Gravel Across Alps: the Human Adventure

Well, it all started a little naively, as is often the case with these crazy adventures. On January 31, 2024, I found myself on the registration page of a race that immediately announced the color: Gravel Across Alps .

Something that promises you 750 km of hassle, 18,000 meters of elevation gain and five days to complete it all. But hey, Arnaud Manzanini is in charge, so I tell myself that it's going to be well-crafted, that it's going to be an incredible experience. I sign up, without thinking too much. Mandelieu la Napoule, in France, to Crans-Montana in Switzerland, it can't be that bad... Spoiler: it was bad.

July 15th finally arrives. I took the train from Geneva, direction Mandelieu. The journey is long, but it allows me to prepare myself mentally. Or at least, that's what I thought. I join two competitors on the way, Nathalie and Arthur , and we travel together to the start. We arrive the day before, just to relax a bit before setting off at 9pm. The wait is endless. There are about fifteen of us, we exchange a few words, but the atmosphere is strange. Everyone knows that we're going to suffer, it's just that we don't know how much yet. But the team of volunteers, the organization is present and caring.

The start is given on July 16, it is not yet dark. We set off into the streets of Mandelieu, heading... well, heading into the unknown. The first few kilometers are really nice, we follow the Siagne, and then, very quickly, it gets worse. Endless climbs, sections at 16%, paths where you have to push the bike.

Oh, and I wasn't feeling well from the start. Tiredness? Stress? Not sure, but in any case, I felt like this was going to be a long story.

Arriving in Grasse, after not even 50 kilometers, I'm already on my last legs. Not normal, clearly. I stop to eat, to try to regain my strength. But I can see that things aren't going well. While the others are going ahead, I'm dragging my feet. I'm moving forward as best I can. Fortunately, Richard and Clément end up catching up with me, we ride together, we chat a bit, it's good for morale. We stick together in this mess.

And then, that's where the mechanical nightmare begins. First, a puncture, then a second. My tire is ruined, and me, morally, I'm not far from being ruined either. Lucérame, a small village with 140 km on the clock. I take a long break there, I repair as best I can, but I know it's going to be complicated. I must have lost at least an hour, not to mention the energy. But anyway, I'm off again. Not much choice.

Except that there, I puncture again... Again. And there, I know that it's over. Arriving in Sospel, I have nothing left to repair, no more strength, and especially no more motivation. I have two passes left to climb, but frankly, with a tire in tatters, I can't see myself continuing. So I call the organization. It's hard, but it's the right decision. They confirm that I can take a train to Breil-sur-Roya, where I will find a charity shop to change my tire. I spend a few hours there, the time to make the repairs. I have lost so much time and energy that the idea of finishing the race gradually evaporates.

But you know me, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet. So, after Breil, I continued to Tende.

A quick break in a café, time to regain strength before tackling the famous Col de Tende, a 16 km climb. And there, it was truly hell. Long, hard, I found myself pushing my bike more than I pedaled. We crossed paths with Sébastien and Nicolas ... But at the top, what a reward. The view, the satisfaction of having climbed

this monster. The descent to Cuneo was a real pleasure. I arrive at 10pm, exhausted but happy to be there. A shower, four hours of sleep, and I tell myself that I will continue. (interview of this photo at the end of the article)

The next morning, at 7am, I set off again towards Turin. But then, my body really starts to sound the alarm. My legs can't keep up, fatigue is omnipresent. I stop at a local's house to eat, (Seeing me all sheepish on the side of the road, she offers to make me a stew... magical...) hoping that things would get better afterwards. But no. On the second big climb of the day, the nausea hits. Violently. Dehydration, I know, is catching up with me.

There, it's the moment of truth. I sit on the side of the road by a fountain, the path begins to go up in altitude and I think. To continue in this state? It would be pure madness. So I make the most difficult decision: I give up. But I've been thinking about it since the day before... An Italian in a 4x4 picks me up on the way, lucky me and drops me off at a station so that I can take a train to Turin. That's where my adventure took another turn.

In Turin, after tears, laughter, a night in a room at 20°, I became a volunteer and a new adventure begins. I was rather with them... but still...

Becoming or rather being with the volunteers completely changed my perspective on this race. What could have been experienced as a failure turned into a new adventure, just as rich and memorable. Being on the other side, welcoming the runners, encouraging them, gave me another vision of the effort, of mutual aid, and of what a race like the Gravel Across Alps really means . I shared incredible moments with the other volunteers, met exhausted but determined faces, and I realized that this experience went far beyond the kilometers or the time. This second part of my adventure, as a volunteer, showed me how human this race was, woven with bonds and solidarity. Another story, unexpected, but just as incredible.

Even though I didn't finish the race, this adventure brought me much more than expected. Humility, acceptance of limits, and above all, the awareness that it is not the finish line that defines an adventure, but everything we learn along the way.

I will come back for sure. Next year I will be there, better prepared, to finish what I started. The Gravel Across Alps is not just a race. It is a life lesson.

Thanks to all my partners for this race: Velomania , Stoots , Spad Channel , Wishone and the Geneva University Hospitals...

Thanks also to all the volunteers and all the people with whom I lived this adventure, but whom I did not mention in this text, such as Louis Gauvrit , Hugo Declerck , Natalie Monnier , Fabien Monnnier , Yoan Pesenti, Laurent Dujols , Jonathan Monnin with whom we are forever the first to have taken the start of this 1st edition.