Mavic Trans-Provence Day 4

If you were sweating in a Central London office yesterday, you may have little sympathy for the riders at the Mavic Trans-Provence as they attempted to ride and race in the heat. Here’s the Day 4 report and images.

Day 4 of Mavic Trans-Provence would put riders up against the greatest vertical descent of the week so far under the most firey summer sun. No hydration pack, it would seem, could hold enough liquid to see riders comfortably through to the next water stop, but the unique vibe of the race sees riders coming together to help each other through.

Valberg was the start point for Day 4 and things seemed very much more relaxed with the day starting with no set time. Riders could opt to head up the long, steady climb to Red Earth at their leisure. In true Trans-Provence style, the strangers put together in their waves on Day 1 would start Day 4 with the friends they made over the last 3 days of racing.

Steep, loose and exposed was what characterised Day 4’s stages. Red Earth provided a very different experience to any other day this week, past or future, with the steep, narrow gorges flanked by sheer mountainsides, it would take a keen eye for a line that would win the day.

Local hero Olivier Giordanengo (Lapierre Mavic La Roue Libre) would again put time into the front runners, Marco Osborne (Cannondale/WTB) and François Bailly-Maître (Ibis Cycles Enduro Team), putting a cool 26 seconds into the American. A flying François Bailly-Maître would land himself in second and slash Osborne’s Day 3 lead from 21 to 10 seconds. Giordanengo is now very much back in the race for the overall, and is likely to only get faster as he gets closer to home.

Osborne now leads the General Classification by 10 seconds after Day 4, it’s all to play for at the midway point of Mavic Trans-Provence 2017.

Ines Thoma (Canyon Factory Enduro Team) solidified her place at the top of the womens’ race by adding another two minutes into second place Monika Buchi (Schmid Velosport, RC Graenichen) despite a crash on one of the liaison stages. Anka Martin (Juliana/SRAM) would come in 15 seconds ahead of Buchi to and is now only 38 seconds behind the Swiss rider.

Day 5 is a monster. The Valdeblore to Sospel day sees riders take in a steady 1623m of climbing and a mammoth 4288m of descent over an even more impressive 65.28km. If any day will test rider fitness and mental stamina, as well as the humble bicycle, then it is tomorrow.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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