As you can see whilst rural Provence has many charms - regular internet is not one of them! - Our apologies for ad - hoc press and video releases were doing the very best we can. Day three Start: Dignes -Les Bains Finish: Villars- Colmars Riding distance 48.64km Day three sees Trans- Provence riders have a slightly less arduous day than the epic that is day two. Regardless of that, it's still three hard stages including a brutal bike-a- hike to start the day. The start of day sees riders gain 500 vertical metres in less than four kilometres, starting with fire road and then a steep path cut in to the Mountain side,the hard breathing and carrying (and no doubt cursing) was rewarded with amazing views across Provence and in the distance the second special stage (Special stage9) of the day Before any of that Trans-Provence competitors first had to negotiate Special stage 8 - A huge drop in elevation and in a classic Trans -Provence Style most types of technical riding thrown into one huge trail! From the col an open section led through open loose rock singletrack and switchbacks before plunging in to leaf filled woodland similar to something you may find on a (dry ) day in the south of England. The riders were then spat out in to open meadow land all to briefly before finding themselves in long a rock chute of singletrack that threw them down to the valley floor, after cresting one more updulation™ (Trans-Provencers who have been part of the event since the first year are used to Ash's various way's of describing climbs without saying the word climb) the trail finally plummeted down to the timing belise and a chance to breathe. After the feed station Special stage 9 was a combination of woodland and rock gardens - before a hard fire road climb that lead to the an open rock river bed through pine forest - fast and not as technical as most stages and the climb in the middle meant that the stage really suited fit riders not just good technical ones. The final stage of day three was more of what any one that loves mountain biking would ask for. Fast on site flowing open sections through the top stage with a feeling of exposure, before pine forest loam land curled down to a riverside trail and the end of another hard days riding As always today has been about great trails in beautiful country but day three also passes a major watershed and begins our Journey in to the higher Maritime Alps , as can be seen by tomorrows start of the day with the amazing start of day four with 2000 metre drop form col du champs . Top Ten Men Day three 1 25 WEIR Mark 00:07:58 00:11:30 00:07:22 00:26:50 2 26 CRUZ Ben 00:07:56 00:11:24 00:07:35 00:26:55 3 12 CLEMENTZ Jérôme 00:07:53 00:11:47 00:07:25 00:27:05 4 36 RYAN Matt 00:07:51 00:12:19 00:07:30 00:27:40 5 35 VOUILLOZ Nicolas 00:08:10 00:11:59 00:07:38 00:27:47 6 6 BAREL Fabien 00:07:56 00:12:37 00:07:35 00:28:08 7 34 HESTLER Andreas 00:08:56 00:13:03 00:08:03 00:30:02 8 30 SORRELL Rowan 00:08:13 00:14:02 00:08:31 00:30:46 9 20 RICHARDS James 00:08:42 00:14:05 00:08:11 00:30:58 10 56 MATHEWS Iain 00:09:17 00:13:16 00:08:28 00:31:01 Top Five Women 20 19 MOSELEY Tracy 00:09:08 00:16:14 00:08:48 00:34:10 23 23 MARTIN Anka 00:09:27 00:16:03 00:09:39 00:35:09 29 3 HOHERMUTH Ingrid 00:11:02 00:16:44 00:09:40 00:37:26 40 37 BOELEMA Kara 00:11:10 00:21:24 00:12:59 00:45:33 44 7 THOMSON Fiona 00:13:25 00:23:05 00:13:43 00:50:13 Overall postions after day three. Top Ten Men Place Dos Surname First Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total Time 1 35 VOUILLOZ Nicolas 00:28: 00:30: 00:27: 01:26: 2 12 CLEMENTZ Jérôme 00:28: 00:30: 00:27: 01:26: 3 25 WEIR Mark 00:28: 00:30: 00:26: 01:26: 4 6 BAREL Fabien 00:30: 00:30: 00:28: 01:28: 5 36 RYAN Matt 00:29: 00:32: 00:27: 01:28: 6 26 CRUZ Ben 00:30: 00:31: 00:26: 01:28: 7 30 SORRELL Rowan 00:32: 00:31: 00:30: 01:35: 8 27 BEAUMONT Marc 00:30: 00:33: 00:32: 01:36: 9 32 JONES Steve 00:31: 00:34: 00:32: 01:38: 10 20 RICHARDS James 00:33: 00:34: 00:30: 01:39: Top Five Women 19 19

• published: 29 Sep 2011
• views: 17990

No words today just results - it's very close and just one day racing ahead! Plac Dos Surname First Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Total Time e 1 35 VOUILLOZ Nicolas 00:28: 00:30: 00:27: 00:39: 00:23: 00:35: 03:04: 2 12 CLEMENTZ JÈrÙme 00:28: 00:30: 00:27: 00:38: 00:24: 00:36: 03:05: 3 6 BAREL Fabien 00:30: 00:30: 00:28: 00:38: 00:24: 00:35: 03:07: 4 25 WEIR Mark 00:28: 00:30: 00:26: 00:39: 00:30: 00:37: 03:13: 5 36 RYAN Matt 00:29: 00:32: 00:27: 00:41: 00:26: 00:39: 03:15: 6 27 BEAUMONT Marc 00:30: 00:33: 00:32: 00:41: 00:25: 00:38: 03:21: 7 30 SORRELL Rowan 00:32: 00:31: 00:30: 00:43: 00:27: 00:39: 03:24: 8 20 RICHARDS James 00:33: 00:34: 00:30: 00:44: 00:28: 00:42: 03:34: 9 32 JONES Steve 00:31: 00:34: 00:32: 00:46: 00:29: 00:42: 03:37: 10 24 MARTIN Sven 00:37: 00:33: 00:33: 00:45: 00:27: 00:40: 03:38: 11 1 KIENAST Pascal 00:37: 00:35: 00:31: 00:45: 00:29: 00:43: 03:42: 12 56 MATHEWS Iain 00:35: 00:39: 00:31: 00:44: 00:29: 00:44: 03:44: 13 38 GRAVERSE Tim 00:34: 00:37: 00:32: 00:48: 00:29: 00:46: 03:49: 14 18 MCLEAN Neil 00:35: 00:38: 00:33: 00:47: 00:30: 00:45: 03:50: 15 19 MOSELEY Tracy 00:38: 00:36: 00:34: 00:49: 00:29: 00:44: 03:51: 16 41 HARPER Kevin 00:37: 00:36: 00:34: 00:45: 00:33: 00:44: 03:52: 17 34 HESTLER Andreas 00:31: 00:43: 00:30: 00:43: 00:42: 00:45: 03:56: 18 42 BROOKES Rob 00:35: 00:35: 00:32: 00:51: 00:29: 01:02: 04:08: 19 23 MARTIN Anka 00:39: 00:41: 00:35: 00:51: 00:32: 00:48: 04:09: 20 31 PORTER Chris 00:36: 00:36: 00:36: 00:50: 00:42: 00:49: 04:10: 21 54 ALDER Matt 00:40: 00:41: 00:35: 00:55: 00:33: 00:54: 04:20: 22 57 GROGNUX Johann 00:42: 00:44: 00:38: 00:54: 00:33: 00:50: 04:23: 23 2 SEVERINO Alessandro 00:39: 00:42: 00:42: 00:56: 00:33: 00:52: 04:27: 24 10 ZIMMERMANN Joris 00:39: 00:42: 00:34: 00:56: 00:33: 01:03: 04:30: 25 3 HOHERMUT Ingrid 00:39: 00:44: 00:37: 00:56: 00:33: 01:00: 04:32: 26 14 WARRICK Ben 00:45: 01:07: 00:31: 00:48: 00:38: 00:43: 04:36: 27 16 THOMAS Alun 00:46: 00:41: 00:37: 00:58: 00:33: 01:00: 04:38: 28 52 VELISS Lee 00:41: 00:40: 00:39: 00:54: 00:46: 00:54: 04:38: 29 11 DE RUYVER Arno 01:02: 00:37: 00:37: 01:05: 00:31: 00:49: 04:45: 30 17 SHINGLER Guy 00:41: 00:43: 00:35: 01:03: 00:35: 01:13: 04:52: 31 4 HYDE Jasper 00:40: 00:44: 00:36: 01:06: 00:37: 01:15: 04:59: 32 58 FULFORD Giles 00:47: 00:55: 00:39: 01:02: 00:37: 01:00: 05:03: 33 8 COULING John 00:45: 00:48: 00:42: 01:04: 00:51: 01:02: 05:14: 34 37 BOELEMA Kara 00:46: 00:49: 00:45: 01:02: 00:39: 01:14: 05:17: 35 55 BƒCK Daniel 00:46: 00:52: 00:39: 01:06: 00:44: 01:11: 05:21: 36 9 THOMAS Jason 00:49: 00:52: 01:01: 01:04: 00:38: 00:58: 05:25: 37 28 MA

• published: 30 Sep 2011
• views: 14746

Day 5 start: Guillaumes (793m) trailhead: Bouchanières (1418m) finish: St-Sauveur-sur-Tinée (500m) riding distance: 39.22 km on-bike height gain: 977m on-bike height drop: 1954m no. of timed "special stages": 4 highlight: long, winding, physical descent from Roure Day five regardless of what old timers at the Trans -Provence may think turned out to be the favourite by some degree with riders so far. The combination of technical trails and the majority of climbing on roads gave the riders a little relief from the standard bike a hike and fire road climbs to the top. First trail of the day Special stage fifteen definitely drops a long way but also has some hard pedalling sections combined with technical moves . To quote Chris Porter from Mojo " You need the trials skills of Danny Macaskill and the lungs of Indurain" We couldn't decide if that was a complement or not! A long road climb with opportunities for coffee and cake at the top (which most seemed to take ) led the riders in to Special Stage Sixteen a woodland epic that finally saw them fire through arable fields before reaching the feed station. Another long road col gradually winded the riders to special stage three - a fast dusty trail that cuts along the edge of ravine and out and along a old road that leads to them through tiny villages and finally into a deep ravine which demands the only carry of the day! Finally the Village of Roure is reached and another of the classic Trans- Provence trails. zig zagging across open hill side with a enormous sense of exposure on either your left or right depending on which way the trail was taking you held together with perfect switch back corners - faster and less technical than some of the other stages - it definitely has a bit more flow and speed to it. A final uplift of the day saw competitors reach there camp for the night and much needed rest for day six , the only day that compares to day two in terms of duration. Day Five results Overall Place Dos Surname First Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Total Time 1 12 CLEMENTZ JÈrÙme 00:28: 00:30: 00:27: 00:38: 00:24: 02:28: 2 35 VOUILLOZ Nicolas 00:28: 00:30: 00:27: 00:39: 00:23: 02:29: 3 6 BAREL Fabien 00:30: 00:30: 00:28: 00:38: 00:24: 02:32: 4 25 WEIR Mark 00:28: 00:30: 00:26: 00:39: 00:30: 02:35: 5 36 RYAN Matt 00:29: 00:32: 00:27: 00:41: 00:26: 02:36: 6 27 BEAUMONT Marc 00:30: 00:33: 00:32: 00:41: 00:25: 02:43: 7 30 SORRELL Rowan 00:32: 00:31: 00:30: 00:43: 00:27: 02:45: 8 20 RICHARDS James 00:33: 00:34: 00:30: 00:44: 00:28: 02:52: 9 32 JONES Steve 00:31: 00:34: 00:32: 00:46: 00:29: 02:54: 10 33 KIRKMAN Mick 00:34: 00:34: 00:32: 00:47: 00:27: 02:56: 11 24 MARTIN Sven 00:37: 00:33: 00:33: 00:45: 00:27: 02:57: 12 1 KIENAST Pascal 00:37: 00:35: 00:31: 00:45: 00:29: 02:59: 13 56 MATHEWS Iain 00:35: 00:39: 00:31: 00:44: 00:29: 03:00: 14 38 GRAVERSE Tim 00:34: 00:37: 00:32: 00:48: 00:29: 03:02: 15 18 MCLEAN Neil 00:35: 00:38: 00:33: 00:47: 00:30: 03:05: 16 42 BROOKES Rob 00:35: 00:35: 00:32: 00:51: 00:29: 03:05: 17 19 MOSELEY Tracy 00:38: 00:36: 00:34: 00:49: 00:29: 03:07: 18 41 HARPER Kevin 00:37: 00:36: 00:34: 00:45: 00:33: 03:07: 19 34 HESTLER Andreas 00:31: 00:43: 00:30: 00:43: 00:42: 03:10: 20 23 MARTIN Anka 00:39: 00:41: 00:35: 00:51: 00:32: 03:21: 21 31 PORTER Chris 00:36: 00:36: 00:36: 00:50: 00:42: 03:21: 22 10 ZIMMERMANN Joris 00:39: 00:42: 00:34:

• published: 30 Sep 2011
• views: 16723