Day Four: The Big Show, Race Day - Roc D'Azur 2013
This is the biggest race I have ever seen. It's been running every year since 1984 and each year it grows a little more, bringing in riders and fans from across the world to send the XC season off with a bang. There is no other race I can think of that has a results list that runs to 119 pages long, or has rider starts spread out over two and a half hours... The most impressive thing though, is just how fast it all is, race winners average somewhere close to 25km/h, up and downhill, over 56km. While downhill, enduro and other gravity discplines will always be closest to out heart here at Pinkbike, you can't really compete with the intensity of the racing of something like this. The top riders will spend over two hours battling head-to-head, two hours trying to drop the riders behind, but keep enough in the tank for that final sprint to the line... In a close race, they will spend their time calculating, sizing up their opponent, trying to work out what they have to do to beat them... The emotional levels get cranked up to 11 and even if you don't fancy trying it yourself, it is undoubtedly one of the greatest spectacles in mountain biking.
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 Waking your legs up is the first order of the day, so rollers it is first thing to get them spinning and the blood flowing ready for the brutality that is to follow. |
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| If you aren't lucky enough to have a set of rollers, there is always the option to do laps of the old sports ground on the site to wake your legs up. |
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| Jaroslav Kuhlavy stretches out the early morning stiffness as he gets ready to head for the start line. |
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| While Jaroslav stretches, his team manager and mechanic, Benno, makes the last minute check to his bike. |
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| The just to reach the start line. |
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| Can you think of any other mountain bike race that has so many competitors that the first wave starts at 9.15 and then the waves keep going right up until 11.45? |
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| Once riders had got through that first gate there was yet another to navigate and elbow their way through to make it to the starting grid. |
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| A moment of calm for Miguel Martinez before the race. |
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| As the race started, fans let off blue and white flairs, drowning the start straight in the coloured smoke. We're not sure if the riders appreciated breathing it in, but it sure made the start of the race feel more dramatic. |
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| Jordan Sarrou charged through the smoke to grab the holeshot. |
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| Last years winner, Stephane Tempier, was leading the way in the early running with a solid pack of riders hot on his tail. |
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| German, Moritz Milatz was running near the front and looking strong. |
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| At the top of the first climb everyone still seemed pretty fresh, fighting for ground against the riders around them. |
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| The morning skies were more than a little ominous. |
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| Honestly, this looks mellow here, but I wouldn't want to try this section on those bikes at the speeds some of the fast guys were hitting it at. |
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| Dicey times. Not only have you got to deal with the bike/rocky terrain combination, but it is usually with several other riders around you and there's no guarantee they're going to be able to keep their shit in a pile and handle the section as fast as you can... |
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| Fans line the technical, dusty descent. |
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| The course here is rocky and inevitably it causes punctures and mechanicals. If you're lucky you may have a friend/family member/teammate to bring some spare wheels to the side of the course for you, pedaling them out along the closed roads. |
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| Miguel Martinez was leading the race a couple of climbs later, with Mortiz Milatz hot on his tail. Clearly Martinez has angered the Pope somehow, but it didn't seem to slow him down. |
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| This deserves respect. Not only is this guy busting out a wheelie on bar ends and a high seatpost, but that climb is brutal and to have the power in your legs to do this is worth your respect. |
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| This fella was going all out on the heckling as riders tackled the climb. Some riders appreciated it, others less so. |
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| Standard European rally racing rules apply on the sections the fans can get to. There is a line in the middle, but they damned-sure be in the middle of it and only pull out of your way at the last possible second. |
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| This is just cruel - a slog through the sand, a good 50km into the race. |
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| Fans of all ages come to enjoy the racing, although despite the enthusiasm, we reckon a bike is still going to be faster. |
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| A lone rider rounds a bend on the coastal path. |
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| You wouldn't want to go off the side of these trails, those rocks will take no prisoners. |
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| Just past that headland, you can just see the Base Nature where the finish line lies. |
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| Along the seafront riders take to the old smugglers trails along the rocks. |
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| While cross country racing may be getting better, there were still more than a few riders in the field who opted to walk this three step stairset. |
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| After the morning cloud burnt away, the sun beat down on the racers. |
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| St Tropez is just down the road from Frejus and, while there may not be the same surplus of super yachts here, there are still plenty of boats moored up along the side of the race course. |
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| After the beach, riders cross this pontoon bridge to grind out the final, flat miles to the finish. |
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| Coming into the final straight, Miguel Martinez and Mortiz Milatz were still tied, but Martinez just had the horsepower and slammed the door shut on the German. |
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| A Frenchman winning the Roc D'Azur, that's pretty much a fairytale for the fans. |
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| Across the line and for the victor it is time to drop the bike and wait for your family, team, fans and the media to swarm around you. If you've just ridden 56km in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 59 seconds you're allowed to. |
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| What a difference half a metre makes. |
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| A dusty, tired Miguel Martinez fields questions from the media after his victory. The Olympic Champion and World Champion is clearly still going strong at 37 years old, along with Sea Otter, this is his second big victory of the year. |
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| "Just there, that's where he mugged me..." |
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| Todays winning bike: Miguel Martinez's FRM Anakim SLK, decked out with signature Formula brakes, factory Marzocchi suspnesion and a SRAM XX1 drivetrain. |
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| Todays transport part one: The moto and rider, Marc. A 1,000cc CBF isn't a bad tool to zip around the roads on... |
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| The second part of todays transport - the speedboat, with it's pilot Jean-Claude and his family. |
The full results, all 119 pages of them are on the Roc D'Azur website.
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Member since Oct 29, 2006
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