first pick of his starting position tomorrow. |
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| Valentina Macheda tearing through the high, alpine meadows in the upper part of the course. |
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| God bless riders who don't wear goggles, and then come steaming into corners far too hot. As he's Italian, it's probably "merda" and not shit he's mouthing. |
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| Below the meadows riders dropped into a fissure on the face of the mountain. It was basically an excuse to offer some line choice and throw some technical features at the riders. It was also a hell of a lot of fun. |
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| There are times when finding new lines is a good thing. This isn't one of them... He managed to keep it together for about 100m of the fissure before binning it. |
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| This is Marco, one of the marshalls this weekend. There aren't many better things to hear halfway down a mountain than "would you like a panino? How about a beer too?" Even if he didn't get much time to enjoy his because people kept ploughing through the tape on his section. Cheers! |
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| A slightly better view of that fissure. |
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| This dude got three things right: bright colours, everyone loves wheelies (or skids) and don't look at the camera. More than a few people from today should take note of these three things. |
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| Dust is something we definitely haven't seen enough of this season. Even though it's now mid-September, nothing feels like summer like being axle deep in powder. |
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| That's what I call a game face. |
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| Andrea Bruno isn't here this weekend, so he's sent some of the young guys from his team to come and get ugly for him. |
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| Davide Sottocornola didn't have the best of days in the office, he managed fifth in qualification, but after his close battle with Manuel last time, every little victory and defeat adds up. |
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| With a course this long, if you flatted it was a long, hot push home. |
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| This wouldn't be complete without a full Euro aero-tuck, would it? |
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| Can you name this World Cup series overall winner and which year he did it in? (The clue is that he's one of the people involved in the bike area here in Pila.) |
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| And there we are, sunset over the Aosta Valley. Forecasts for tomorrow are good, the tracks are running well and there's a strong field ready to fight it out tomorrow morning... |
Apologies for the lack of details, names today, but with the steam-powered internet here in the mountains it's been tough just trying to get the photos up tonight.
www.superenduromtb.com
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Pitty the cut the course to 900 m vertical though. My opinion is that it makes it even less attractive! I wouldn't drive 5h to get a 20 min ride, especially if I could get 40-45 min instead.
Is the race set in 2 runs like on a Maxiavalanche or is it a single ride?
For the next race I'll give u the roadbike handlebar :-)