Nico Lau has yet to lose a major multi-day adventure enduro. 4 TPs, 2 Andes Pacificos, all wins. -Duncan Philpott
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Anita Gehrig won the tightly fought women's competition. Here she tackles some of the red earth tech on day 4. -Duncan Philpott
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Francois Bailly-Maître is a beast and rarely puts a foot or wheel wrong. No weakness. He is the full package. A close 2nd for the tall Frenchman. -Sven Martin
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Caro Gehrig had a bit of a navigational error on the 5th day costing her the chance of the win. -Duncan Philpott
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Ines Thoma led all six days until the very last stage where a flat dashed her chances for a win. Tight, exciting racing in the women's field this year. -Sven Martin
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Anka Martin on the already infamous Red Earth stage out side of Valdeblore where the French EWS will run later this year. -Sven Martin
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Yoann Barelli giving you some perspective of just how vast and wild some of the stages were out here. Day four, one of three back-to-back trails that dropped the length of this amazing valley/canyon. -Sven Martin
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Ending a big brutal day with swim in the river and then a spin to the Lantosque bar tabac. -Sven Martin
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It's little high country grazing shelters like these that birth amazing remote walking tracks, perfect for bikes. -Sven Martin
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Ludo May on one of the flowy, natural-but-enhanced bike trails that pepper the region as we get closer to the coastal population of the French Riviera. -Sven Martin
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Marco Osborne despite riding blind all week on his first Transprovence rode like he was on his home trails. -Sven Martin
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Dr. Tom Jeram from Nelson New Zealand is one of the on-course doctors. Great to have the best ER doctors within minutes from all the riders should the need arise. He's a full on shredder too. -Sven Martin
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Emily Slaco is used to backcountry riding hailing from BC and adapted well in her first TP. -Sven Martin
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Bridget McMillan took a tumble on day five, stage four and refused an offer of a lift back to camp to get stitches and checked out. She rode the full liaison back with another gnarly descent to camp. True Kiwi spirit. -Sven Martin
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The last few days were hot and rough. Riders took every opportunity to strip down and get wet. Mark Scott keeping things clean. -Sven Martin
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Smashing all the tech stages, trying to leapfrog the rider field in the liaisons...no easy task to cover this event as a photographer or filmer. Duncan Philpott stays locked and loaded with 70-200 dangling on the ready. -Sven Martin
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Anka Martin with the Med and the finish line in sight. Her sixth Trans Provence. It's that hard to stay away. -Sven Martin
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Ben Cruz treats himself on the final day. A beer for every stage. This one is number four for the final stage of the day. -Sven Martin
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Red Earth day with all its diversity. -Sven Martin
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Spencer Wight receiving some bar-side medical treatment from Dr. Tom. Stitches and Pastis, as you do. -Sven Martin
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The infamous Lantosque has become a permanent stop on the TP. A shuttle pick up point means time to kill. -Sven Martin
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Marco in his element. Or at least when riding with buddy Ben Cruz. -Sven Martin
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Second place Master 40+, Francois Dola, still as pro as ever. Maps and ice bath in rural France while the competition was at the bar. -Sven Martin
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#lightbro #campvibes. -Sven Martin
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Blood sweat and beers. -Sven Martin
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Antti Laiho, Finnish World Cup legend, wore black all week. So I thought I'd help him get in touch with his softer side. -Sven Martin
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Nico Lau is the man. Unbeaten at every major international multi-day enduro stage race. The king of blind racing. -Sven Martin
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Mark Scott got lost toward the end of the week and had a flat or two ending his good start to the week. -Sven Martin
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Nigel Madigan may no longer be in the EU but he doesn't care while shredding the leafy single track here in Trans-Provence. -Sven Martin
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Matti the Finn looking for a sauna. #moonandsun #lightbro -Sven Martin
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Max Schumann knows his way around a tight awkward French switchback overlooking the finish in Menton. -Sven Martin
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Rowan Sorrell placed 2nd in the amateur category despite puncturing in almost every stage. -Duncan Philpott
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From town to town the event occupies different venues. Sports halls become bike storage. -Duncan Philpott
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Red earth = rad earth. -Duncan Philpott
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It's early morning and the mountain staff and media limber up for a long day ahead. The real man though, Ash Smith, somehow functions without any sleep all week. -Duncan Philpott
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Day 5 was the last day where the mountains lined up in layers, after this it was plain sailing to the sea. -Duncan Philpott
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It doesn't matter how fit you are, the stages are always exhausting. Katy Winton learned the ways of adventure stage racing this week and rode her way to 4th. -Duncan Philpott
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Davis English racing blinder-than-blind on day 5. -Duncan Philpott
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Liaisons take in beautiful views, both mountains and village. -Duncan Philpott
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Always a chance for a bit of jibbing on the liaisons. #gogglesbecausethisisenduro. -Duncan Philpott
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For every foot of height on this wallride, one second of time may have been deducted from the overall. Maybe. Iago.
Francois is a French gentleman. Unknown to the Gehrigs, he helps the Mavic maintenance staff work on their bikes. -Duncan Philpott
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A few tired faces as the week progresses. -Duncan Philpott
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Riding with his fellow Frenchman for the latter part of the week, Alex Petitdemange landed himself just outside the top 20. -Duncan Philpott
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Sam Sharp's consistency paid off with a top 20 result after a long week. A solid test of the new bike! -Duncan Philpott
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Tongue out, flat out, Katrina Strand narrowly missed out on the podium. -Duncan Philpott
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Dusty starts and #lightbro for day 6, Ben Cruz, "are we done yet?" -Duncan Philpott
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Matteo Delorm-o feeling a bit more at home as we get to the closest point of the Italian border. -Duncan Philpott
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Scandi mid-switchback and hauling. Lost chains and mechanicals made for a nightmare last day for Marco. -Duncan Philpott
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Switchback upon switchback to the sea. The finish line was in sight at the start of the final stage. -Duncan Philpott
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Yoann Barelli won the last day, multi-tasking alongside cooling down competitors. -Duncan Philpott
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#lovesbackwheel all the way to the beach. Iago Garay. -Sven Martin
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The Swiss twins helped me find my long lost brother from another mother, Rudy Hauser. That's what this race is all about, meeting like-minded people and making new friends. -Sven Martin
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With racing over, some of the Kiwis tried taking the direct route home. -Duncan Philpott
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End of day aftermath, got to stay out of the sun! -Duncan Philpott
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To the beach we go. Yew! -Sven Martin
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Beaches sun and fun, another wrap to another TP. -Duncan Philpott
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Nico! Nico Lau! -Sven Martin
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See you next year. -Sven Martin
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Description
It was all downhill to the Mediterranean Sea as the 2016 Trans-Provence came to a close. Nico Lau remained in control and victorious while the Women's race concluded dramatically with mechanicals influencing the results on the very last stage. Anita Gehrig kept her bike in one piece and was fastest overall to earn the Women's victory.
The journeys, the destinations and the comradery make the Trans-Provence a highlight for anyone's mountain biking bucket list. Experience the smiles and suffering with Sven Martin and Duncan Philpott as six days of adventure come to a close.
Top Overall Results (view full results)
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