10/12/2011
 
Lords of Dirt results
 

 
1. J.B. Peytavi t (FRA)
2. Mike Clark (USA)
3. Josh Stead (AUS)
4. Markus Hampl (GER)
5. Desmond Tessemaker (NED)
6. Simon Moratz (GER)
7. Tristan Musso (FRAU)
8. Jeremy LePennedu (FRA)
9. Kelly Bolton (USA)
10. Daniel Tuente (GER)
11. Patrick Guimez (FRA)
12. Matthieu Musso (FRA)
13. Daniel Juchatz (GER)
14. Philipp Baum (GER)
15. Ben Sarhaoui (FRA)
 
 
 
 
10/10/2011
 
Roc d'Azur 2011
 
The whole team thanks you for your participation and your presence at Roc d'Azur.
We hope to see you next year for the 2012 edition!
 
In the meantime, you will find all the results of the competition on the Results page and all the articles published during the event in the News page

Registration for the Roc d'Azur 2012 will be available soon.
Seen you soon
The Roc team.
 
 
 
 
10/09/2011
 
ROC D?AZUR: Milatz by a whisker
 
The scenario may have been the same as last year, with a sprint to the finish (success in 2010 for Austrian Alban Lakata), but the players were different this time. After 2h23?36?? winding through the dirt paths of the Massif des Maures, German cross country champion Moritz Milatz won his first Roc d?Azur (56 km) beating by a few hundredths Switzerland?s Christoph Sauser, 35 years old, who had dreamt of a double after his success in the Marathon (83 km), Friday (Belgian Roel Paulissen had won this double in 2008 and 2009).
 
Escaping in the last ten kilometres after a gruelling first part of the course during which ten riders came to grief, the two men fought a fierce battle over the final kilometres. Sauser, winner of the Roc d?Azur in 2005 and 2006, launched the first attack shortly before the chemin des Douaniers. With a lead of one hundred metres after clearing the Douaniers and the difficult passage of the shore, the 2011 Marathon world champion no doubt thought he had done all he needed to. But the German kept him in his sights and finally succeeded in catching up with him just three short kilometres from the finishing line. After a brief moment of observation, Milatz, who came 8th in the 2011 European Championships, finally proved to be the strongest in the final straight run. ?When Christoph pulled away from me I though, that?s it, I?m finished, I would never catch up with him?, explained the 29 year-old Freiburger, already three times champion of Germany (2006, 2010, 2011), currently 11th in the UCI world standings. ?But I stuck at it and, when I saw I was making some ground, I started to believe again. Near the end I was a bit worried about the finish because I don?t know the lay of the land so well. It?s very special to win the Roc d?Azur. It?s really a very good way to end a long season. I will now take a long holiday and start focusing on the 2012 season, obviously looking towards the Olympic Games.?

Despite the legitimate disappointment of ?defeat? in the sprint, Christoph Sauser seemed quite happy with the race. ?I had good legs but, with the Marathon of Friday, I probably lacked some freshness at the end.?

The young (22 year-old) Belgian Sébastien Carabin completed the podium (1st in Espoirs). A result he had not dared to hope for. ?It?s just incredible!?, he said, eyes wide open in surprise. ?I hoped I?d just get in the top 5 in Espoirs. Suddenly I found myself leading the race and, when I saw that I was ahead of Sauser, Milatz and co. I didn?t look back. To be honest, I had the impression of not being in my place. I was at their back and my sole objective was to stay up there with them as long as possible. Standing on the podium for the scratch ? When you see the riders here, it?s like a World Cup race. That will give me loads of confidence for what comes next, when I hope to finish in the top 20 of the World Cup.?

With 2h31?36??, Maxime Marotte crossed the line in 15th position, his best performance so far for the Frenchman. ?Bearing in mind I didn?t get to bed until 3:30 this morning, that?s better than I expected?, he confessed. ?We partied a bit, but that?s also what le Roc is about. The season is so long, so it does you good. You like to enjoy it. I found the circuit very slippery and fast. But the changes to the course are nice. The track may change, but the spirit remains the same. It?s really a mythical test and I hope to win it some day. Now I?m going off on a cyclo-cross bike. Then I just need a first peak of fitness at the start of the season for the first four stages of the World Cup that will give the tickets to the Olympic Games in London. And if that goes well, the second peak of fitness will have to come on August 12, on the day of the Olympic Games.?

The best Frenchman in Friday?s Marathon, Thomas Dietsch, came in 22nd position this time and tenth Frenchman (2h35?09??). ?I took the start with no pressure and no objective?, he says. ?All I thought about was to keep pushing on the pedals. Given the quality of the riders and the competition, my position in the top 25 must mean I didn?t perform so poorly after all. Sometimes you say that you do it just for the fun, but that isn?t often the case because you still have a good deal of work to do. Today, I though it really was the case. Over the years Le Roc has become a race on which many want to win their spurs. Personally, if you asked me to choose between winning the World Cup and winning in Le Roc, then I?d take Le Roc every time. To get there you really have to make an objective of it, prepare yourself for it, then hope you have your best legs when the big day comes. I?ve still got two years to get all this together.?

And while the champions are enjoying a well-deserved rest in the finishing zone, nearly 4 000 riders still had not crossed the finish line of the Roc d?Azur. The sole ambition for many is to finish the Roc d?Azur 2011. Some of them will need almost eight hours to reach the finish line, tired, sometimes even exhausted, but all of them happy.
 
 
 
 
10/09/2011
 
Absalon as ? spectator
 
Double Olympic champion (2004-2008) and greatest French mountain biker in history, Julien Absalon would not miss the meet on Le Roc for the world. It?s the occasion for him to honour his sponsors and meet his supporters. Such a busy timetable has not given him the opportunity to take the start at the Roc d?Azur.
 
?It?s true that it?s missing from my trophy collection?, he says, ?but you can?t do everything, and the season is already quite long enough. Besides, not many Frenchmen excel here, since the demands are many, unlike some of the foreigners who can stay in their bubble and in the competition. But it?s so great just being there! The German winner of this edition is anyway one of the best in the world and we saw a very fine end of the race.?
 
 
 
 
10/09/2011
 
Frédéric Salomone: ?Nobody wanted to let go!?
 
Race director Frédéric Salomone passed a very positive view of this 28th Roc d?Azur.
 
?The dusty conditions made the going difficult. After four days of riding the roads were unusually slippery. The route of the Roc features long uphill followed by long downhill runs, you don?t get time to recover, you have to be in exceptional physical condition to make a mark. The first part of this edition was often a race of attrition. Then everything speeded up after the climb in Bougnon with the take-off of the two leaders, Sauser and Milatz. The sprint finish proved once again that nobody wanted to let go! More and more riders are coming here to win these days. They really give it all they?ve got to add the Roc d?Azur to their list of victories. It?s a nice recognition of the test!?