Vercorsman 2020

A day in hell (if hell is frozen) – “I came ill-prepared, I got punished.”

Pre-race

The VercorsMan is a bit of an uncommon-distances race, as it stands somewhere between a full and a half ironman. France actually has a number of these attractive independent races. The main leg of the race is the bike one, with 120km of distance and 3,000m of positive elevation. And this is quite tremendous versus Australian Ironman branded races. The swim is supposedly 2.2km (but probably actually a touch longer), and the run 22km.

I had been riding my bike extensively over the summer, especially in warm weather and in hilly terrain, expecting (and afraid of) a very warm day on the bike. I felt quite comfortable I could hit the climbs and still run fast.

The main goal going into the race was to enjoy myself, especially in a season where very few races went ahead. The number of participants was limited to 350. There were strict rules on social distancing and wearing face masks.

The organisation of the race was fantastic, the race director very communicative and transparent. There was a very large number of volunteers. The setting of the race is supposed to be quite extraordinary as well, unfortunately, the weather was so terrible all weekend long that I could not see much of the landscape. The race hoodie (given as part of the 150€ race entry fee) is of very good quality, especially compared to the cheap ironman branded t-shirts you get when paying 400€. Also a nice perk, the pictures of the race were given for free to all the participants!

Swim 38:15

Race day finally came.

Outside temperature was 12 degrees at the start at 8am. The rain was constant and heavy. Water temperature was 17 degrees, and it felt freezing.

The mass start had been cancelled due to covid-19, so the athletes started in waves. I was in one of the first ones, still managed to overtake a number of competitors. I felt I had a good swim, swimming straighter than most, not pushing too hard, but already getting very cold at the end of the first lap.
There are a number of turns in the river, and the water was quite muddy, so not the most enjoyable one, and quite challenging to sight.

Bike DNF

Getting out of my wetsuit and putting on my cycling jacket, I was still shaking and frozen from the swim. I decided to take off as fast as I could in the hope to get warmer on the bike. Unfortunately, my cycling jacket was very thin and not waterproof, so this did not help. I came ill-prepared, I got punished.

The beginning of the bike leg is challenging, kicking off with a short and steep climb. At the 20km mark, the first proper 12km climb starts. The rain was not stopping and, as I kept climbing up, the fog was getting dense. I could barely see more than 20m ahead in some places, and was really concerned about the descent to come.

It is important to note that the road is open to traffic. Although I saw only very few cars, you have to be particularly careful and in a slippery descent, it adds to the hazard of the rain and leaves.

I quickly stopped at the top of the first climb, the Col de la Machine. At 1,000m elevation and 35km into the 122km bike leg, the temperature was 6 degrees, the fog very dense. I was getting concerned I was not going to make it to the top of the second climb. The descent was freezing, visibility was super low, all the competitors were seriously scared. Two of the main contenders for the win quit the race there. I could barely hold the bars in my hands. At the bottom of the descent, in the small and scenic village of Pont-en-Royans, I decided to take a break. I stopped in a restaurant, I had a warm tea, I took off my wet cycling clothes. After half-an-hour, I had to make the choice to either go back on the course or quit.

Still cold, I went for it, and started the second climb of the day. 25km of climbing to reach the summit of Mont Noir at 1700m. Which I never managed to reach. 5 kilometres to the summit, I started getting sick, I was still cold, the weather was still horrendous. There was no way I was getting into another cold and slippery descent. My race was to finish here, after 2,900m of positive elevation gain on the bike, and 80km, so not too far from transition.

Massive congratulations to all the finishers. It was an extremely tough day. I will certainly be back next year. Time for some rest now!