One of those Brits on the front row was Dan Atherton, “For me being a Brit it’s a pretty cool race to do because there’s so many British people out here. When you’re practicing and you’re racing, there’s so much support, even the guy’s that are racing are cheering for you. Of all the races of the year this is the one I get most nervous for, I was pretty nervous this morning. Dunno why, it’s just there’s a lot of guys lined up behind you and the whole scenario of being balanced up on top of a mountain is f–king nerve–racking.” Finishing in third the oldest Atherton sibling put in a sterling race but once again the win just escaped him, “Me and Pete (mechanic) walked it yesterday and watched the Women’s race, it looked like it was all in that first turn. When you looked at it from the top, it looked like it was kinda banked but it was totally off–camber so I knew I had to go real tight on the first turn and a lot slower than it looked. Got the holeshot off the start and rode my pace, but loads of guys were coming passed me and I was like, ‘f–k, have I totally misjudged this speed’. But they all crashed and I just made it round at the speed I was going. Jerome (Clementz, winner) was behind me, I led all the way down off the glacier and then just made a bad choice of line coming off the snow and had a big crash. Jerome, Absalon (Remy) and a few of the boys passed me. From then on it was just trying to pull Jerome back in, but he was so fast.”

I get the feeling it’s something Dan won’t let rest until he’s finished in first. Iago Garay of Spain is certainly committed to it and it’s paying off, having previously clocked up a twentieth and twenty-first, it was eighth place this time, “This was my sixth start at the Megavalanche, I’ve been racing here since I was fifteen. It’s my favourite race of every year. The thing I like the most is the whole week training here, riding all day with your friends, awesome trails, great scenery, usually great weather too and then the race is just super fun.” It appears that what can be a mess at the back is a lot more dignified up front, “We know each other, who’s fast on the downhill parts, who’s fast on the climbs, so if someone’s faster than me I’ll let him go. It’s pretty cool, I haven’t had problems with any riders. It’s quite stressful because with this race you always have mechanicals and crashes, when you’re up there you’re always thinking don’t screw it up, just keep going. There’s a really good vibe, it’s not like downhill, people respect each other and have fun and are always talking. At the start line everyone is saying good luck to everyone.”

Over here to race the Enduro World Series and tagging this on the end of his trip for some fun, Trek World Racing’s Justin Leov had a good perspective on whether we’d ever see a world series of these events like we’ve seen happen with Enduro stage races. “I don’t think it’ll get into the EWS stuff just because I think maybe it’s more special to have events like this, to have the mass start. Where I think the EWS, people would not be a fan because they want to eliminate as much of other people’s influence and actually see the true rider, but saying that, look at the results, Jerome won last week (in Les Deux Alpes EWS) and he won here, so the same guys still win.”

Jamie Nicoll from New Zealand, who came in seventh, seemed to sum it up for me, “It’s just one of those races where it’s everything from early starts, to that mass of people and everyone’s buzzing and they’re playing that bloody music at the top that’s trying to amp everyone up. I see these races sitting on their own, they’re sort of iconic events that really stand out, that’s why they’re classics and you’ve gotta do them. They hold their own on their own and I don’t think they should be part of a series. As long as they fit within a racing season they will always draw a lot of people.”

Starting racing downhill in 1991 and winning the first Megavalanche in 1995 Francois Dola, from Nice, explained what first attracted him to the race and has kept him coming back ever since, “I’d heard it started at 3,300 metres and finished in the valley, that for me was real downhill. Not only five minutes on the slope made with a truck. There’s some thinking about the race, how to manage it, not only full gas. I also like natural trails.” Winning the masters 40 category and finishing 30^th overall he obviously still has it. When I asked if he felt proud to have been there at the beginning, now that these races have grown so big, he replies, “You just think, you knew that before. I always knew it was good. Now you can see that everybody likes it.”

1.         Jerome Clementz    Cannondale Overmountain           38:42.850

2.         Remy Absalon         Commencal + 00:34

3.         Dan Atherton            GT Factory Racing   + 01:26

4.         Lukas Anrig  Norco Enduro World Team                       + 02:20

5.         Nicolas Quere          Commencal Superteam    + 02:24

1.         Anne-Caroline Chausson Ibis     0:47:57.120

2.         Pauline Dieffenthaler          Cannondale Overmountain           + 03:49

3.         Alba Wunderlin        Stuetzraedli   + 04:35

4.         Isabeau Courdurier            Maxima Team          + 04:56

5.         Valerie Schandene Cube Action Team  + 05:13