U.S. Palaiseau Tri Club - Polytechnique Bike 'n Run
For those who don't know the format it's fairly straight forward - a team of two people with one bike and their choice how often they swap over between the runner and rider to maintain the best pace around the course.
This weekend's course was on the campus of Ecole Polytechnique ('X'), 30km South-East of Paris where the French business and political elite study, meaning the facilities were quite good i.e. plenty of parking, proper toilets etc. The main race was 15km, consisting of 3-laps around an off-road course. There was an Open 10km race afterwards plus several different courses for the Juniors.
As with similar races if it's not muddy then it's only half the fun. The weather didn't disappoint with a downpour at about 5am turning the course into a quagmire in parts. But, the sun came out just after the start making it a beautiful autumn morning to race in. I say race but, bike & runs are more about having fun and taking part, not the winning. The riders didn't get to 'rest' too much on the bike as often they struggled to keep up with the runners in the worst of the mud. Plus, it wasn't easy to keep the bikes from clogging up:
In total, there were approximately 300 teams of adults and 250 teams of juniors i.e. 1100 competitors. The start of the 15km race can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHF3FBh3gW0
The first runners in each team had to do a 800m circular loop before running down the chute again to pick up the rider.
I competed with my German running friend, Sascha, from Le Vesinet who I've persuaded to sign up for his first triathlon, Hamburg ITU, in July 2018. I'll be there with him!
U.S. Palaiseau Tri Club - Polytechnique Bike 'n Run
For those who don't know the format it's fairly straight forward - a team of two people with one bike and their choice how often they swap over between the runner and rider to maintain the best pace around the course.
This weekend's course was on the campus of Ecole Polytechnique ('X'), 30km South-East of Paris where the French business and political elite study, meaning the facilities were quite good i.e. plenty of parking, proper toilets etc. The main race was 15km, consisting of 3-laps around an off-road course. There was an Open 10km race afterwards plus several different courses for the Juniors.
As with similar races if it's not muddy then it's only half the fun. The weather didn't disappoint with a downpour at about 5am turning the course into a quagmire in parts. But, the sun came out just after the start making it a beautiful autumn morning to race in. I say race but, bike & runs are more about having fun and taking part, not the winning. The riders didn't get to 'rest' too much on the bike as often they struggled to keep up with the runners in the worst of the mud. Plus, it wasn't easy to keep the bikes from clogging up:
In total, there were approximately 300 teams of adults and 250 teams of juniors i.e. 1100 competitors. The start of the 15km race can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHF3FBh3gW0
The first runners in each team had to do a 800m circular loop before running down the chute again to pick up the rider.
I competed with my German running friend, Sascha, from Le Vesinet who I've persuaded to sign up for his first triathlon, Hamburg ITU, in July 2018. I'll be there with him!
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