[Closed] MB Race

Did the short version (50km I think) a few years ago on a perfect sunny day.

I really enjoyed it - not very technical or rocky, climbing up fireroads and ski slopes, then down on singletrack and across pastures.. although the longer courses go farther up and out and take some ridges and higher mountain terrain. Also I believe that they change the course a bit most years.

On the shorter courses there's a real mix of abilities. Lots of people out for the experience and to finish and then fast racing at the front for all distances. No gridding, and my friend and I put ourselves too far back, even with our modest capacities.

Great atmosphere on the course and at the finish, with lots of people cheering you on. Lots of vids on youtube that show the terrain pretty well. Looks grim if it's a wet year though!

I did the short version last year. 70km with 3500m climbing. Middle distance is 50% more in both length and elevation and the long distance is double the short.
I always planned to stick with the short distance and did a fair amount of training for it, over the winter following a British Cycling 12 week base training plan pretty well (including turbo work), then more loosely following a shorter endurance plan after when the weather was better to keep outside.
I commute 5 miles each way by bike each day so base fitness was already good but needed to train for a long day and as best I could for that amount of elevation. I did this mainly with regular 100km+ days on the road bike trying with a decent amount of climbing, and less big rides on the mtb.

They did grid last year based on bib number. I signed up on the day it opened so had a decent place towards the front but did not bust a gut to stay there. The first 5k or so was neutralised anyway as it was on the road before hitting fireroads at la Cry above Combloux.

It was mostly fireroad with some singletrack, lots of loose gravelly stuff. At Col de Jaillet there was a crazy hike-a-bike section which couldn’t cope with the volume of traffic. I read they won’t include that again.

Feed stations were well spaced and well stocked! Cheese and charcuterie on offer!
In the second half I ended up walking a lot of the climbs as my legs couldn’t cope, and I also opted to walk some of the rooty singletrack descents towards the end where I was fatigued.

I was running a lightweight carbon XC hardtail with 100mm travel and most were on full sussers, but really anything goes! I remember lots of bikes from Decathlon!

They swap start village each year and 2019 is Combloux with 2020 returning to Megeve. If you do the mid distance you’ll finish in the other village, otherwise for short and long distances you’ll start and finish in the same village (if you have family supporting).

With the Combloux start this year I’m struggling to think of any initial route which is flat so it might not get neutralised as much ch as the even years!

They generally keep to a similar route each time with some minor tweaks, so look on Strava for the 2017 versions to see where they went.

Agree with what timb34 says about mid and longer versions adding extra loops on, also about the atmosphere. The biotope lake at Combloux would be a great place to finish.

I will do it again but have other plans for holidays this year - I think my wife also needs more time to get over me crashing on the final descent into Megeve last year resulting in 2 hospital visits and surgery to cleanse an infection. My final tip is to ensure your insurance covers you offroad mountain biking racing! The hospital in Sallanches is excellent!

Big days out will be a great help but I found it very hard to train for that amount of climbing!!!

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. Last week my motivation just deserted me, but this has helped get me back on track.
I'm aiming for the full event, but I do understand this is tough so will take it as it goes on the day.