Sticking with tradition, gradients and thrills can again definitely be found at Roc d’Azur. The mountain bikers got to grips with the Maures Mountains, before meeting at the exhibition which opened its doors today: at 12 noon for professionals and 4pm for the general public.
159 participants in the Enduro Roc
For the 2011 edition of the Enduro Roc, which started this morning at 10am from the Col de Valdingarde pass, new slopes have been included, making for 4 brand new special stages: “Changes in downhill racing are always a good thing, because the don’t happen that often,” remarked one of the competitors. Rémy Absalon took starter’s orders this morning, alongside a prestigious name: 2011 downhill world cup winner Tracy Moseley.
221 participants in the Roc Challenge
The most experienced mountain bikers took starter’s orders for this 45-km race in front of the town hall of honour in Roquebrune-sur-Argens. Whilst the starting point has not changed, the route has been altered to be even tougher and offer the 221 competitors a serious altitude difference of +2350m. As proof of the route’s difficulty, the first of the 3 special stages (3.5-km long) took 8 minutes to complete.
374 participants in the Roc Altitude
The only race of the day to start from the Fréjus nature park, the 45-km long Rando Roc Challenge enabled the riders to climb up to the locality named “La Flûte” to enjoy a sublime view, naturally taking in the traditional way-points: Le Fournel, Les Clapiers, Le Car Brûlé, etc. The riders enjoyed the summer temperatures, but nonetheless suffered due to the dryness of the tracks.
The exhibition opens: erection of the tents started on 19th September, whilst the exhibitors have been setting up their stands since Tuesday 4th October. The comings and goings of the trucks is now over, and the 250 exhibitors and teams are now fully set up on the dedicated 17,000 m² of space, representing 650 brands in total.
Tomorrows proceedings kick off at 8am with the famous 83-km “Marathon” which the elite riders should complete in 3 hours 30 minutes. The participants in the Maxim Roc Down will be reconnoitring the downhill route from 10am onwards: go to Sainte Maxime to see them in action, before the official competition starts at 9am on Saturday.
Rider's launch off the sartline at the 2011 Roc d'Azur Photo: Sebastian Boue