Race Preview | Countdown: The Trans Savoie 2015
On August 23rd, the newest edition of the Trans-Savoie will start in Val d’Isere. Find out all the news about the gravity-oriented enduro-stage race in the newest press release:
Trans-Savoie, the six-day enduro stage race with more timed descending than any other bike race starts this weekend in Val d’Isere, France. The 2015 event has more timed segments, more top EWS riders, and more new trails to discover than ever.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s a ridiculous mid-week mass-start stage starting at almost 3,000m altitude and offering 1,500m of descent, and the final race segment will see riders climb the slopes of the iconic Mont Blanc on a specially commissioned Tramway from St Gervais that’s home to the oldest funicular train track in Europe.
We think it’s set to be the best Trans-Savoie yet, so join us to follow the adventure with our daily photo stories, results, race reports and video highlights from this weekend. It’s going to be one hell of a race.
For those unfamiliar with the event, a brief overview is that racers travel around 300km on the bike across the amazing Alpine Savoie region of France, taking in around thirty timed downhill-only stages. Uplift is mostly by way of the area’s ski lift network, and the racers with the lowest cumulative time at the end of the six days will be crowned male and female Trans-Savoie champions. The event has earned a reputation over its last two editions as the world’s most technical enduro and with fresh descents taking the week’s timed downhill total close to 30,000m, this year’s event should reinforce this status.
The essence of Trans-Savoie is always going to be a week-long Alpine adventure that’s as much about discovering new friends, tracks and awesome locations as racing purely to beat the clock, but with several top-ranked Enduro World Series heavy-hitters starting, racing at the sharp end is going to be extremely hard fought. Cube’s Nico Lau, BMC’s Francois Billy Maitre and Florian Golay, Devinci’s Damien Oton, and Kiwi Polygon racer Jamie Nicoll are just some of the names joining the other 130 competitors from around the globe.
The sheer variety of terrain the race covers and the new stages ensure a large proportion of Trans-Savoie trails are completely ‘blind’, making the event a more level playing field for those wanting to race for the win, and even tougher and more natural for everyone. As ever though, you can’t ever predict what happens on the mountain and it’s going to be a tactical battle of skill, endurance, bravery and fitness (and who is best able to keep their body and equipment in one piece) to win one of the toughest events in cycling. We can’t wait for the action to start, so join us for the ride this year and see who is tough enough to earn the accolade of becoming Trans-Savoie champion when the dust settles on Friday, 28th August.
Find out all the information at trans-savoie.com.
Words & Pictures: Trans Savoie PR
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