LET ME START THIS TALE BY CONFESSING ONE THING UPFRONT: I HATE CAMPING! IT F*KING SUCKS... ESPECIALLY AFTER 11 HOURS ON THE BIKE. THERE IS ZERO STOKE FOR ME HAVING TO GET INTO A WET TENT ON A DOWNSLOPE WHERE YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING JAMMED IN THE END FEELING AND LOOKING LIKE A USED GEL WRAPPER THAT YOU LEFT IN YOUR RIDING SHORT POCKET AND PUT THROUGH THE WASH. This being the case, what would possess me to indulge in the mission of fl ying from NZ to Europe, with ensuing oversize baggage arguments and jet lag to offer myself as a sacrifice to French switchbacks, abovementioned tent arrangement and hell gnar? Simple – The best week on a bike ever. AKA, the Mavic Trans Provence 6 day Enduro race.
After an unexpected absence in 2018, the Mavic Trans Provence was back for 2019, but with a twist announced from organizer and Blind Racing Czar Ash Smith: This was to be the final TP ever!!! That horror piece of news meant a fl ood of fever from the TP alumni as everyone scrambled to get a golden ticket to the final edition of what is widely considered to be not only the originator of this style of multi day Enduro racing, but also the pinnacle of the genre. While I had done it once before in 2015, there was NO way I was going to miss this Grand Finale of insane riding experiences.
Indeed, when I refl ected back on the 2015 vintage, I don’t recall the actual racing aspect as much as my brain drinks in the overall experience – The Vistas, the camaRADerie, The locations, the French cokes, the amazing trails, the laughs, diving into the Med, the endless supply of fistings (the good variety)… I can’t even tell you which was my best stage result that week, which for a dude that maintains a spreadsheet on that shit says a lot right?
This story is from the Issue 55 edition of Revolution MTB.
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This story is from the Issue 55 edition of Revolution MTB.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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