If you liked the idea of the Trans Provence race this year, but couldn’t get a place, you’re going to love this: The latest stage competition on the enduro scene is set to be the Trans-Savoie, taking place next summer in the French Alps. A week of timed stages focused 100 per cent on technical riding, it’s set to be a corker.
Here’s the press release:
Open to both Pro and Amateur riders, the week-long TRANS-SAVOIE traverses the stunning French Alps, following in the footsteps of accessible classics such as Passportes Du Soleil and ground-breaking modern Enduro events like Trans–Provence.
The inaugural TRANS-SAVOIE will see the boundaries of Gravity Enduro stage racing taken to a level not yet available in any other event: By fusing the rapid mechanical uplift advantage of France’s extensive ski-lift system with an epic 250Km route that traverses some of the Alps’ finest natural singletrack, the six-day, >20,000m descending statistics speak for themselves.
Adopting a rally-style format, the route consists of several timed, downhill-biased stages each day (typically 4) with a total daily timed descent of 3000-4000 vertical metres – covering a distance of 20-30Km against the clock. Untimed Liaison stages make up the rest of the distance, with the average climb-per-day sitting at ‘only’ 800-1000m vertical, of which 90%+ is climbable without dismounting.
The fully-supported event is the brainchild of the 10-year owner of Alpine guiding operation trailAddiction and uniquely exists by drawing on a collective staff knowledge of 50+ year’s of guiding experience and passion for extracting the very best routes in the Savoie region. The terrain is a blend of spectacular, open and exposed high-alpine and lower-level forested singletrack.
TRANS SAVOIE passes through varied remote and dramatic scenery on its 6-day odyssey, and utilises some of the Alps’ finest and better-known biking destinations (Les Arcs, Tignes) for daily de-briefing. The competitor will also be introduced to some lesser-known gems including Meribel, Areches/Beaufort, and La Rossiere. The affordable all-in race package will include quality accommodation and catering.
The first full event is scheduled for lift-off on 18th-23rd August 2013, with participation limited to a maximum of 50 riders.
The self-supported race entry fee is 895 GBP / 1095 Euros, although we expect most entrants will opt for a full-supported package which includes locally sourced accommodation and full catering , daily kit-transfer, etc.
Entries will open to the general public shortly. With a limited capacity this event is not to be missed – pre-register an interest to receive updates direct from the organisers via the event’s Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/TransSavoie
twitter@trans-savoie
