SLOPESTYLE
This brand new slopestyle course was built by Yannick Granieri, it looked good. Fast, big, flowy and with a variety of obstacles. It suited the hardtail/one brake riders as well as it suited the short travel boosters. Wind once again caused many delays and postponements. In the end it all went down during the Mt of Hell qualifiers when there was a break in the wind.
Some riders were out with injuries by the time it all happened. In the end it was Semenuk who took another win, making it look all too easy with one run that he used to casually trick every obstacle. Although he took another win there were some big threats in the form of Zink and Messere, if they were able to land their runs as planned, Brandon would have had to up the ante.
Only two runs were completed and a few chose to try a further third later in the day after waiting for the wind to subside. It never did and the win was Semenuk’s. Since this was Crankworx Europe it was inevitable that some fresh talent would rise to the surface. It did in the form of Thomas Lemoine in fifth place and wildcard entrant Leo Delfour Barrascq who 720’d, 360’d and out–tricked most of the established guard into second. Look out for him in Whistler where he will be set to prove it was no fluke.
KING OF CRANKWORX
Bernard Kerr took home the crown and was named the ‘King of Crankworx Europe’ for being the multitalented, energetic, white t–shirt wearing, all rounder.
MOUNTAIN OF HELL
They saved the best for last in my opinion, I mean this whole festival was based around the fact that this enduro race has been happening here for the past 12 years. It starts on the Glacier at 3,400m and finishes in the village of Venosc, covering 28km with a vertical drop of 2,600m.
You just had to hold on for dear life, death-gripping down the glacier with 700 crazy, balls-out men flailing around you with their mechanical weapons (bikes). Unnerving!
It was extra special this year, as it happened to fall on Friday the 13th, which for it’s 13th edition made this whole event even scarier than it already was. To give you an example, this was the first time that Anne Caroline has showed up to do this race, due to horror stories of mass starts on the glacier with 700 men (the women start mixed amongst the testosterone filled men’s field according to how they qualified).
This event is most definitely not 
for the faint hearted. I was extremely happy and relieved to find that it was still exactly the same as it was before it became part of this new festival. Yes. It was still raw and exposed and hellish steep and dangerous. You never really knew where you were going, you couldn’t understand the French rules and you just had to hold on for dear life, death–gripping down the glacier with 700 crazy, balls–out men flailing around you with their mechanical weapons (bikes). Unnerving!
You have no idea just how petrifying that is. Your peripheral vision works overtime to try and prevent any sprayers from taking you out from behind or from the side at 100km/h.
The organisers have proudly stated that the Mt of Hell is not for everyone, not everyone is capable of riding and surviving the treacherous terrain, their goal is to scare people away from entering each year, keeping the numbers under control and their reputation as the craziest mass start race intact. Well they definitely accomplished this.
In the men’s Jerome Clementz took the win, but it was a battle and the lead changed many times. After being taken out on the glacier Nico Vouilloz moved back into third and in the hunt with two long DH sections to go before suffering a mechanical. Dan Atherton had the lead until the mid–course hill, or rather mountain climb, where he lost out to better climbers and ended in fourth. Damien Oton took third and the ever strong and experienced Rene Wildhaber took second.
Long mass start enduro stage races like these require strategy and the ever–calm Jerome Clementz proved his dominance yet again. Or was it his new 11 speed SRAM gearing? A little unfair to see the longest running event, that is the biggest draw card with 700 entrants, offer the least in prize money. Jerome won €1000; even the dual climb with less than 15 entrants received more. When the Air DH winner receive €4000 and the slopestyle winner €7000 for minutes and seconds of riding it is a sin that those risking life and limb amongst 700 other rabid racers for over thirty minutes of action walks away with so little. Mt of Hell is what put Les2Alpes on the map, hopefully this will be rectified next year.
Anne Caroline won the women’s race with Morgane Such in second place, Isabeau Courdurier in third place, me in fourth and Pauline Dieffenthaler in fifth place. Unfortunately the women’s race is often decided by the glacier start, and the men that manage to separate the women. A few seconds difference in the glacier start can equate to minutes separation further down in the steep technical sections, where you are stuck waiting and walking sections of the clogged narrow course. Maybe one day with the growing numbers they will let us have our own start?
Well Les2Alpes may have had some teething and communication problems in its first year as the European host to Crankworx, but as a venue it is a good match–up with the right vibe and we all look forward to another fun, sun, wine and cheese filled week next year.
