Cycling: The 330 spots available for the Bluegrass Enduro Tour in Guebwiller sold out within minutes of registrations starting. This penultimate race of the 2014 series was truly awaited by enduro fans.
The favorites were particularly excited about the duel at the top between Nicolas Lau, the winner at the start of the season in Dabo, and Rémy Absalon, the winner of Rombach-le-Franc. On the women's side, with strong Swiss representation, one had to look out for competitors able to challenge the supremacy of Claire Hassenfratz, following her victories in the previous two French Bluegrass Enduro Tour races.
The stage in Guebwiller offered an attractive program with 5 special stages over a distance of about thirty kilometers, a spectacular start from the top of the Grand Ballon, the highest point in the Vosges, and the finish at the Town Hall Square (Place de la mairie) of Guebwiller with a last playful special stage in the city.
At 8:30 a.m. the first drivers drove off and tackled the longest special stage of the day. The best stayed just under 15 minutes for the 900 negative meters in altitude with three uphill sections. In short, the warm-up was already a tough first test for the drivers!
At the end of a 7km transfer leg, the much shorter Stage 2 started with a fast upper part, followed by a glorious single track along the side of a hill and finally a series of natural banked corners.
A slightly sloping four-wheel drive track followed by a wide path led to the start of the third special stage. The rather flat start was followed by a much faster area, in the middle of which you had to pedal. This led to a descent with a series of technical curves. Entertainment was provided!
The aid station came just in time before the transfer leg to Stage 4, a repeat of Stage 2.
A final transfer leg went to the town of Guebwiller for the traditional special stage in the town, finishing in front of the town hall.
[iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/106965891" width="620" height="349" iframe]Luckily the weather forecast was wrong and it was a clear day. Fortunately, the numerous participants were able to taste their food basket, which every driver received at the end of the race, on the town hall square and at the same time attend the live concert organized for the given occasion.
True to its habit, the Bluegrass Enduro Tour once again represented performance and the pleasure of riding with buddies on challenging and fun courses. In the end, in the men's race, Rémy Absalon, who was in excellent form, prevailed over Nicolas Lau. As expected, Claire Hassenfratz secured victory for the women.