Cycling: on the slopes of Aigoual, everything goes

On Saturday, the runners will hit the roads of Aigoual.

Le dimanche, place au VTT et à toutes les catégories : des plus jeunes aux masters.

Samedi et dimanche à l’Espérou, entre cyclosportive, mini-enduro, VTT et randonnée, personne ne sera laissé au bord du chemin.

''On is the oldest event in the world organized non-stop. We are in the 36th edition in mountain biking and the 25th on the road'', begins, not a little proud, Denis Boissière, president of the Vélo Club Mont-Aigoual Pays Viganais, club founded in 1988.
Three decades have passed and the event, which takes place Saturday and Sunday at Esperou (departure and arrival) has not aged a bit.
Everyone goes with their memory. ''I meet people who tell me that the first race of their life, they did it at Aigoual'& ;#39;, observes Boissière at the dawn of this weekend, where 500 participants are expected, all disciplines combined.

And… a ham to win, one!

On Saturday, at 9:15 a.m., the Challenge Gem Bik’Aigoual Région Occitanie will open the ball, in sport cycling, with two courses: the Fénioux (106 km) and the Quézac (133). And a reference present in the peloton. ''The 2024 godmother is the Australian Juanita Arnoux-Feldhahn, 51 years old, who competed in the Sydney Olympics, the Giro, the Tour de France…'', declines Boissière, happy to welcome… the 2023 title holder of 133 km.

Mini-enduro from Aigoual, first of the name

Busy Saturday on the roads of Esperou. It is not Bison Futé who announces it, but Denis Boissière, who will be able to count on 130 volunteers over the two days: '' We are organizing the 1st SASK mini-enduro in Aigoual. There has been no enduro for almost fifteen years. It’s open to everyone (electric mountain bikes). The only regret is that the Cévennes National Park has forbidden us the first 300 meters of the special 3 (the last one).'' At the finish, the author of the longest jump will not have lost everything, leaving with… a ham, ''an idea copied from Spain (sic)''.

The Gard Mountain Bike Challenge closes

On Sunday morning, on the sidelines of the – 20 and 30 km hike – '&#39 where it will climb almost to Aigoual'', there will also be a question of titles and medals during the final of the 2024 Gard MTB Challenge. ''It will be a course quite different from the other previous rounds, underlines Denis Boissière. Instead of 3, or 4 km, the loops will be 11.6 km, to be done several times. It's an XC, not an XCO. This will allow people of average level to not be overtaken.''

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