Trans-Provence 2012 - Daily Event Coverage 25

iceman2058

9/24/2012 2:34am

With 7 days of racing, covering 300km, 10,000 meters climbing and 15,000 meters descending over 26 timed singletrack sections, the Trans-Provence is the "Definitive All-Mountain Race." It's gravity racing meets stage racing meets wilderness adventure - drawing top Enduro pros from around the world racing for glory, as well as amateurs looking for a unique experience. Starting September 23, you can follow the action right here on Vital, as we'll bring you daily video updates straight from the South of France!

View the 2012 Trans Provence Photo Gallery.

Day 7 - September 29 - Final Standings

The 2012 edition of the Trans-Provence has rolled into Monaco, marking the end of a spectacular week of Enduro racing. Nicolas Lau comes away with the win in Pro Men's, with Nico Vouilloz in second and last year's winner Jerome Clementz in third. Tobias Pantling sees consistency pay off as he takes the win in AM Men's ahead of Seb Kemp and Joe Rafferty in third. Sven Martin crashed on this final day and was airlifted to hospital (where he underwent surgery and came away with a plated Ulna - no complications apparently - wishing you a quick recovery Sven!). Finally, in the Women's, Anne-Caro Chausson consolidated the lead she held all week and won comfortably (finishing 22nd in the overall classification), ahead of Anka Martin (who was the outright fastest woman on day 6!). Congratulations to the laureates on your performances, and to all the competitors - you are the real winners.

Top 50 Overall Results after Day 7 - Final Standings

Day 6 - September 28

When racers are on the clock, they will always look for the fastest line. However, to help keep the singletrack on a single track, the organizers also need the racers on the straight and narrow...to help ensure that happens, a penalty system has been introduced to keep riders from cutting corners (it would be impossible to tape all the special stages or even to have marshals everywhere, so the system is based on "evidence" gathered from other racers or spectators). It would seem as though some of the more eager beavers have indeed been indulging in a little corner-cutting, and the ensuing sanctions have stirred up our leaderboard today (9 riders received a 3-minute penalty each). Nicolas Lau remains at the top in Pro Men's, but Nicolas Vouilloz has overtaken Jerome Clementz for second. Sven Martin seems to have put together an incident-free day to re-take the lead in AM Men's, and his wife Anka, not to be outdone, has climbed to second in the Women's behind the ever-dominant Anne-Caroline Chausson. We have one day of racing left, and anything could still happen, so stay tuned as the Trans-Provence convoy reaches Monaco on Sep 29.

Top 30 Overall Results after Day 6

Day 5 - September 27

The Trans-Provence is not just about the grueling climbs, the super-shreddable single track timed stages, the food, and the camaraderie - it's also about discovering a part of the world that is really amazing - the southern French Alps. These mountains really have nothing to envy any of their brethren around the world - there's even a local version of Whistler's famed Heckler's Rock - although here, it's more like Heckler's Switchback.

After another full serving of racing on Day 5, Clementz and Lau continue their game of musical chairs for the top spot, with the latter reclaiming his day 3 position, while Nico Vouilloz sits stubbornly in third. No change in the Women's nor in the Men's AM category.

Top 30 Overall Results after Day 5

Day 4 - September 26

Shredding! Day 4 of the Trans-Provence sees the riders tackle a relatively short stage featuring more brutal climbing, but also taking them through the famous "Grey Earth" zones (aka "Mordor" in another universe). Probably not a single rider immune to a little whoopin' and hollerin', by the looks of it! The competition remains as heated as ever, with the 2 top guys swapping places yet again, under Nico Vouilloz's watchful eye in third. Anne-Caroline Chausson keeps her grip on the Women's category, while Sven Martin has rubber trouble and slips 3 minutes behind UCI overlord Chris Ball in the AM category.

But the Trans-Provence is as much about participating as it is about racing, and Fab Barel takes some time on Day 4 to chat with the amateurs about their experience as well.

Top 30 Overall Results after Day 4

Day 3 - September 25

The Trans-Provence camera crew are apparently sacrificing gear left right and center in the name of journalism to keep you up to date with the action. They've rustled up what cameras they still have left, and are back in business with the daily updates (day 3's clip below). We've also added a few new images to the 2012 Trans Provence Photo Gallery for you to check out as well.
The approach to stage one today sees competitors become more personally acquainted with their bikes. It's the first major carry of the Mavic® Trans - Provence; a 500 meter carry or push (depending upon your will power) leads you to a col in the mountains and the first Special Stage of the day. An equally fierce descent balances out the climb to the summit and fires the riders on to the valley floor and a longer liaison stage than last year with a long road climb to the feed station.
It's very easy to overuse the word brutal when writing Trans-Provence press release, but as far as we can tell, 9 out of 10 riders that had enough lung capacity to answer simple questions at the top of a hill reckon the climb to today's Special Stage 2 was brutal! The whooping and shouting at the bottom of the new Special Stage seems to suggest that the all the hard work uphill was well worthwhile.
Another long road section followed by the last fire road climb of the day led to the final Special Stage . Quick-traversing singletrack with plenty of exposure across a desert-like hillside dropped riders into a wooded valley bottom and a final flat-out pedal across undulating singletrack .
No changes in positon for the top riders today but there's plenty more riding and racing ahead.

Top 30 Overall Results after Day 3

Day 2 - September 24

"Rad" - "Biblical" - "Absolutely Horrible" - the opinions on the day 2 serving of French Alpine weather varied, but at the end of it all, the thunder, hail, and torrential rain didn't manage to dampen the mood of the competitors (the same can probably not be said for any of their gear...). After a sketchy start to the day (nobody wants to get killed by lightning on some French mountain), the riders were rewarded with "possibly the best trail ever ridden"...all in all a typical day on the Trans-Provence then. In the overall Pro Men's standings, Nicolas Lau moves into first ahead of last year's winner Jerome Clementz, with Nicolas Vouilloz still in third, while Anne-Caroline Chausson takes a solid lead in the Women's (and sits in 23rd overall!). And the cherry on the cake, Vital's own Sven Martin now leads the Men's AM category!