Over the course of 40 years, the International Marathon of the Gorges de l’Ardèche has grown into a flagship event in the world of kayaking and canoeing. Bringing together in southern France paddlers from more than 20 nations , the race unfolds surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty. Spanning 32 kilometres, it starts at the famous Vallon-Pont-d’Arc and winds through spectacular gorges to finish at Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche. The area is a major tourist attraction, with tens of thousands paddling in a leisurely fashion down the gorges through the summer heat. This usually takes two days, with the bivouac between all part of the experience. But the elite racers finish in just over an hour and a half.

It’s Saturday, the day before the race, and Étienne Hubert, Café du Cycliste’s Caravan athlete, has invited us into his world alongside his closest friends. With his team-mate, Quentin, who lives locally to the race, he is the defending champion, completing the course last year in 1 hour, 37 minutes. Outside team-mate Quentin’s house (he lives close to the race) the atmosphere is lively as boats are prepared – boats that usually wouldn’t be seen anywhere near a river. These K2s (two-seater kayaks) are usually built for flat-water races on calm lakes.

Here, however, they’ve been cleverly adapted for the challenge. They’ve added floaters to the front of the boats to help them lift out of the water quickly in rapids and installed electric pump systems to drain water. “The victory is being decided in this house,” Cyril Carré – a member of the French national team, three-time Olympian and multiple world champion – informs us. With 800 boats set to start the next day, his statement might seem presumptuous, but Sunday’s race will prove otherwise. We already know these guys from their incredible gravel bike crossing of the Alps, where their physical conditioning had left us in awe. They’ll amaze us even more on the water.

The Rush, a 4-kilometre kayak sprint, kicks off the weekend’s events that Saturday afternoon. But first, a quick gravel ride served as a warm-up. Not far from Quentin’s family home, the Ardèche River winds at the base of a dramatic cliff. Under overcast skies, the two riders set out on their bikes, and we follow in their tracks. For Sunday, the weather forecast promised a sunny race day, an Indian summer. The Rush was a mere formality – their two kayaks took the top two spots, setting the tone for the main event.

Sunday morning, the town of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc buzzes with the energy of a summer day and the Ardèche itself is the centre of the action. Vans and trailers loaded with boats fill the roads, and the launch areas hum with conversations in countless languages.

The technique and elegance of kayaking are mesmerising. Getting away from the pack at the start and battling it out among the leaders is the most common way races play out across all the disciplines. At the Pont d’Arc bridge, just four kilometres and ten minutes in, five boats have already pulled ahead. Moving in near silence, they form a V, like migrating birds, to make the most of the elements and conserve energy. The boats almost touch, each kayak’s occupants paddle in perfect synchronicity paddling like a ballet that has been rehearsed countless times before showtime. For the racers, the event demands over 90 minutes at threshold, sometimes culminating in a final sprint, 250 metres against the flow up a narrow channel. Last year, Etienne and Quentin won in such a sprint, putting in an extraordinary effort in the final metres to secure victory by just two seconds over Cyril Carré’s boat. This year, the outcome will be different.

An hour into the race, there are just four kayaks leading. The boats majestically race down the river, deep in the steep gorges while, 400 metres above, cars stop along the road to watch the singular sight of these tiny kayaks passing by. It’s at this moment that disaster strikes. A paddle from a rival boat accidentally snaps the rudder of Etienne and Quentin’s kayak, instantly ending their hopes for victory. At the finish line, a massive crowd gathers to witness the conclusion of the race. On the big screen, footage shows one kayak clearly pulling ahead of the rest. It is the yellow boat of Cyril Carré’s team, in total control, just as he had predicted the day before.

We get back to Étienne and Quentin at the finish. While they hadn’t been able to fight as they’d hope, these two young fathers keep smiling throughout their misfortune. With bright eyes, Etienne reflects on this significant year, in which both have left the French national team and the elite level of competition that has shaped their lives for so long. 

“Leaving the top level doesn’t mean stopping adventuring,” he assures us, already talking about a new project planned for spring that will combine cycling and river descents with some of the same close-knit team.

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