Rémy Absalon Wins 12th Megavalanche!
Going to the iconic Megavalanche Réunion just before Christmas is an annual tradition for Rémy - the occasion for the marathon downhill specialist to end the season with friends but also with family as, this year, his brother Julien took part to the race. A good time of year for some friendly, and in this case, brotherly competiton!
Once again the Megavalanche hosted many pro riders! In this list we could find Julien ABSALON (BMC) but also Jérôme CLEMENTZ (Cannondale), Florent PAYET (Mondraker), Cédric GRACIA (Santa Cruz), Davide SOTTOCORNOLA (Cicobikes Rocky Mountain). Riders from Reunion Island were ready too, like Christophe PAYET (Norco), Alexandre SICARD (Santa Cruz) and Timothé NEYTARD (Trek).
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning with an Enduro style race.
In waves of 3 riders, guys covered 3 stages. Rémy was in the same group of his main rival here: the local rider, Alexandre Sicard. The first stage was the longest (14 minutes) with a start from the Maïdo. The second stage was in the sugar cane fields with many slippery corners. The last one was in rocks and loose dirt.
As it was very fast and open, Rémy and Alexandre Sicard rode the 3 stages together.
In any case, the goal of the day was to save the bike on these rough tracks and to secure a top 5 to be in good position for the mass start on Sunday.
Rémy won the qualifying with Alexandre SICARD coming in second and Cédric GRACIA in third.
Race day!
Rémy didn't start very well as a rider crashed just in front of him. He rode full throttle on the edge of Cirque de Mafate and finally passed Alexandre SICARD and Florent PAYET who were leading the race. To keep the lead he rode full gas in the Cryptomeria jungle and took a good advantage.Then Rémy could ride safely keeping in mind "clean and fast till the end". But he saw Jérôme CLEMENTZ, a big rival too, coming in 2nd position with a gap of 20". So Rémy finished the race trying to widen the gap in the last physical and rocky sections to secure the race. He finally won with more than 50".
It is the 7th victory of Rémy here in Réunion Island, and the 12th Megavalanche victory in total.
Then Rémy could ride safely keeping in mind "clean and fast till the end". But he saw Jérôme CLEMENTZ, a big rival too, coming in 2nd position with a gap of 20". So Rémy finished the race trying to widen the gap in the last physical and rocky sections to secure the race. He finally won with more than 50".
It is the 7th victory of Rémy here in Réunion Island, and the 12th Megavalanche victory in total.
Photos: Max Schumann