Surprising news just in from the organisers of the Mega Avalanche…
eBike riders will now have to ride the qualification track in reverse.
Here’s an odd bit of news from the Mega Avalanche organisers.
An email landed today announcing that eBike participants won’t ride the Mega in the same way as normal racers – they’ll actually have to ride up the qualification in track.
The eBike race will be run on Friday 7th July and the route will start in the Expo Village (typically the finish line) and climb 800m up to the Dome des Rousses (what’s usually the start line). The route will be almost 100% climbing without any significant downhills or technical descents.
Riders typically race the qualifier a few days before the main event and race top to bottom in order to decide their position for the main event. Your position in the main race is decided by your position in the qualifier and failing to qualie means you end up riding behind the main pack.
The change to the eBike race came as a result of a survey from the organisers. They asked eBike racers whether they felt that their version of the Mega should involve “a technical climb”. When 73% of people responded “yes” they decided to mix things up.
We’re not sure what those 73% of people had in mind when they ticked “yes” … but it’s a safe bet they were just hoping for a bit of extra climbing. Maybe an added uphill section mid-race? Maybe a couple of extra hundred feet at the end to test the motor out?
What they probably didn’t have in mind was an 800m uphill race …
In our opinion eBikes aren’t here for uphill racing. They’re made to reduce the hassle of climbing so you can enjoy the downhills even more. They take away the need for uplifts or huge, painful climbs so that you can ride further, faster and squeeze out more laps. Sure, they make climbs easier but who is ever going to love racing uphill for nearly a kilometer on a trail designed to be ridden top to bottom?
Here’s what the organisers had to say about it:
“This new option for the “rising” round of the Megavalanche will offer, besides the possibility of expressing all the pilot skills induced by the technical parts to cross, magnificent visibility to exhibitors, journalists and photographers, and especially to a thousand of riders candidates for the “muscular” Megavalanche who will attend the feats of their electric friends.”
… Great stuff.
