Trans-Provence: Decision by one second | Ride MTB

Trans-Provence: Decision by one second

The "Mavic Trans-Provence" enduro stage race sees the closest decision in its history. After six days, Nicolas Lau beats his French compatriot Jérôme Clementz into second place by just one second. Swiss rider Florian Golay takes ninth place.

Last year's winner Nicolas Lau finishes the first day of the Trans-Provence in second place. Jérôme Clementz, currently the best enduro rider in the world, wins it with a lead of almost 30 seconds. Despite four consecutive first places on the day, Lau only manages to catch up with his compatriot in dribs and drabs. A crucial driving error by Clementz on the last day of the race means Nicolas Lau defends his title. Two-time downhill world champion Fabien Barel, who finished the last day of the race the fastest, came third overall.

A Swiss enduro racer makes it into the top ten again this year. Florian Golay from Valais starts in seventh place, but then drops back to eleventh place. With good daily results in stages three, four and five, the Romand fights his way back up to seventh place, at the same time as the young cross-country talent Anton Cooper. On the sixth and final day, Cooper won the duel against Golay. Nevertheless, after these tough six days, the Frenchman can be pleased with eighth place overall. Two other Swiss riders, Othmar Künzli and Johannes Riebl, finished in 31st and 56th place respectively. Künzli also took third place in his age group "M40".

Anka Martin achieved the best overall performance among the women. After two second places at the Trans-Provence in 2011 and 2012, the South African won the overall classification with five out of six daily victories. With her 32nd place overall, Martin is still in the top half of the rankings, ahead of many an ambitious male colleague. Second place on the podium went to Emily Horridge from Great Britain, who lives in the French Alps and works as a bike guide. Third place went to former cross-country specialist Keli Emmet (USA).

Cross-country riders with enduro ambitions
The Trans-Provence also attracts well-known cross-country specialists every year. Last year, Ralph Näf impressed with his riding skills in sixth place. In this year's event, Canadian cross-country pro Geoff Kabush shone with fifth place overall. With Anton Cooper (NZL) in seventh and World Championship silver medal winner Manuel Fumic (GER) in twelfth, two other endurance specialists demonstrated their ambitions in enduro racing.

The six-day "Mavic Trans-Provence" includes pretty much everything that is meant by "all-mountain". This stage race demands technical skills, endurance, stamina and a dose of adventurous spirit from the participants. The 292 kilometers, 8,355 vertical meters of ascent and 14,731 vertical meters of descent from Clamensane (FRA) to Larvotto (MC) ride through the wildest areas of southern Europe. The enduro riders, even the pros, sleep in tents and sometimes have to cope with adverse weather conditions. In return, the maximum of 70 participants are rewarded with hours of single trail riding and breathtaking landscapes.

Mavic-Trans-Provence overall ranking

www.trans-provence.com


Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.