From Wheels to Waves: Surf sessions in the Mediterranean

There is a gale of excitement blowing in the air this afternoon at the offices of Café du Cycliste, Nice. A strong wind – which started to blow last night – will do that. When the famous Mistral rises in the Var, the able seamen aboard the good-ship CdC cannot sit still.

Thanks to the mercurial Mistral (the name of the northwesterly wind that can be heard from Ventoux to Marseille) a swell will form in the Mediterranean by pushing against the Italian coastline, and the resulting waves will break on the Riviera coast, forming perfect tubes.

Behind their computer screens the boys no longer work with 100% focus on their quotidian tasks. In the background, they furtively glance at the application which makes it possible to follow the formation of the waves, in real time, and to understand their surf-able evolution.

Running simultaneously are images displayed by webcams placed in strategic places along the coastline. The excitement is palpable. The guys have planned their escape and in the corridor where, as usual, colleagues store their bicycles, boards have appeared and lie patiently underneath.

We are used to seeing these men on their bikes, but not so much surfboards. And they do not have a reputation for “pottering” on two wheels, either. Marvin rode for many years on the French X-Country mountain-bike team, earning two French vice-champion titles before switching to X-terra and winning a Junior World Champion’s medal.

On a mountain bike he can do almost everything, on a road bike he is not really ever outdone by his peers. Rémi won the Ironman 70.3 in Nice this year in the amateur category and has just been crowned vice-world champion in St George in Utah.

There is no risk of the main clock on the wall being stolen from us this afternoon, as both sailors keep an eye on its trembling hands, impatiently watching the strike of 5:00 p.m. At the appointed time, the two grab their surfboards, throw them into the van and head towards the waves. The goal is to land as quickly as possible near the beach. Two or three nibbles torn from the cupboard and the refrigerator and they will spend the night by the sea, lulled by the sound of waves, listening attentively if the sound of their crashing on the pebbles increases as day-break approaches.

At 7:00 a.m breakfast is served: surfing the first wave is like leaving your mark on freshly fallen snow. The rollers are not yet formed as they should be, but it is better to be the first into the water and have the scoop when they are about to break. The waves will soon come, the spectacle and the pleasure they will offer will be worth the trip.

Lake Émosson

The professional canoeist and Caravan athlete, Étienne Hubert, is preparing for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he lives. Part of his process is to take himself away from the metropolis, just him, a tent, his bike and of course, his kayak.

Diving in at the Café

It took five magical minutes to understand the dimension of free-diving champion and Caravan member, Guillaume Néry. To watch him sit and hold his breath for five minutes was a drop in the ocean on the way to understanding what’s required in this super-human sport.

1% – a point of difference

Rome wasn’t built in a day, they say, and the Planet certainly wasn’t either. 1% seems like a minor figure, but we’d like to argue just 1% can make a major difference to the outcome, from here to eternity.

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