WISH ONE AND ALL

After kicking off the season with Santa Val and then high tailing it to Traka in April, the next stop for the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team was the Wish One Millau Grands Causses. The only French stage of the UCI Gravel World series and a qualifying event for the related World Championships.

Run in the shadow of the famous Millau Viaduct, the race takes place in the heart of the Grands Causses Regional Natural Park. Famous for its impressive cliffs and rock formations - the causses - the course includes part of the Templière du Larzac trail as well as passing through the Causse Noir.

Moonlighting from their day jobs with the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur Pro Continental squad, it is the first time we’ve had all four male members of the team together on the road (or the gravel come to that…). It is a change of scene for the guys, and equally a change of atmosphere. Illustrated by our race preparation which included a spot of fishing in the Tarn. When in Rome, or in Aveyron.

Preparation also included a more classic course recce but only the day before. The exact route was kept under wraps until twenty-four hours before the start due to it passing through a military zone, a quirk just crying out for inappropriate battle analogies somewhere down the line.

Compared to other races on the calendar, and at only 145km, the format is short. But still intense. Once finally unwrapped in all its glory, the route is revealed to feature mixed terrain and a 50/50 split between gravel and road surfaces. The course is designed to be fast.

In theory this split should suit Andréa, Noah, Paul and Axel down to the smooth(er) ground but gravel sections in general are not what they are used to. The main difference is, in their minds, the level of concentration required. While zoning out or zoning into autopilot, relatively speaking, is possible out on the road it is down right impossible when racing on the rough stuff. Gravel is unforgiving and demands concentration for every moment of the five plus hours in the saddle. And as the riders roll of the start, the challenge begins.

Andréa held the leading group as much as possible but unfortunately wasn’t able to hang on from gun to tape. An 18th place finish was nevertheless an excellent result in this field, and it gained him qualification for the Elite category in the Gravel World Championship. A save the date for October.

While Andréa had raced with the team at Traka, it was the first outing of the season for the other three ‘Nicoise’ riders. “It’s more fun than the road” Axel said after he finished 49th overall. “But it’s still competition and the rhythm is the same as among the pros”. His mountain biking background certainly helped him quickly feel comfortable on the technical sections.

Paul rode hard throughout and came home a very creditable 27th but unfortunately Noah was all out of luck on this occasion. A double puncture led to an early exit from proceedings as he was forced into a DNF.

However our vigil at magnificent arrival under the Viaduct, in front of the building where the bikes of the French Gravel brand, Wish One, are designed, ended on another positive note as Stephan Mifsud crossed the line. Wearing Café du Cycliste colours he finished 122nd in the general ranking and 3rd in his age category, like his son Andréa qualifying for the gravel world championships.

The next race for the team will be in Finland in mid-September. The Falling Leaves Lahti, part of the Gravel Earth Series and the scene for what will surely be another unforgettable adventure.

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