Trans-Savoie: Day 6 – VIDEO

Route: Les Contamines Mont Blanc, St Gervais.

Total distance: 52.5km
Total timed descent: 2,350m
Number of stages: 4

Riders started the day at the saddle of the Col de Joly with the whole Mont Blanc massif lay out in front of them, and then spent most of the day riding in the Mont Blanc’s shadow.  Nico had a three minute lead, so rode (relatively) conservatively to take the crown. Stage Two needed a huge liaison climb of 1,000m, which was no joke in the heat. Although one of the area’s best trails, some struggled n the heat to make the most of it. 
The Tramway winches tourists up the shoulder of Mont Blanc on a cogged line, eventually stopping just shy of the glacier at a mountain refuge. But the final 30th stage of the week followed the line of the Tramway towards the campsite above St Gervais. The start blasted down Alpine meadows with views to die for and headed flat out into woods for 6 miles with  1,000m drop. Meggie Bichard knows how to open champagneMany different shapes were in evidence on the mens’ podium.

By the end of this stage, racers had clocked up almost 30,000m of descending during the week.

Trans-Savoie 2015 Pro Men 1st: Nico Lau (Cube), 2nd: François Billy-Maître (BMC), 3rd: Jamie Nicoll (Polygon)

Final standings after Day Six.

Men:
1. Nico Lau – 4:24:23
2. François Billy-Maître – 4:26:53
3. Jamie Nicoll – 4:30:59

Women:
1. Meggie Bichard – 5:36:06
2. Kerstin Kögler – 5:55:26
3. Monika Büchi – 5:58:49

Video (Day 5)

Barney Marsh

Barney Marsh takes the word ‘career’ literally, veering wildly across the road of his life, as thoroughly in control as a goldfish on the dashboard of a motorhome. He’s been, with varying degrees of success, a scientist, teacher, shop assistant, binman and, for one memorable day, a hospital laundry worker. These days, he’s a dad, husband, guitarist, and writer, also with varying degrees of success. He sometimes takes photographs. Some of them are acceptable. Occasionally he rides bikes to cast the rest of his life into sharp relief. Or just to ride through puddles. Sometimes he writes about them. Bikes, not puddles. He is a writer of rongs, a stealer of souls and a polisher of turds. He isn’t nearly as clever or as funny as he thinks he is.

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