The warm sun shining above La Clusaz presided over the second day of the Roc des Alpes, which was spiced up by a great variety of races (rides, downhill, children’s races, marathon…). The highlight of the day, the 82 km long Roc Marathon, fell into the hands of Swede Carl Friberg, a usual fixture in great international events.
It was with his arms pointing towards the sky that Swede Carl Friberg crossed the finish line of the Roc Marathon, the main course on the menu of the second day of the Roc des Alpes – La Clusaz. It took him 4 h 37′47″ to gobble up 82 km of racing and an elevation gain of 3,178 m. It was a “picnic” right in the heart of a postcard landscape, against a backdrop of summits with their snowy caps still on and meadows where the vegetation is blooming into its full summer glory. He had the Col des Aravis as hors d’oeuvre before diving to Giettaz, sometimes meandering around cows which had no choice but to share part of their territory for a few hours. With oxygen debt accumulating and only the sound of his breathing to keep him company, he climbed the aptly named Crèvetout (“All-Knackerer”), sometimes carrying his bike and sometimes pushing it, his eyes set on the sky in anticipation of yet another exhilarating descent, taking care not to hit any roots or rocks which could damage his wheels. A ride along the bank of the Lac des Confins before passing the Tête des Annes and it was back to Le Grand Bornand for his apotheosis. “I’m extremely exhausted, but above all extremely happy”, said the Swede. “I was cramping towards the end but I managed to dose my efforts although I had no idea what the gaps were. It was a backbreaking ride. I didn’t have good legs at first. Maybe it was too early for me! But, little by little, things started getting better. I made the difference on the second descent.” Friberg is no stranger to the Roc d’Azur, where he has raced four times and finished fourth in the 2005 edition. He will now start his build-up towards the Marathon World Championship. “I finished 15th in last year’s Worlds”, he pointed out. “I hope to repeat that performance and, if I have a good day, why not slip into the Top 10.”
Calle Friberg wins the Roc Marathon in La Clusaz © S.Boue/A.S.O.
Two minutes back, Switzerland’s Xavier Dafflon pulled a stunning ride out of his hat in the second half of the race to beat Austria’s Daniel Geysmayr by just a few bike lengths and take the runner-up’s spot (Frédéric Frech was the best French rider in sixth place). “I started cautiously because I didn’t know the course and I didn’t want to dig too deep”, he admitted. “To make matters worse, I had a problem with my rear tyre and had to put some air in it a couple of times. The final part of the race seemed to take forever, but since I was overtaking quite a few riders I thought that they must be suffering even more than I.”
All the riders in the finish area were sporting big grins on their faces, and the Swiss was no exception. “I wasn’t expecting such a jaw-dropping course”, he explained. “I took the time to look around and take it all in. Mountains are so beautiful… The route was perfect for me, with little flat terrain, quite technical and muddy descents and lots of uphill sections where we had to carry our bikes. This race has huge potential, that’s for sure. I didn’t know La Clusaz but I’ll certainly be back.”
Cows – always a european obstacle © S.Boue/A.S.O.
A drizzle of mountain bikers kept crossing the finish line throughout the afternoon. Some of them will be on the start line of one of the six races on the schedule for Sunday morning, which include the Roc Tandem (31 km long with an elevation gain of 1,450 m), the Roc Enduro (five specials) and the Rando Roc Gourmande (23 km long with an elevation gain of 1,240 m and a drop of 435 m) with local specialities handed out in the feeding zones. And, of course, the Roc des Alpes (54 km long and an elevation gain of 1,965 m) where the big guns will fight to be the first winners of the flagship race of an event which has already cast its spell on the pioneers.
- Roc des Alpes © S.Boue/A.S.O.