The final round of the European E-MTB Series!
It feels pretty crazy to say that the World Cup season is finished and now the European E-MTB Series is also over!
The final round of the European tour took us to Luchon, a little town down near the Spanish border. Luchon is well known for its thermal spas, with people coming from all over to spend two weeks soaking in the thermal mud. Pretty much like being back home in New Zealand in smelly old Rotorua!
Dad and I actually arrived on Monday, a little earlier than planned, but there was a good reason for that. For the past week, we had been having van issues with Buddy. A broken coolant temperature sensor in a Citroën van, and no Frenchies wanting to help us fix it! A friend recommended a mechanic in Luchon, so we thought if we could get there early in the week, at least they would have time to look at it.
More on that later… it's a long story!
Monday was spent visiting the mechanic, doing a food shop and setting up camp. I also squeezed in a little Zone 2 ride to Spain and back.
Tuesday — A little adventure
With this round being a French Cup, the French rules applied, meaning no practice until the weekend. But there was a catch: they also weren't releasing the tracks until Friday afternoon!
So, naturally, I questioned how I was supposed to ride around the area without accidentally riding one of the race tracks, especially when I didn't even know which ones we were racing.
In the end, I decided to take Dad on an adventure. I gave him the e-bike, grabbed the analogue bike and we pedalled up the valley and over to Loudenvielle, where we raced the first EDR round earlier this year.
Once we got to the top, there was a little crêpe shop, so of course we had to stop! €8 for 12 crêpes. We ate half and took the other half with us.
At the top of the Loudenvielle bike park, we jumped onto Candy, a green/blue flow trail that took us all the way down to Loudenvielle town. Around 8km of descending — pretty good fun!
We parked up in Loudenvielle for 45 minutes to give the e-bike a quick charge, just in case there was more climbing than I had planned before heading back up the road.
Another crêpe stop to finish off the leftovers, followed by a massive road bomb back to Luchon and a well-deserved swim in the river.
55km with 1,800m of climbing. Fair to say Dad had a sore bum! 😂
Wednesday & Thursday
Wednesday was a bit of a write-off weather-wise. It rained and rained, and it was pretty cold, so it turned into an admin day for me.
On Thursday, I took the e-bike out for some openers and to get used to being back on it. I managed to find a hiking/riding track out of the region that we definitely wouldn't be racing, so I could get some riding in without breaking any rules.
Friday — Bike prep
Friday was bike prep day, and thankfully the sun was back out. It was hot!
Fresh rubber on the wheels was in order, along with a brake bleed and a new hanger. My gears had been jumping all over the place, so I clearly must have smashed the derailleur at some point. A general check-over and we were nearly ready to go.
Bike check was at 8pm, so I went for a quick spin into town to get that sorted before organising a lift to the race start.
For some reason, we had a 30-minute drive to the start, and with Buddy still semi-broken, we weren't too keen to take the van up the mountain. Luckily, I managed to find Claire, who kindly offered me a lift.
Saturday — Race Day 1
An early start! I met Claire in the car park at 7:05am and we headed up the hill. The sun wasn't even up yet, and it was absolutely freezing on the mountain.
French Cups are a little different from the usual race format. There isn't a separate practice day and race day; instead, practice and racing are mixed together.
We started by practising Stage 1, a fairly flat, grassy track that required a lot of pedalling over the motor. The sun was just rising over the mountains, which made for some pretty epic views, but we all had terrible sunstrike!
We then headed over to practise Stage 2. This one was steeper and more technical, and I was loving it.
After practice, we pedalled back to the start of Stage 2 and got straight into racing.
I had a little crash but still managed to finish 3rd on the stage.
Next, we pedalled back over to Stage 1 to race that. I put together a good run and finished 2nd, just one second off the win!
We then had another timed run down Stage 2, finishing 3rd again.
From there, it was a long liaison over to Stage 4, where we got a practice lap in before heading back to the paddock to recharge or swap batteries.
I opted to swap my battery. We had nearly two hours, so there was plenty of time, and it meant I would have a full battery ready for the afternoon.
Battery swap for me requires me to drop the motor out now so about a 20min process
After lunch and the battery swap, we jumped on the gondola up to Stage 3, where we were racing blind.
Knowing we were racing it blind, I thought there couldn't be that much in it. It started with a climb that just kept going and going, and the rest of the track was fairly mellow, just a little narrow in places and lots of corners.
We then had a tough liaison back to the start of Stage 3 for another timed run. The liaison was super steep and technical, and we only just made it in time… to find a course hold anyway!
Another run down Stage 3, and thankfully I managed to improve my time. I finished 3rd on the first run and 2nd on the second.
Then it was across to Stage 4 to finish off the day. A delay for a helicopter evacuation left us sitting at the top of the trail for 40minutes, when I went back to my bike my rear tyre was soft, not completely flat but nearly. I pumped it up and noticed there was a cut on the side wall. Unable to use a tyre plug I said I need some duck tape ( I normally have some wrapped around my pump but I must have used it all) Helen said use some off my back that was holding her race number on her shirt. Luckily this was enough to get be through the trail. This was the steepest and most technical stage so far. I think I held back a little too much, and Helen managed to overtake me, leaving me in 3rd place, 20 seconds back.
We then had another two hours to charge the bike before heading out to practice and race the power stages.
We got one practice lap before racing the first power stage. I did okay, with a little error, and finished 4th.
The next stage was something new for me: the same track but in reverse, and with no practice lap!
I actually quite enjoyed this one and managed to finish 3rd, just six seconds off the win.
That wrapped up Day 1, and I was sitting 3rd overall with another day of racing to go.
Sunday — Race Day 2
Another early start on Sunday, leaving the paddock at 7:50am and heading straight to the gondola for Stage 5 practice.
This stage started right at the top of the gondola, and all I had been told was that it was steep.
They weren't wrong!
Another amazing track, though, and I was absolutely loving it.
We then had a quick liaison over to Stage 6 for a practice lap. I think this was probably my least favourite stage of the weekend. It was basically straight, corner, straight, corner, for about five minutes!
We pedalled back up to the start of Stage 6 for our first race run, and I performed terribly. I finished 5th on the stage. Definitely need some French cornering practice!
After that, we made our way back to the paddock for another gondola ride up to Stage 5 to race it.
I went well here, finishing 2nd on the stage, and loved every bit of that track.
Then it was another Stage 6 race run. Thankfully, I did much better on my second attempt and slotted into 3rd place.
We rolled back into the pits for lunch and some charging for the e-bike. It hadn't been a huge day so far, and with only one 600m climb left, I opted to charge the battery rather than swap it.
It charged back to 75%, and then we headed out on the liaison to Stage 7.
Going into the final stage, I had a comfortable lead in 3rd over 4th, but was too far behind to catch 2nd. The plan was simple: stay smooth and finish strong.
Stage 7 was the same track as Stage 4 from Saturday, so we all knew it pretty well by now.
I put down a good time and finished 3rd on the stage.
That meant 3rd overall for the weekend and 3rd overall in the series!
That's a wrap!
It's a little crazy to think the European E-MTB Series is now finished for the season.
I'm really proud of what I've achieved this year, especially getting to race in the rainbow jersey. It wasn't a season where I was on top of the results every weekend, but it was awesome to be out there racing against these girls and pushing myself.
This weekend was a good way to finish the series, with some solid stage results and another overall podium.
Huge congratulations to the other girls for their performances throughout the season. The racing has been so much fun, and it's been awesome to be part of it.
That's it for the European E-MTB Series, but I still have one race left this year!
I'm excited to put the NZ fern on and represent New Zealand in both Enduro and E-Enduro at Finale on the 17th–18th of October.
Before then, it's time to get Buddy fixed and enjoy a few more weeks exploring Europe before heading to Worlds.
A massive thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout the season. I really appreciate it, and I hope you've enjoyed following along and reading the blogs!
See you at the next one! 🇳🇿⚡
