I (Guy) headed to Bessans at the head of the Maurienne valley on Sunday,via an Alan Partridge style budget hotel and a mighty impressive lorry fire on the motorway. Bessans is a huge cross country ski and biathlon area; indeed ahead of this recent Alpine snow deluge, it was the only ski site in France with any snow at all - the French national team were camped out up there for a little while. It is also only 20km from the col d'Iseran, which towers above Val d'Isere in the Haute Tarentaise. I digress. I was there for the Marathon de Bessans - the cross country ski equivalent of a sportive ride on bikes i.e. a proper race at the front; a ton of weekend warriors like me at the back....2 laps of 21km on perfect pistes. Conditions were gorgeous; my condition was a bit patchier, but I got round with a smile. Helyn & I have a few of these races in the calendar this winter, so it was nice to open the account. Proving what a great complement to cycling theis sport is, Jérôme Coppel, formerly of FDJ and now at Saur-Sojasun, came in 13th! An amazing result...
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