Mega Avalanche

In case you haven't heard of a Mega Avalanche, they're mass-start enduro DH races (Well sort of...) that cover anywhere between 15 and 25 kilometres - straight down the side of a mountain. The series started in Europe and is now going international. Riders are lined up according to seeding times and then it's game on. Everyone hustles down the course together - girls, guys, pro, amateur, young and old. And you do this twice.

Mega Avalanche courses typically combine DH and XC, and the best times are usually over an hour. Normally, riders will ride the lightest bike possible that is still capable of pinning it downhill when necessary but likes to climb as well.

When the Mega Avalanche comes to Oz en Oisans you start up at 3,300m on top of the Pic Blanc glacier above Alpe d'Huez. After 32km, you finish in the small town of Allemont, way down at 800m. Sounds easy right?

Well here's the catch - you start in waves of about 350 people at once - and you start ON a black ski run. Still covered in snow. The route then crosses a massive glacier (yep, riding on the ice) before taking you across the face of a mountain along some of the best singletrack you'll ever have ridden. All the while your fellow racers will be getting in your way, or trying to pass you. It is quite bonkers.

There's open fast grassy sections, tight twisty in the woods singletrack, some climbs (see, not a DH race!) and then more singletrack - it goes on what seems like forever. All the while all you can hear inside your (obligatory) full face helmet is your heart pounding, and lungs pumping, trying their best to keep your muscles supplied with oxygen.

For more information and registration for the event have a look at www.avalanchetrophy.com.

If you like some more information about this lunacy why not email us with your questions?