Etienne Hubert | From Kayak to Gravel: Traversing the Alps
The summer months are synonymous with heavy training loads for the kayak racers of the French national team. 2023 was no exception to the rule, a demanding round of qualifying for the Olympic Games punctuated the summer, and bodies are battered. September is a month where Etienne Hubert, veteran kayak racer and Caravan athlete, takes some time out, but still very much keeps the engine running. September is where Etienne Hubert organises his unmissable bikepacking trips.
It’s inconceivable for him to end the summer without a demanding travel adventure by bike, shared with his friends in the wild. Several projects were mentioned, ultimately it was the Torino-Nice route that won, if not for a serious landslide rendering the Paris-Turin TGV line out of action. So, a substitute epic journey is drawn up between Saint-Jean de Maurienne in the Alps and Nice on the Côte d’Azur. A somewhat less demanding course, but with 600 km and 16000 metres of elevation, the riders taking it on will get their money's worth.
It’s leaden heat on the flat industrial valley of Saint Jean de Maurienne, which is not the most beautiful place to begin the journey. But the gravel track which should lead our peloton to Valloire has suffered a landslide. It is on the Col du Galibier that the offroad adventure will really begin, a unique moment when the group, loaded up to their ears, reaches the summit. The track which leads to the Rochilles refuge at an altitude of over 2600m is dominated by the famous turrets of the Pointes de Cerces (3098m) and already gives a taste of the next day’s terrain. A preamble of two or three kilometres pushing the bike on foot is the price to pay for avoiding the Galibier and the Lautaret road to reach the magnificent Nevache valley.
This is a mecca for cross-country skiing and has a most tranquil ambience with Tibetan prayer flags fluttering and rivers twinkling. A clear contrast with Briançon, which the group reached a few hours later for a brief return to ‘civilization’ before attacking the Izoard and Agnel passes. Col de l’Agnel is declared a bivouac site at the end of this second day. Perhaps not the best idea, at 2500 meters the nights are cool, they are even more so when the pack must travel as light as possible and the sleeping bags are not the thickest. But that is what adventure sometimes calls for. The day that follows will conversely be much warmer.
It's day five already, Via del Sale. The longest day of the journey – demanding, and seemingly endless. The military road which runs through the ridges leads back to France. Here, the remains of forts and barracks follow one another. Many cyclists and hikers stop at the Don Barbera refuge, but this group will stop at Tende in the valley, 1300 metres lower and quite a few kilometres further along. They finish in darkness but the barbecue in the bed of a drained river, eating copious protein to fuel for the last portion of the journey is the whole and pure objective of the moment. Tomorrow the sea will be within sight, and with it renewed motivation to turn the pedals.
Each bivouac arrangement requires time. As the days go by, the departure time moves back, it is 10 am when the gang leaves the streets of Tende on this Saturday morning. The planned day is long, and our riders will have to make up for the late roll-out. The attacks on the passes even on this penultimate and leg-weary day shows the competitive spirit hasn’t left the group. On the descents or on the climbs, the desire to fight is palpable. It is in the DNA of these warriors; the journey can be seen like a training camp. The village of St. Agnès, perched above Menton, marks the beginning of the end. Tomorrow they will arrive in Nice. The team sets its sights on the only water point in the village, on a roundabout, at the foot of the road which leads to the Col de la Madone.
A Day in the (Sporting) Life of Étienne Hubert.
It’s 6:27 am as we approach Étienne Hubert’s front door on the eastern edge of Paris. The professional kayaker and Caravan athlete resides a stone’s throw from Bois de Vincennes, the city’s largest public park. Today, we are here to follow him around as he trains and observe the life of sportsman who will not stop.
TRANSMISSION – GUILLAUME NERY.
Cycling is a gift. From when you are first taught to push the pedals down the street, to crossing the finish line with your arms raised in thanks.
