Instead of glorious sunshine, the participants are repeatedly surprised by heavy rainfall during the training days and the race. Frenchman Francois Bailly-Maitre copes best with the slippery terrain and takes victory in the final race of the prestigious Megavalanche race series after just under 45 minutes of riding. Bailly-Maitre's lead was rather narrow for a downhill marathon of this length and difficulty. The winner of the Enduro World Series, Jérôme Clementz, crossed the finish line just eleven seconds later. Remy Absalon completed the all-French podium in third place.

In the women's race, Ines Thoma from Germany beat the French. Thoma is the only woman to stay under one hour, beating Pauline Dieffenthaler (FRA) by almost five minutes. Nadine Sapin, also from France, came third.

Exhausted endurists - winner Francois Bailly-Maitre downs a cup of water. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

The race through the rider's eyes
Swiss enduro specialist Gusti Wildhaber has caused a sensation this enduro season with several victories and other top classifications. As in the previous year, the rider from Walenstadt will be competing in the legendary end-of-season competition, the Megavalanche race, in Saint Paul on the island of La Réunion. After Wildhaber was rudely thwarted at the start last year, he arrives this year with great ambitions. However, the race turned out a little differently for him than expected and he only finished the downhill marathon in 67th place. Nevertheless, the long journey was not in vain, and so Gusti Wildhaber gives us an insight into a special mountain bike race in a special environment.

Gusti Wildhaber and Nicolas Lau training in one of the tunnel-like forests. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

"Initially, I was looking forward to the dust-dry trails on the island of La Réunion. Where I found them dusty a year ago, there was no comparison this year. From the beginning of my stay, heavy rainfall softened the terrain. I usually drag myself out of bed at 06:00 in order to be able to visit the route in dry weather. A real cramp when you consider that it's still 03.00 in Switzerland and my body doesn't want to get used to the new rhythm. Due to the heavy rainfall, the first qualifying stage on Saturday is canceled. It would simply be too dangerous to let all the riders ride through the slippery stone passages. The qualification will be started in two downhill stages in groups of four. These are fairly relaxed. It quickly became clear that there was no pressure on the riders as some athletes even had time to joke around during the qualifying runs.

Downhill star Rémi Thirion, Rémy Absalon and Nicolas Lau in a dry section during a qualifying run. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

The second stage of qualifying is a real mud fight. As I have technical problems on this one, I lose a lot of time. On the third stage, things went like clockwork and I rode to the best time. Thanks to this, I can start from the front row in the main race on Sunday. The atmosphere is generally very relaxed. The days before the race, I often train with other participants on the race course, play beach volleyball and go out for dinner together in the evening. It's special to have such a relaxed atmosphere with the world's best enduro riders. However, 95 percent of the riders are from France or the island of La Réunion itself. For someone like me, who doesn't speak French very well, it's not easy to follow their conversations. It is also not easy to adjust to the race. La Réunion is better known as a paradisiacal vacation island and you quickly get caught up in the vacation feeling. The island also offers impressive landscapes and plenty of opportunities to do sports or simply relax.

Impressive landscapes can be found just off the racetrack. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

On race day, a certain amount of tension slowly spreads among the participants before the start. Just in time for the start, the dark clouds unloaded again, which presented us riders with some riding challenges. Weather or no weather, I felt good and was ready for a quick start so as not to get caught up in another crash. Shortly after the start, however, I get into a little tussle with Jérôme Clementz, the world's best enduro rider. However, this had no consequences and I was soon able to catch up with Clementz and the leader Rémy Absalon. After around two kilometers, however, another rider comes hurtling up from behind and I have to swerve into the rocks to prevent a crash. Unfortunately, the short evasive maneuver kills my tube. With a puncture, the race for a top position is of course over. As this happens at the start of the race, I find myself in last position after the repair.

Rémi Thirion hurtles through the fog to fifth place. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

Due to the limited overtaking opportunities, my enthusiasm for racing is also fading. Nevertheless, I still have a lot of fun shooting down the trails with the other competitors. It's also exciting to see the tough battles between the riders at the back - worlds more dangerous than riding at the front. They even shoot each other down, and on a pretty treacherous course at that!

The Megavalanche course on La Réunion is very tough in the upper section. The exciting thing is that you pass through several climate zones. At the start at over 2000 meters above sea level, the climate is alpine. From there, we were constantly riding at high speed over volcanic rock. Then you turn off into the jungle. Trails full of roots, stones, tight bends and narrow trees, where I wish I had narrow handlebars on my bike again. The combination of root carpets and the special tree shapes made the ride through here a unique ride.

Overtaking impossible! Gusti Wildhaber in one of the numerous root carpets. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

After the tropical jungle experience, the route rides through sugar cane fields. You can't see left or right and the trail winds through the plantations like a snake. I mustn't waste all my energy here. These are needed to concentrate and hold on to the handlebars. Because after the sugar cane fields, you ride over a kind of trail, something between a stream bed and a path. Riders have often lost their strength here and lost their grip on the handlebars. Between these rough sections, you plough through sandy passages where you need a lot of sensitivity to steer.

Such tough sections plus fatigue provoke falls, which unfortunately don't always end in a happy ending. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

When I finally reach the finish line, I'm glad to have the exertions behind me. Even though all the riders are still pretty out of breath after crossing the finish line, practically every participant - including me - has a satisfied grin on their face. The greatest pleasure after the race is not long in coming either. Not far from the finish line, I jump into the small river with a few other participants to wash off the marks of the race and refresh myself. This great overall experience quickly makes me forget my otherwise disappointing 67th place and I'm already looking forward to next year. But now I'm tired for the season and urgently need a proper break so that I can start the next racing season fresh and refreshed again.

Definitely not part of the daily race routine, but it does have a sympathetic effect - the swimming fun among participants. Photo: ©Perspectiva - Urban Engel

Ranking men
Women's ranking

www.megavalanche.com