68 AMB
TRANS PROVENCEMY BIKE AT TP 2019
There are many so many genres and sub
genres getting around it’s all getting a bit out
of hand. Basically riders need a reliable and
sturdy trail bike, something that’s going to
take on big days of climbing and hike-a-bike
and huge days of descending, simple sort of.
You could either go to a big hitting Enduro rig
and sweat it out on climbs and hikes or go the
lighter and more dainty approach and run the
risk of it rattling itself to bits mid-event.
Being young and inexperienced last time I
raced Trans Provence, I put a lot more thought
into my bike this year choosing the Specialized
Stumpjumper. Slightly under-gunned and on
27.5 inch wheels previously, I knew that long
rough days could be made easier by bigger
29 inch wheels and more modern geometry.
In addition to 29 inch wheels, tyre and rim
technology has come in leaps and bounds since
2015 and I knew this would be key in surviving
the week.
For tyres I chose Michelin’s Wild Enduro
tyres, with the front specific Magi-X compound
up front (the softest) and Rear specific Gum X
compound on the rear (not quite as soft). These
>1kg tyres were mounted onto Crank Brothers
Synthesis DH29 wheels with I9 Hydra hubs and
CushCore Pro inserts with 100ml of Orange
Seal sealant. With 23 kilometres of vertical
descending on the cards, blind, mistakes and
poor lines would be ridden and I was takingA DAY AT TRANS PROVENCE
Your day starts by getting up at dawn and
to apply liberal amounts of chamois butter
to your knicks, and kit up before breakfast.
You have to eat as much as possible, don’t
forget to pack your snacks and lunch and it
was time to roll out. Then jump into the Cool
Bus shuttle at 7.30am for 45mins up the col
and back on the bikes for a “mellow and
lightly wooded” descent of 1200m. Now
climb up possibly the world’s steepest
fireroad, reduced to hike-a-bike and then
the never ending traverse of though
someone’s alpine grazing pastures to reach
stage 1 of 4 for the day at 1.30pm. Tackle
stage 1 and 2 for the day which while
following two close by ridgelines couldn’t be
more dissimilar, one loam and grass the
other janky rocks and boulders. Roll into
town, eat as much as possible, take on
another 2.5 litres of water and set out for
the final two stages of the day.
You then learn that “Sospel Loam” isn’t
loam but rather rocks the size of tennis
balls, but square, janky and abundant. By
the time you are rolling into camp,
exhausted after another epic liaison with
“slight exposure” or “Relatively
straightforward but not in a literal sense”
we would wonder if the road we turned off
many kilometres before would have actually
lead us straight to camp? It probably did and
we were glad that the adventure by bike part
of the event was equally as important to Ash
as the stages.
Now you’re back, the day isn’t finished.
Washing and prepping the bike before
eating as much as possible is super
important, and finally there us a race
briefing before crawling into bed, with
someone piping up from the crowd “how
many hours will tomorrow take?” Ash
replied, somewhat puzzled “Err, well the
whole day”. Classic.