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Rollerski racing in the Jura The Trans'Roller rollerski race takes place in the Jura Mountains in France each September. A spectacular 34k race through inspiring scenery, it is one of the great rollerski races of the world. The following article is taken from the December 2004 edition of Ski Nordic magazine, written by Iain Ballentine who took part in the race that year - High speeds, flashing poles, unforgiving tarmac, technical courses - the world of World Cup roller skiing never held much of an appeal. Much better to stick to the more civilised world of British roller skiing, with its small fields, wide tracks and good, predictable tarmac. That was until I heard of the Transroller and curiostiy took hold... Billed as the 'roller' alternative to the famous Trnasjurassienne ski marathon, and run by the same team, this annual event attracts around 200 rollerskiers and four times as many inline skaters. All descend, as with the ski race, on the French Jura mountains, the race strating in the town of Pontarlier and finishing 34k later, and a few hundred metres higher, in the village of Mouthe. A shorter 17k race is also offered, starting from the midpoint village of Malbuisson, and finishing with the others.
Fiona Crossley (Yorkshire Dales) and Rupert Butcher (Wessex Biathlon) took up the challenge as well, and we arrived in Geneva on the Friday night easyJet. We picked up our hire car and, after spending the night in a local youth hostel, set off for Pontarlier. Despite a 50km diversion as a result of missing our turn off on the motorway (Rupert was keen to show us Swiss tunnelling) we arrived in Pontarlier. We quickly had lunch, registered and set off for some training on the local cycleway. The next day saw an early start and some last minute pole sharpening and wheel bearing oiling. We questioned our preparation when stories reached us of people 'boiling their bearings' in oil. In the end we squirted some 3-in-1 oil into the bearings and left it at that. We made our way to the start in the town square and did some warming up in the drilzzle, as the local brass band played (mandatory at all French sporting events). Due to a heavy cold Rupert was unable to race, but served well as team photographer and bag carrier. I got a lowly start number, and started at the back of the pack, which was fine with me. There was the same sense of adrenalin, chaos and excitement as you find with loppet races, but with the added element of danger from being on slightly damp, oily tarmac, with even sharper pole tips around you. In the event there were very few casualties, although I skidded and fell going a bit too enthusiastically around a right angled corner in the town. Once outside the town the race became a lot safer, with the field spreading out, the surface drying as the rain lifted, and the road widening to allow better overtaking possibilities. Remarkably, the whole race is run on public roads, which are closed to traffic in all directions, giving two carriageways for overtaking and good spectating. The course started relatively flat in the town, but once outside the long climb onto the plateau began. This main drag is from the 5k to the 15k mark with no downhill respite. This gave me a good chance to overtake quite a few competitors, but resulted in a stitch. I fought this off and soon found myself among a pack of around 12 skiers. This was useful for taking it in turn to drag each other up hills, but the downside was difficulty in breaking away, especially as the pack grew. Also, because of slower bearings I was losing speed on the downhills which appear as the course undulates during the second half of the race. As the end drew nearer, the jostling for head of the pack became more aggressive and it took all my wits to stay towards the front. In the last 3k the course narrows to a single carriageway - and so you need to be at the front as it becomes practically impossible to overtake, until the last 1k which becomes a sprint to the finish. Somehow I managed to stay close to the front of my pack, and had an exciting dash to the line. Finishing position - 83rd out of 190. I'd definitely recommend the race. It has all the excitement of a ski marathon on snow - the drama of personal battles, wherever you may be in the race, the tactics of negotiating the pack, but also the safety of controllable descents and good runouts. There was a good first aid team on hand for any accidents, which didn't appear that frequently. Some experience of fast rollerskis is a must - anyone intending to do it should probably have a UK rollerski race or two under their belt. The race becomes less exciting on slow roller skis, as Fiona found out, with competitors spreading into the distance, and there is a cutoff for the 34k race of competitors are not at the halfway point within an hour. The rollerblading event, which starts one hour after the rollerski event, also looked like fun and was just as competitively fought. The 2007 Trans'Roller takes place on Sunday 16th September. |
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