We were invited out to Meribel to race the second of two Enduro2 races to take place this year, with Pete and his mate Chris ‘Bear’ Gibbs going between the tape together.
Enduro2 takes the joy of riding with mates and fires it into a race format. Pete and Chris head south via the peages of France to go in at the deep end.
Pete checks in on his first Enduro2 experience.
Photos by Pete Scullion and Zoom Dans L’Oeil de Fab & Romane.
Pete’s Banana van rolled into Meribel on the afternoon of the Wednesday ahead of Enduro2. A mixture of lack of sleep, two potential international incidents caused by Pete’s snoring and people not appreciating the UK plates added to a long old journey from Scotland meant that not much was accomplished on Thursday or Friday beyond the boulangerie and race sign on.
The days would start and finish in what would have been the finish arena for the UCI Downhill World Cup where a whole nine years ago where Sam Hill took his last ever downhill World Cup victory before making the shift to enduro. I would also have ridden here in 2017 having pedaled from the valley below on a long day with a long climb, rewarded by a ridiculous descent.
Ali and Quentin from Enduro2 had lured us south over the last few years and finally we managed to make it stick. We were in. Neither of us had raced in pairs or in the Alps, or at all, for a while so this one was going to be a shock to the system.
The race stats claimed 10.5km of descent over three days with around 10% of that in terms of climbing. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Living between 39 and 300m above the sea, Meribel made its altitude felt from the get-go, sitting just above the 1400m mark. Day 3 would take us to a heady 2740m above Courchevel where the air is indeed rare.
With food and sleep now a priority, we set about chilling our beans. Chris took a lap of the town for posterity’s sake as he’d been a ski guide here in his early 20s. Bikes were checked and kit assembled ready for an early start on the Saturday morning. We’d be setting off at 08:49.35 every day.
Day 1
Boulangerie was the port of call for every day in Meribel and we were lucky that it was a 30 second walk from our apartment. Thanks to Meribel Tourism for sorting us out with a cool pad for the weekend, it was the perfect base of operations.
We got the gondola and chairlift up La Tougnet to a long, wheezy climb to stage one. I recalled this climb from 2017 and it appears it is much easier when you get the lifts… After winding our way along the ridge, stage 1 presented itself. Stage 1 was a hoot. A mix of high alpine singletrack, punchy climbs and loose pony tracks all with little oxygen on offer.
Speed was high from the off and we emerged unscathed at the first feed station that offered up a myriad of options from fresh fruit, sweets and biscuits, plus water with or without energy powder within. Another stiff punch of a climb to stage 2 left the legs a little dead for the next timed outing.
I could not stay on my bike on stage 2. Three and a half crashes were the result of the altitude hitting me like a truck. My brain had left the chat. Chris cracked on as I dozed my way down the exposed singletrack to the finish. I was cooked. Thankfully, lunch followed and the French fare gave me a right kick up the arse.
Stages 3 to 5 of day one are a blur. I recall stage 3 being fast, flowing singletrack, both 4 and 5 had elements of stage 2. Enough to feel familiar but plenty different to keep you hauling into corners that were entirely unfamiliar. Myself and Chris would swap as the feeling took us at stage starts but never with any real plan. Lunch definitely gave me a second wind and the speed kicked up. We were in the top 20 out of around 40 pairs in the 77+ combined age category. Steady away.
We’d enjoy a pizza party in Les Allues, with beer in the fountain and pizza cooked in a traditional iron oven. This was the perfect way to round out a beast of a day on the bikes. Cold drinks were sunk, pizza eaten, nothing of any value spoken to anyone. Dinner and shower were now top priority.
Day 2
Nursing a sore left knee on day 2 after my crashes, I was keen to make up for lot time but also keen to just ride my bike well. I don’t race all that well but ride good, so treating it like a bike ride was the plan of attack. Chris had been annoyingly quick since training on the BC Gravity course and if I was leading, I had to get the lead out.
Day 2 was 8 stages but with 2km less distance and 500m more vertical descent. Stage 1 was a green descent into Les Menuires that had not yet seen the sun. Unsure of the grip available, we just rode our own ride. The fast open track definitely favoured the Bear and I watched him cruise beyond the horizon a few times.
Stage 2 is a mystery to me now, but the bike park trails dominated this part of the race. Day 2 wasn’t our strong suit, as the tech is king back home, but we kept the pace up and dug in when we could. The speed felt solid and we were just ticking off the stages.
Stages 3 and 4 were more bike park stages down into Meribel this time, with the speed high with plenty of berms and jumps to keep us on our toes. Stage 5 was next to stage two and brought with it yet more berms and jumps. Bone dry and dusty meant that tailing each other wasn’t the one. Visibility dropped as he dust flew.
Stage 6 was a peach. The most stunning view from the top, high alpine singletrack with a fair gradient punted you into the loamiest woods ever, with plenty of rock and root thrown in for good measure. This is what we were all about. It was so good, we rode it again the day after the race…
Then it all came unstuck. Almost at the end of stage 7, leading out on another Meribel bike park stage, my front wheel clipped a loose rock beyond a crest. My front wheel spat left and flipped me off the bike. I hit the deck, hard. Chris rushed to stop any traffic as I tried to get my leg out front under my bars. As I sat up, my vision wasn’t straight but I hadn’t hit my head. My chest and legs were thumping. Bastard.
Stage 8 soon came around and I was no longer into it. I’d looked forward to riding the bottom section of the downhill track as stage 8 all week. It was steep, tech and long. My MO. I couldn’t ride with any gusto as I was hurting. I was so annoyed at myself. I was also pretty tired.
I got myself checked out by the medics and got the all clear. Just a heap of grazes and bruises. I’d sleep with everything raised to try and see off any swelling for the final day. Chris, miraculously, was still on his bike and just feeling the effects of two days of descent.
We lost several minutes on stage 7 and then 8 because of it. This put us back to 26th but there wasn’t much time between 26th and 18th. It was all to play for.
Day 3
We awoke tired on day 3. We were both feeling it. My body felt reasonable, but the bikes had definitely taken a hammering over the previous two days. We promised each other that we would ease ourselves into the day, cruise the stages and ride hard when it felt right.
The first lift of the day took us up to the upper part of Col de Loze, the latter 200m vertical we’d have to pedal above 2000m in some very thin air before dropping down an untimed stage into Courchevel. We’d then get a mountain cable car to 2740m for stage 1 of the day.
Stage 1 started with a steep access track into some gnarly singletrack. Diving into the first turn, I remembered what we’d said about easing into it, and felt the distinct lack of air available. We were riding well together, keeping it safe and smooth. This stage cooked the hands but we were happy with the pace.
Stages 2 and 3 were more bike park stages, but the flowy nature of these were very welcome for our tired bodies. We’d also fine tuned our bike park skills over the previous two days meaning the speed felt good. We were plenty happy with that.
Stage 4 felt like a good match for the previous day’s stage 6. Fast and flowy up top before punting you into some wonderfully tech singletrack that allowed me to forget my bruises and ride a bike like I meant it. Only a fat wobbly knee reminded me of the tumbles of the previous days.
Stage 5 we put the hammer down. Knowing that the urban stage was coming and keen to redress my errors of the previous days, I rode out of my skin despite the bike complaining considerably at me. We didn’t get caught despite some serious speed lined up behind us.
The crescendo of the week was yet more singletrack with a steep, low staircase and a run through the village to finish. Water balloons and pistols, nose-dived stairs and the cheers of everyone else who’d already finished making it an overwhelmingly exuberant experience.
Both myself and Chris were buzzing at the finish. The drive, a sore tired body and everything else caught up with me and I was but a husk. Chris’ eyes were popping out of his head for far longer than mine. “That’s the most fun I have ever had on my bike.” He quickly started scheming a return for 2026…
Honestly, without the crashes, Enduro2 was a riot. There was so much riding. You likely won’t do more riding in a summer at home that would at this race. Everyone is lovely, Meribel is a delight and the trails offer something for everyone.
The mix of Alpine scenery, mega trails that had seen some love ahead of the event plus the amazing atmosphere made this one we’re already planning a return to.
