Events: Mega Avalanche Neethling Reports

The Lineup

The time had come. No turning back now. I was set for a front row start in a race format I had never entered before. There were 160 riders all starting at the same time on a 50-minute downhill.

The start was set for 9am. Call up for our grid position was based on our heat race results at 8am. This sounds fine until you note that the drive to the top is at least 1 hour on a road with the tightest turns I had ever seen. Car sickness started to set in near the top.

I lined up on my Teocali Elite next to Julien Camellini. Next to him was Nico Vouilloz and then Remy Absalon. Nico had retired by the time I got on the international circuit as a pro. After looking up to him for all those years it was a little overwhelming lining up along side him. I knew a good start was needed. My game plan was to go as hard as I could in the beginning and try to stay with the top boys. The beginning was a mix of open granite sections, short steep inclines, and some dusty singletrack.

The countdown began—10 minutes to go, then five minutes, then 30 seconds, then five seconds and then we were off! The pace was frantic. Everyone was flat out with some taking sneaky lines through the bushes. WOW! These guys meant business—I had a good start and was in about fourth going into the first climb. I gave it my all, which almost backfired as my legs were not feeling great. This happens when you sprint before your body warms up.

This race felt like a Downhill, 4X, XC, and Motocross race all rolled into one.

There were a couple placement changes near the front because of some interesting line choices and crashes. I managed to make a pass and go into the long, dusty single track in third. What a surprise! I could not believe it but by this time my legs were full of lactic acid. I settled into a pace and pushed myself when I could.

Reny Wildhaber caught me on one of the concrete road sections, which was a mix between flat and inclines. He was very strong, but I tucked in behind him, and he pulled me along. This helped so much as it gave me some time to rest. I joked with him afterwards and said he saved my life on that road.

I made sure to stay with Reny, as I knew if I could go into the last long flat rocky section in fourth that I could maintain the position. I was really hurting. Damn this race is long physically, but before you know it, you are at the finish. Up front, Nico had caught Remy Absalon, the early leader. They battled it out but the 10 time World DH Champion came out on top. Nico has been quoted as saying this is the hardest race he has ever done physically. I would agree. And I must say I was happy with how my bike handled the various terrains of the course. It had a great mix of technical downhills and fast-paced pedaling.

Top 5 were as follows: (Note that the top 3 are all past winners of this event)
1st Nico Vouilloz
2nd Remy Absalon
3rd Reny Wildhaber
4th Andrew Neethling
5th Franck Parolin

All in all this race was a great experience. This race has been going on since 1995 as far as I know. The people I met and places I saw were amazing. Not often can riders of all riding abilities get together and take part in the same race. We all get to share war stories after the race. The Island was beautiful, the people friendly, and the snorkeling amazing!

-Andrew Neethling

Thumbs up to the Mega Avalanche!