Megavalanche advice.

Going to enter the Mega next year, I’ve ridden in Morzine, Les Gets and Chatel area before and fancy a go at the Mega so am looking for tips/advice from anyone that’s done it before. Planning on going over with mate in his 6 berth camper and using my 2010 Orange Alpine AM.

Ta.

Train for it if you can, it can be hard work on the lungs and legs especially if its hot.
Your bike should be in the best condition it can be too, full service before would be a good way to go.

Good luck and enjoy one of the maddest events in the world.

Road bike being dusted down for additional training duties!
Don’t know why I put Orange Alpine because I’ve got a Five AM, must have been my own subliminal doubts creeping through?

thats why I bought my patriot, still not done it yet though 🙁

I’ve heard the arm pump is pretty bad, so make sure your forks are nice and smooth

If you’re planning to camp there’s a nice site at the bottom of the valley in allemont. There are shuttle buses that run through the day to take you back up to Os en Oisans to get to the various ski lifts. Alp D’huez is very quiet even during mega week and at the bottom of the valley it’s warmer and much nicer to finish the day with a ride down the bottom section of the mega track right to your tent/camper.

Take dual ply tyres as it’s very rocky and punctures are common. I’d take the biggest bike you own. Your five will be fine but I’ve done it twice and used my dh bike both times, leaving my full sus trail bike in the car as it was more fun on the bigger bike (and quicker for the qualifier).

@steveh Is the qualifier more of a downhill only track? and how much of the Mega is pedally/flat/uphill?

There is a small climb in the middle of the qualifier. Wasn’t very long or particularly steep but once up it I was gasping for air and didn’t really recover until through the finish line and sat down for a minute. Managed to quallify though after pulling over for breath. Worry about cv more than arm pump. Just enjoy the experience and don’t worry about it. Your not going to win so go out and play. It’s a bonkers week.

Last year when I looked at the entry listings it looked confusing… is it clear which event to enter when it opens? Sounds a stupid question I know but it;s a long way to go to find out you’ve entered the womens race!

As theswede mentions there is only 1 small/short climb in the qualifier track but many small ones in the main race track. The actual terrain/surface/difficulty is similar but the race track is physically harder.

So what’s it really like. From all the vids I’ve seen online it looks like a fairly middle-of-the-road course technical/skills-wise, just longer? I’d love to go but it’s a long way to go and then find you underestimated it and don’t even qualify.

I’d take the biggest bike you own.

I don’t agree with that at all. I think a Five AM is about the perfect bike. Look at the bikes that enduro dh races like the mega are being won on. Done it twice and would have hated to be on anything over about 35lb.

the qualifying track is more like a traditional dh course, just a lot longer,

the snow was hell this year

once your off the snow you will not lose or gain more than 10 places i reckon, seemed that way anyway

only the bottom 37 this year didnt get to enter any sort of race, but the glacier was open to all in a “free race” as such which happened on the Saturday afternoon,

i came mid pack, 90th out of 163 qualifiers, 130th out of 270 in the race

they are early starts

make sure you stay in alpe d’huez, its a ball ache driving up and down from there

make sure you have a gear you can climb in,

its hot! well this year was, armoured up you soon cook, and it was very dusty

regarding big bike, nonsense

If you were just riding it, it’s fairly middle of the road. There aren’t any big gaps or jumps, although it’s very rocky, steep in places, there are tonnes of thread-the needle switchbacks and the snow is fairly entertaining. But when you’re doing it at race speed, with 200 other people, it’s a very different proposition. Overtaking in particular is really hard, the penalties for getting it wrong on the exposed sections don’t bear thinking about. Everyone gets to do the main race by the way, you just get started in a different wave to the fast guys.

The qualifier is fast and very loose to start, mid-section is rocky, steep (in places) and very much a DH course. It then crosses over the col (fast, open singletrack including a short climb) to a very fast section, getting tighter and steeper through trees and avalanche barriers. The dust can be the worst thing here, as with so many other riders around you, it can become hard to see what is going on. A fair few people ride this on a DH bike, although it is not necessary and is NOT faster. There is a fair bit of pedalling, even though there is really only one climb – having something that allows you to sprint past someone in a tight corner is really handy.

The main race is just nuts. Practice it a few times, and then try to think ‘what will I do here on race day with 200 other riders falling all over the place, riding over the top of me, riding like lemmings off insane lines (probably by accident) and whooping with fun as you do!

Your bike will be fine. I rode it two years ago on my IH 6Point and thought it was ideal really. Unfortunately the forks went ‘pop’ on the second day this year, so I rode all week on my 224 (with adjustable seatpost, 32t chainring and 34t cassette) and it was OK, but way too much for the actual Mega course. Looked around on the start line of the main race this year, and there were virtually no Dh bikes, almost everyone was on 5-6″ FS. Different possibly for the follow-on races, but the final was an AM affair (apart from me, lumbering around on my big Orange!)

DO IT!

All good advice chaps just what I need!
Think it might be a good idea to sort myself a CCDB for the back end though.

Yep – all good advice above. I think training is difficult as there’s just nothing quite like it. Obviously overall CV fitness will help but nothing can prepare you for 1-2 hours of full on downhilling.

My advice would be just don’t take it too seriously. The qualifier is great fun and a bit more downhill orientated (dirtyrider – you must’ve been in the same final as me this year – what row were you in?). The mega itself is just insane, especially with the amount of snow we had – trying to ride the top section leaves you in no doubt that it’s an endurance race rather than full on DH. Bigger bikes are more fun for the qualifier but a suitabley beefed up 5-6″ travel bike is perfect for the main event – there’s enough flat/uphill to make a DH bike a slog (3 of our guys were on Fives and rode them rather than their DH bikes; I rode a 120mm Mount Vision).

Just go there planning on having fun – the atmosphere, course, surroundings and other riders are all amazing (it’s not often you can chat to multiple World Champs on the start line of a race 🙂 )

Edit – a CCDB would be sweet I reckon. One of our riders has an Alpine with one on and loved it

When I did it I raced the Qualy on my Trek Session DH bike and did the race on my Spesh Pitch with 160mm Marzocchi’s.
You’ll be fine on your AM I reckon for both, Trek was overkill but comfy, I also had a Joplin on the Pitch.

As above my only advice would be CV training given the thinish air and the fact you will push yourself harder than normal because it is a race. (I found that climb a bitch and like TheSwede I only got my breath back at the finish!)

Defo dual ply tyres and an ability/desire to bully/smash/skillfully pass those slower riders is a must too!

Ooh, and the campsite in Allemont is perfect – a bus service up to the lifts means you have to start earlier than some on race day but at least it’s a nice cruising DH back from the qualifier and the race proper finishes just behind the campsite – no queuing for buses back to town.

an ability/desire to bully/smash/skillfully pass those slower riders is a must too

🙂 – agreed as it does get frustrating getting stuck behind folk on the singletrack. Don’t get as wound up as me though – I’ve never been over the bars so many times in one day, trying to sneak through on that awkward line. Thank god for body armour (it may be hot but you’d be daft not to wear it).

Also don’t forget the qualifier is a lottery. If you are on the back line of your start group you will never get through to the main race… And the French can’t organise the proverbial piss up in a brewery.
Hth
Marko

If you are on the back line of your start group you will never get through to the main race

I wouldn’t say that’s the case. The first mile or so of the qualifier is on fast, wide, rocky tracks with sharp switchbacks – plenty of places to over take. Plus there’s always a crash or two in the front of the pack.

It’s difficult to make up too many places after that (unless you spot the sneaky local short-cuts) but I over-took quite a few….. then fell back again on the climb half way down!

How much of the main race is taken up by the glacier and initial rocky bit proportional to the whole of the track?

Oh my word. Just reading this has got me super excited for next year already.

For me, the biggest improvement to my DH endurance ability was to wind in my brake levers all the way to the bars – you lose a lot of feel but can yank the things on all day with minimal arm pump.

I also found leg pump to be my limiting factor, rather than arm pump but I might have just noticed it more because I was on a hardtail – I can highly recommend hardtailing it for anyone who wants a bit of a challenge. Focuses the mind a bit. 😯

I think this year (lots of snow) there was something like 2.5-3 miles of snow. Lot of running.

Top tips for the glacier snow riding?
Or is it just a case of cobbling an “on the fly” technique?

seat low, weight back, fall off, get back on

Feet up then?

Top tip for glacier riding – DON’T LET GO OF THE BIKE!
Unless you’re a real riding god, you will fall off. Bikes tend to stop; riders don’t. It can take several minutes to get back up to where the bike stopped…

are ice axes allowed

Sit down, cradle bike in lap, slide down snow on bum.*

*This works if you weigh less than 5 stone and aren’t wearing shorts.

your bike is already fine, but i’d recommend using a bigger bike if you’ve got one – unless you want to win.

use ‘the tripod’ for snow riding (one leg out to the side – like a little ski).

the arm pump can get horrific, 1 finger braking, don’t have a death grip, look ahead for sections of trail where you can relax a bit and wiggle your fingers.

(raise your brake levers up a bit – this is a bit like dropping your heels, you get a better ‘platform’ for your hand so you need to grip less hard)

its pretty easy, you don’t need to train. Most of the trail is more xc with slight decent, rather than 20 miles of a true dh course. Hand pump can be an issue if you’re not used to it, the snow at the top was interesting, bit of practice on that goes a long way.

there’s enough riding in alpe de huez and les deux alpes to keep you busy for a full week. My mates went for a week there, followed by a week in Morzine.

I rode it this year with a broken hand. Didn’t bother with qualifying (hurt too much), got down in an hour and 40 something. An ‘all mountain’ bike would probably be about perfect for the course..

HTH

Also don’t forget the qualifier is a lottery. If you are on the back line of your start group you will never get through to the main race…

That’s exactly what I did the first year I raced the mega and from 2 rows from the back the next year. Both years I made the main event/A final/whatever they call it now.

If you do decide to camp at the bottom of the valley where I mentioned, don’t worry about the early starts they do put on extra buses very early to get you up there. It is a proper early start though, about half 4 from memory vs half 5 when we had an apartment in ADH.

I rekon I’ve got it covered as most of it sounds like common sense and after 20 years of riding I’ve done most stuff, the Mega It’s just a “must do thing” now and will probably tie it in with some Portes Du Soleil riding.
Bring on 10th Jan entry opening date!