Beyond the Ascend

For the 21-year-old enduro mountain biker from France, the legendary ascent is only part of a bigger challenge. In just a few hours, he'll be taking part in the Megavalanche, the world's largest mass-start enduro race. But for him, the 40 minutes on gravel, rock, and snow full of narrow single tracks, tight exposed corners, jumps, drops, and an exhausting uphill segment aren't enough. Maël plans to ride the course backwards up to Pic Blanc to the race starting point the night before the race, before plunging back down into the valley with the other approximately 500 participants. The legendary 21 bends of Alpe d'Huez are almost an afterthought for him, simply because they're on the way. His challenge is bigger. Nearly 40 kilometers, most of it at night, and more than 2,600 meters of elevation gain. He'll be on the move for about seven and a half hours, first on paved roads, then up the Megavalanche downhill course – just uphill. 

Timing is essential – if he arrives at the summit too early, he'll cool down and risk starting the race tired and cold. If he takes too long for the ascent, he'll miss the race, and all the effort will have been for nothing.

Maël's ascent is divided into four sections: The first ten kilometers are flat and easy to ride, more of a warm-up phase. When he reaches the sign for the 21 bends of Alpe d'Huez, it's therefore still pitch dark. The goal of the second section is clear: He must master the ascent without losing much time, because he needs to reach Alpe at 3:00 AM to stay on schedule. Maël pedals resolutely. He's completely alone, the legendary Tour de France route illuminated only by his lamp – a bright cone of road in the black night. The schedule works out; he reaches the top right on time at an elevation of 1,860 meters – more than 1,100 meters above his starting point. Maël takes a short break to eat and drink – the last one on this tour, because to arrive at the summit on time, he must keep moving from now on.

The third section is only 4.5 kilometers long. Maël tries to tackle the steep road entirely on the bike. Pushing or carrying costs a lot of time, but can't be wholly avoided. At the latest here, pacing also comes into focus. Fast enough, but not with too much force – a tricky balancing act. Finally, the Frenchman meets the Megavalanche route. Now, only seven kilometers and just over 1,000 meters of elevation separate him from the goal. "On the descent, you notice it less, but here I realized how steep and technical the track really is," Maël recounts.

With the first daylight, the enduro racer reaches the home stretch – and the first snow, which is fortunately firm enough to ride on. As the other riders in the valley crawl out of their warm beds and slip into their slippers, Maël puts on his crampons to climb the glacier. Riding is impossible here; Maël must push or carry his bike and begins to feel the thin air. Now there's no more filming, no more words exchanged with the cameraman, it'sonly about endurance: one foot in front of the other, the buildings on the summit firmly in sight. When the first gondola with race participants arrives at Pic Blanc, an unusual sight awaits them: Maël, just completing the last meters of his ascent. Cheers greet him. He himself, having reached the summit, takes his achievement quite coolly: "Warmed up enough. What now?"

For Maël, it's now time to eat and prepare for the race. The thin air, the lack of sleep, and the exertion take their toll. Maël feels slightly dizzy and not entirely on top form. Whether he'll be among the top ten, as with his sixth place last year, he doubts it:

The competition is tough. The twenty riders in the front row are among the best enduro bikers in the world. As the race starts, there's no room for doubt. The GoPros are switched on, and a few last words are exchanged. Then the gaze is fixed only on the red ribbon and the descent beyond it. "It may sound strange, but the ascent was my warm-up phase. I started clear, calm, and with full control," the Frenchman explains. 

Maël runs on adrenaline: "I knew a lot could go wrong, but riding on the snow cover was pure joy. Head down, full focus, just don't think!" He leaves the glacier in the top 15. The following section is technical, easy to crash here, or lose places through mistakes. Maël rides a defensive strategy on the single tracks – he follows the line of his predecessors, takes his hands off the Ergon GDH grips as often as possible, and saves energy wherever he can. On the legendary Traverse, Maël sits down on his SM Enduro saddle, breathes deeply, and brings his heart rate down. The leading group now rides slower and closer together; the rest of the field keeps catching up. When Kilian Bron, who started from the fourth row, passes Maël at full speed, he thinks to himself: "I feel good, there's something in this for me!" and begins to chase the rider.

Maël knows Kilian Bron knows the course like no other, so he listens to the voice in his head: "Be smart, stay on Kilian's tail, no risks now!" In the downhill, Bron picks up the pace, and Maël goes with him to break away from the field. The single track now flows fast, reaches the tree line, and becomes increasingly technical. Kilian Bron and Maël deliver an intense race, head-to-head, wheel-to-wheel. Shortly before the final sprint, Maël finally attacks Bron and takes the lead: "In my head I'm now in fourth place, so I'm going full throttle." A few minutes later, after 22 kilometers and 2,600 meters of negative elevation, Maël crosses the finish line. His feeling didn't deceive him – only Hugo Pigeon, Olivier Bruwiere, and Alex Rudeau finished before him. For him, that means: a place on the podium! Maël takes off his helmet and looks completely drenched in sweat into his helmet camera: "If you'd told me that beforehand, I wouldn't have believed it. Absolute madness."

Fourth in the Megavalanche after riding up the entire course! Even in his best-case scenario, Maël hadn't imagined things going so perfectly—no crashes, no damage or injuries, simply a perfect ride. Landing in the top 10 was his dream; he didn't even want to think about fourth place, a full two places better than the previous year.