the essential
Gravel, enduro, gourmet hikes, 30, 50 or 80 kilometers… The 32nd edition promises, as usual, a rich and varied playground, for high-level competitors as well as for those who don’t watch the clock.
If the big mountain bike festival already started yesterday in Laissac, with more than 250 schoolchildren and college students introduced to bicycle safety and the collection of the first bibs, it is today that the competition begins. No national or continental championship on the program this year, nor even a World Cup (read our yesterday’s edition), but the Vélo club Laissac has concocted a 32nd edition of the Roc as it has the secret. A recipe that appeals as much to the mountain biker who goes out once a week, to the young cyclist thirsty for racing, as to the professional of the discipline in search of UCI points. And for the occasion, the organization, led by the president of the association, Pierre Boyer, made some changes.
Enduro and gravel in hiking mode
On the weekend program, two new events have appeared. Finally, a reappearance for one of them: the Randu’roc. “We had already done it in 2022specifies Boyer. We realized that in enduro, some riders came for the competition, while others were mainly there to have fun.” They will therefore be able to take advantage of the five special stages of the event, as well as the links, to work on their technique without the pressure of the clock. Moreover, the enduro will indeed take place, even if Pierre Boyer had announced at the end of the previous edition that it would not be repeated. “It was hot, we were disappointed by the participation (120 endurists instead of the usual 300), in view of all the work done by the volunteers. We discussed it. And then, it’s only fools who don’t change their minds.”he smiles.
And the novelty also takes the path of gravel: a 35 kilometer hike (compared to 70 for the timed version, counting for the Challenge gravel’tour) will allow the curious to discover the discipline.
More than 1,000 bibs already reserved yesterday
On the eve of the first departure of the weekend, the organizer was delighted with the first figures. Yesterday afternoon, the list of registrants had already “exceeded the 1,000 mark”. Always a great success for the gourmet hikes, scheduled today, as well as for the main event: the marathon mountain bike race. Two days before the start, which will be given tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., 165 runners had taken their bib to compete in a new format of the event: this year, a single distance is planned for everyone. While the elite men ran 95 kilometers last year, they will now compete over 80 kilometers, like their female counterparts, as well as the participants in the Open event. A way of simplifying the circuit and the organization, while retaining the route spread over two loops, which allows spectators to enjoy the show more since the implementation of this new formula, in 2022. But before entering the stage marathon runners, today it’s time for endurists, hikers, gravel runners and budding mountain bikers!
