Grand Raid Cristalp

The Bank Holiday weekend saw the first European racing action for the Naked Bikes team, with Nick T and Richard taking the long trip out to Switzerland to race the Grand Raid Cristalp.

 

 Nick:

"In the mtb marathon racing world Cristalp Grand Raid point to point is considered as one of the bench mark Alpine classics, a 'must-do' if you like big climbs, big descents and big kilometres. At 125km long with 5000m of climbing starting at 1500m and rising to 2800m it's no normal Sunday ride out for the average Brit racers like ourselves, so training over spring/summer had been focussed to prepare ourselves as much as possible.

Living in the flat lands of the Midlands and considering our training 'hills' are generally those of Charnwood and maybe the Peak District, the sheer massive scale of the Alps can take a while to sink in. This race was about finishing in a respectable time, not aiming for a top 10! So, after a 15 hour drive down in the Vito Race Van, expertly piloted by Rich and almost expertly navigated by myself, a poor night's sleep in the tent and an 04:30 alarm, we rocked up at the start line in Verbier ready(?) to race. Alarmingly, racing under BC license numbers, we had been gridded almost a the front of the race and knowing the pace the hardened European marathon racer goes off at we were more than a little concerned at being run over by 800 pairs of wheels. It wasn't so bad once the start gun went off at 06:30 sharp in the end, but almost an hour of climbing with no neutralised zone is evil. Cresting the long climb the route funnelled the racers into mountainside tunnel lined with PA speakers rocking out 'Back in Black' - no need for iPod then eh? A steady routine then settled in..

 

The Climbs……Rich (long, thin and Froome-like) lead the way up the climbs humming 'George and Mildred' tunes, Nick (short, fat and Cav-like) panting and following a short distance behind, not having sufficient capacity for either George or Mildred.

 

The Descents……….Nick, balls slung over shoulder, fingers off brakes, smoking tyres, humming 'Colonel Bogey' tunes, Rich, quite possibly cursing the reckless plummeting fruitcake up front! There were a few, and only a few interludes from this cycle. Astonishingly Europeans just can't do technical riding, up, down or across. Don't try to argue that they can - they can't! We had rather a few, let's say minor delays in traffic, negotiating Euro-mincers on any trail obstacle bigger than a pebble, narrower than a bus or wetter than rising damp. Technical is best left to Brits, we WERE Rock and Roll at technical!

Km after km passed, with their bikes and legs behaving well and Rich's rear tyre providing the only 'technical' of any description - a mystery 'slow', Stan's juice wouldn't seal, that needed a tube at the 90k point. All sorted and onto the final climb. Predicted thunder storm rumbling, heaving clouds and the first spots of rain falling was something to think about on the hour long ascent from the valley to the high point of Pasa de Lona at 2800m. The temperature dropped to below 40 degrees F, Rich had to push on up front to keep warm and Nick chugged up as tail gunner. The climb in the wind and rain was relentless, only 10% gradient, but with 90k and 4000m of climbing in the legs already it wasn't joyous. Slowly but surely grim faced riders started to come back down the fire road against the stream of climbers, some saying 'c'est fini' or 'ferme', odd but a tell tale sign that the final 'technical' descent had been closed for safety reasons. It's fair to say that Alpine races are often cut short in bad weather as bad here is proper bad, ie helicopter can't reach the fallen or falling! The general telepathic decision between us was to push to the top and see what was happening. The cold (and my slower paced climb - apologies Rich!) left Rich bordering on hyperthermic, wrapped in blankets in the checkpoint refuge, shivering like the lean greyhound he is. Nick's layer of insulation fared better on the way and both were reunited by refuge log burner. Alpine romance or what? All riders were then instructed to return down the fireroad to the valley bottom for transport back to the start. It would be easy to hurl torrents of criticism at the organisers for the chaotic scenes of expensive race bikes being piled into tipper trucks for the return journey, but it couldn't have been easy transporting 200 or dirty, wet and cold riders and bikes at short notice. It was crude, some bikes got cosmetically damaged, but it worked. Hastily organised hotel, hot showers, restaurant and comfy beds were the wisest way to end the day, the wet tent option was quickly ruled out!"

Results then - approximated due to the final section being closed. Both Rich and Nick completed in just under 9.5 hours and came in 160th from 250 vets. Overall 480th from 750 starters. Not bad for a couple of flat-landers!

For next year, Rich is determined to do it again and see the final technical descent to Grimentz. Nick has been having nightmares about his shiny Niner being thrown into a tipper lorry, so he'll be looking at the Salzkammergut Trophy in Austria. 120km, 'only' 4000m of climbing and a circular loop - no nasty tipper lorries!

 

Rich tries to get away on a descent when Nick's not looking (and fails probably!)

 

 

Nick T upholds the honour of team and country, showing the Euro mincers how it's done!