My participation in the Gibraltar race! J1 & 2

I'm off! After months of preparation and emotional turmoil, I was finally able to take the start of the Gibraltar Race! My first observation after two days of racing? I'm going to ch****. My Schrödinger's shoulder, both intact and fractured, is sore, the technical sections are very demanding and, last but not least, we're making some penalizing navigation errors. However, the pleasure of riding is there, and so is the solidarity between the 35 competitors. Let me tell you about the first 2 days, which were full of contrasts.

Big first day, I hesitate to describe it as Dantesque! As I write these lines, I'm blown away, at the end of my tether... Let's be honest, we were a long way from Laurent Cochet's videos with their beautiful rolling tracks.

Departure 8:21 am. In fact, the adventure got off to a bad start right from the start. We received our GPS tracks only 15 minutes before the start! The result was a mix-up, a blunder and we found ourselves on the freeway... By the time we had the chance to turn around, we had lost 15 precious minutes. It was panic time!

What's on the agenda? Big climbs, tricky descents, soggy paths, lots of rock... A very technical and exhausting day! We reach a particularly difficult obstacle and witness a scene that looks like the apocalypse. A steep, rock-strewn climb with bikes lying on either side. Could it be that we're in the wrong race? This isn't the Gibraltar race, it's the Hard Defi Tour!

What about my playmates? Xavier, theAxuri Trail boss, can't finish because of an unscrewed footrest and, above all, a knocked-out tablet. Bruno, my partner, can't finish the day either because of a clutch problem.

Stubborn as I am, I carry on without him. I navigate alone on tricky trails with my shoulder still in a mess. This isn't very prudent, as my stubbornness puts me in danger. At 8pm, I decide to turn back. It must be said that with night falling and another 150 km of trails to cover, it was starting to become a suicide mission. In short, it was time to become reasonable. I finished the day at 10pm. Worn out.

Any falls? Countless. I owe a debt of gratitude to Bruno, who helped me lift my motorized anvil every time. Despite this, my shoulder has been put to the test, and tonight it's sore. Well... my whole body is sore! Clearly, if every day is this intense, I doubt I'll make it to the end of the race. Physically, I'm exhausted!

What can you take away from this first day? We need to be more rigorous about navigation. All the time you think you're saving by "botching" the preparation is wasted a hundredfold during the race by taking the wrong route.

This second day is much more pleasant and rolling. Day and night compared to the hell I went through yesterday. My goal today? To complete all the stages. And I succeeded! Well then, timing-wise, it's still far from perfect. I'm sorely lacking in speed on the technical sections. Inevitably, I lost minutes and earned penalties.

As a result, of the 5 special stages, I only managed to finish one on time. The worst? The last one, which I completely blew. Not only did I miss a waypoint due to my dodgy navigation, but I also ran headlong without looking at my lap time. I finished 6 minutes ahead. Jackpot of penalties!

By the way, my comrades Bruno and Xavier are also full of penalties. Why should that be? The links between the stages are punctuated by waypoints that allow you to measure your average speed. We didn't know that... From now on, we'll be just as vigilant about this.

What about the scenery? Magnificent! The plains of Valladolid, the Douro valley, sublime ridge trails: we're in for a real treat. And yes, we mustn't forget that we're also here to enjoy ourselves (and not just to suffer). As someone who knows Portugal well, I'm discovering some truly sumptuous little nuggets. The special stages alternate between rolling sections and more technical ones. The pace is really nice!

In the evening, while my mates are having a beer by the pool, I inspect the T700, and quickly figure out where that suspicious noise that appeared today is coming from. The culprit? The center stand, which I mounted especially for the Gibraltar Race, and which is now held together by just one bolt. I'm a bit lucky in my misfortune, as I could have lost it completely... Otherwise, let me reassure you, the T700 works like a charm.

What's so special about today? No falls. And physically, it's life-changing, because the Yamaha weighs so much like a dead donkey. So, at the end of the day, the overall assessment was extremely positive. I had fun riding, I enjoyed the scenery, I was able to have a beer with my mates and talk to them about how I could improve my riding. And yes, since they all ride faster than me, I benefit from their experience. It's also a relief to be able to share your troubles, support each other and keep each other motivated.

By the way, after only two days of racing, we're down to 30 competitors from the 35 who started. I hope it will stop there.

Well, I think these first two days set the general tone for this challenge. To wit? The special stages are cleverly designed to alternate between rolling and technical sections, the navigation aspect is as crucial as the driving, and above all: this is an endurance event. There's no question of getting into the red just yet. I'll have to get my head out of the handlebars, be willing to turn back if necessary and spare myself physically if I want to get to the end of this challenge (in one piece).

----> I'm taking up the challenge of the Gibraltar race: our final preparations up to the start (episode 1)