Les Chemins du Soleil Mountain Bike Race
Only 24 of 62 teams finish this 207 km (7700 m ascent) mountain bike route.
19.06.2007
Raid VTT is a 207km and 7700-meter ascent bike race taking place in the southeastern part of France every May. This year’s winner, Guillaume Demangeon is a real champ since he had already won Raid VTT last year as well as the Roc Marathon in 2001 and he also finished 7th in the 2006 Raid World Championship. This year, his teammate was Guillaume Peyronnet, and they both finished 28 minutes ahead of ERTIPS team, composed of Samuel Hubert and Eric Archambault.Demangeon and Peyronnet formed the Lafuma Sport 2000 Team, and even if they did not rank first during the whole race, neither the hot and sunny weather conditions nor the technical difficulties (7700 m-ascent) discouraged them. These two winners actually built their victory during the night stage.
Another highlight of the 2007 Raid VTT was the fourth place of Virginie Souchon and Julien Sauvigné (Cycling Material Technology) on 2 out of the 3 sections. Their performance impressed everyone and the future seems very bright for this young team. Virginie is already well known in the world of mountain biking. Indeed, she finished second in the mountain bike race (France VTT marathon), and she also won the French title in the “elite� category. Despite all of this, Virginie still admitted at the end of the race that it was one of the “toughest things� she ever did. She was likely not the only one to think so since only 24 of the 62 registered teams were able to finish the race.
Finally, the presence of Laurent Roux during the race has been greatly appreciated by all of those who got the chance to compete with him. Laurent Roux is a previous "King of the Mountains" (best climber) of the prestigious Tour de France. Unfortunately, his teammate was not on par, and they could not win the race.
This year, the 5th Raid VTT “Les chemins du soleil� welcomed 520 competitors, 37% of which were foreigners, mainly from Belgium , Holland and Switzerland. This race is definitely gaining in worldwide notoriety each year. The popularity was such last year, registration was full two months before the event. The technical nature of the race, as well as the beauty of its route, attract the top international competitors, and allow them to discover the beautiful landscapes of France (from the Rhône Valley to the south part of the Alps they experience some true and authentic places such as Le Vercors and La Provence).
The next Raid VTT will be held from May 1st to 4th, 2008 with more than two thirds of the route being new.
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