My bottom bracket was so full from all the river crossings on the Algarve Bike Challenge in such a way that the bike-shop mechanic zipped it to his workbench with a cable tie as a cautionary tale. I had already been warned that the trails on Menorca are rather nasty, so I put on a set of grippy Maxxis tyres as a precaution. As if that would be enough to get me through these gnarly enduro trails in one piece, but more on that later.
With four days at home, I didn't really have time to put my feet up, so I boarded the ferry from Mallorca to Menorca with the idea in the back of my mind to roll easily so that I could spell my surname correctly at the finish. The Epic 360 Cami de Cavalls is a relatively small stage race on Menorca, Mallorca's neighbouring island, which is rather unknown to German package holidaymakers. The Mediterranean island is unspoilt, there are hardly any hotels and only very small villages. The destination of the three stages is the village of Es Mercadal, at the foot of Monte Toro, the highest point on the island at 207 metres. The almost 2000 metres of elevation gain per stage means that you have to surf the steep stretches - extremely steep sections down to the bays and back up again.
More sawtooth profile is not possible
The race is also a trail running event alongside the bike race. We share the hotel, refreshment points, finish arch and parts of the route with the runners. You can tell that trail running is still a relatively new sport, everyone is very relaxed about it. Pizza and two beers on the evening before the race are a must. There is no sign of the blatant professionalisation seen in mountain biking. The trail running pros are happy about the free hoodies labelled by the sponsor, while among the bikers, David Muntaner, an ex-track cycling world champion, even tightens the boa fasteners next to us under the starting arch to set off at a four-digit wattage.
The field of just 70 riders has to go through a safety and "eco-sensibility" check before they are allowed under the starting arch, where they are meticulously checked to see whether their mobile phones have enough battery, whether their thermal blankets are still packed and every single bar is checked for the obligatory sticker with the start number to ensure that no rubbish is left behind in the botany. A really nice thing, although the guys from the environmental authority are really scrupulous, they even want to see the bananas with stickers.
It starts very early here, as we are all shuttled by bus in the morning to the starting points scattered around the island. The first stage starts at 7.30 a.m. in the old fortifications of Sa Mola. The fortress was built in the 14th century as a defence against pirates and was later used as barracks during the Panic Civil War. The neutralised start phase takes us through the narrow streets of the fortress, past the dungeons, through the moat and out onto the road, where two police motorbikes are waiting to accompany us for a while.
The two Guardia Civil guys had probably been watching too many Tour de France programmes on Spanish TV and so they put the pedal to the metal and immediately split the peloton completely. David Muntaner with his rainbow stripes on the right sleeve of his jersey and a few other top riders are really close on the heels of the two motorbike policemen. At eight o'clock in the morning, I'm not yet in full possession of my strength and so I'm rowing in one of the rear positions to somehow keep up.
After a few kilometres, we enter the first trail, a section of the "Cami de Cavalls", a brachial path of the worst kind that circles the island. For the Menorcans, this humourless series of stones, roots, rubble and piles of horse droppings is almost sacred. The first 50 bikers have overlooked the mini-directional arrow in the speed rush of the lead bikes and are now going full throttle. The first bikers are suddenly right at the back and, after a spirited sprint, I'm suddenly one of the first on the Cami de Cavalls.
At least virtually in the lead
Finishing first in a race on a hardtail on such a technical trail with limited motor skills is no fun. After a few hundred metres, the pros from Esteve Bikes and Sancho Haibike already had me in their sights. Stones to the right and left, frantically overtaking semi-pros and overtaxed amateurs. After the third corner ridden too fast, I went over the handlebars. A small crash into a whirlpool-sized pile of stones after just seven kilometres of racing. Pick yourself up, collect your bottles, check your knees, mourn the shattered Garmin for a moment and get back on your bike. When the sun hasn't quite risen in the morning and the blood is already running down to your socks, you start asking yourself the famous "why" questions again:
Why a hardtail? Why take off in the Rockgarden on the first day with 200 rocky kilometres to go? Why not just make room to let the really big boys play a bit on the killer trail? Why put a damn race number on the handlebars again?
At the latest at the second refreshment point with the amazing view of Cala Macarella and the brunette girls from the organisation, all the "whys" are forgotten again. The race, as I really should have known, is incredibly trail-heavy. 85 per cent of the course is no wider than an air mattress. This is what I imagine the BC Bike Race to be like, only instead of grizzly bears, there are at most a few terrified sheep fleeing in panic from the whirring of our tyres. On such technical routes, the unshaven enduro guys equipped with telescopic seat posts make up a large proportion of the field of riders. As hard as my team-mate Ander and I try to pull away from them on the climbs, we can hear them coming up behind us on the next descent.
Their 140 mm forks and shocks greedily feast on the fat boulders and roots, while we have to get off our bums to listen to the "Sound of Freedom" of our DT Swiss freewheels. At the finish in Mercadal, the crowds of runners make for a great atmosphere. Each of the guys running the 52-kilometre variant is greeted with frenetic cheers like Transalp finishers. The Moli Ventat restaurant, which is famous throughout the island, serves prawns, mussel stew and grilled meat. Our friends from Mallorca head one bottle of Tinto after another, while Ander and I keep quiet and finish our second lasagne so as not to waste any energy.
The co-organiser as starting block animator
The second stage begins with a speech by "Dino", the fun cannon of the Epic Cami de Cavalls. The tall, well-built co-organiser, dressed in West Coast rapper style, encourages us to put our right arm up at 7:45 a.m. and bob to Eminem songs "8 Mile Style" for several minutes. One live, one opportunity... The full programme for breakfast. You can only really pull off show interludes like this at races with double-digit numbers of starters. The perplexed faces of the pros are more than worth the entry fee.
For 95 kilometres, the route alternates between the hellish trails of the Cami de Cavalls and then back onto gravel tracks, which the Menorcans call "camades", cart tracks that are easy to ride on a crosser. At the finish line, not a bike in sight. Over recovery cocoa in the café next to the finish arch, we see a trail runner in tears every five minutes, having just stumbled over hill and dale for eight hours, crawling towards the finish line. To get that kick on the bike, that marvellous dim haze before your eyes, the feeling of collapsing behind the finish line and not getting up for an hour, you probably have to start at the really extreme stage races as your fitness level increases.
On the third stage, we once again visit two of the most beautiful bays on the island. We walk on foot across the white sand. In the Albufeira nature reserve, you have to keep quiet because of the breeding birds. The water is perfect at this time of year. Most postcard photos are taken on spring days like this, when the beach bars are still closed with thick chains.
The Epic Cami de Cavalls is a stage race to savour. The better you are on the bike, the healthier your bones and the bigger the grin at the finish.
The next race starts are already being planned, long distances and kilometres until I drop are at the top of my wish list.
Hasta luego,
Alex
