International Stage Race - Sept 2015, anyone interested?

[Jacques@ACT]

With reference to some recent posts about local stage races becoming more expensive, I started to look into potentially getting a small group together to enter a stage race in Europe.  This post is to see if people will be interested in trying out/joining a group for an international race with some added days riding before/after the race.

 

I have managed to find what looks to be an excellent race in France on 19/20 Sept.  The website is unfortunately still only in French.  The organisers promised to let me know when the English version is available.  

 

Below is a link to a short teaser video.

 

http://www.ultraraidlameije.fr/pages/media/2014.html

 

This race is close to a small village called La Grave in the French Alps - this obviously means there will be some major climbs and awesome downhill sections.  The race will be at relatively high altitude, so that will add to the challenge.

 

You will unfortunately have to use Google translate for the detail for now, but here is a very brief summary.

 

Raid Ultra 2 day event - Day 1, 70km, 3000m climbing; Day 2, 50km 2500m climbing

http://www.ultraraidlameije.fr/pages/les-epreuves/parcours-test/parcours-raid-ultra-sur-2-jours.html

 

Rando Raid 2 day event - Day 1, 50km 1790m climb, Day 2, 35km 1690m climb

http://www.ultraraidlameije.fr/pages/les-epreuves/parcours-test/parcours-rando-raid-sur-2-jours.html

 

There is also an Elite section as well as single day events as part of the race.

 

The plan for now is to arrange a trip for about 2 weeks.  The race will be towards the end of the 2 weeks.

 

Potential departure date:  Around 10 Sept

Potential return date:  Around 23 Sept

 

Return flights from SA will be to either Zurich or Geneva in Switzerland where the trip will start with a transfer to Basel.  That is the starting point for a 350km MTB ride to Nyon on Lake Geneva - this will take about 1 week.  The MTB will be more of a XC type of ride with some single track.  The route runs between 700m and 1300m above sea level.  The route will take you through medieval villages, beautiful valleys, forests, farm land and vineyards.  Cycling in Europe is so different to SA - not only do people respect cyclists, but they are also on the ball when it comes to cycle paths and cyclist safety.  Further transfer from Nyon to the race and back to Zurich/Geneva for the return flight.

 

Cost - Seeing that this is still in the very early stages of planning (depending on interest) it is a hard to say exactly what the cost would be.  Currently, flights cost around R8k - R9k per person return.  I might be able to get a deal on this somewhere, but not sure.  As a very rough estimate, it looks like it might be around R30k - R35k per person for the 2 weeks.  That should include B&B accommodation, transfers, flights.  The entry fee for the race works on a sliding scale, based on when you enter and for what race (Euro 70 - Euro 100 per person).  The cost per person won't include any visa costs or travel insurance.

 

Will this be of interest to anyone?  If so, then I can get the ball (wheels) rolling on this one to get more accurate pricing.

 

 

[Alfa147GTA]

Any road events? I would be keen on this.

[Jacques@ACT]

Any road events? I would be keen on this.

Road events are definitely an option too. I can certainly look into that. It all obviously just depends on the general interest and whether people would want that.

 

Do you know of a few people who might be interested? Any preference on how many days for an event?

[Jay_B]

I would be keen on looking at road events too

[Alfa147GTA]

Road events are definitely an option too. I can certainly look into that. It all obviously just depends on the general interest and whether people would want that.

 

Do you know of a few people who might be interested? Any preference on how many days for an event?

Yeah I reckon there are four or five guys just in our club that could be interested.

 

I guess the amount of days is pretty flexible to what is on offer.

[Rolfalps]

La Grave is the most beautiful little village on the way down the Col du Lauteret. From here you are really close to Briancon , on the other side of the Lauteret. For the roadies you can ride the Lauteret , Telegraph , Galibier , the Alp (du Huez) ,Izoard , Mt Genevre and Sestriere all of which are really close by. The most spectacular riding. Consider flying in or out of Lyon if you want to ride this area. I know this was a thread was for Mtb , but I saw there was some interest from some roadies.

[Jacques@ACT]

I will look into this after easter. I have some tours booked for this weekend, so running around a bit at the moment.