BRONCO at Roc D'Azur

Oct 23, 2017

In terms of crowds, Roc d 'Azur is one of the largest MTB events in Europe, and this year has reached tits 34th edition. Throughout the weekend, 14,000 cyclists took part in the various specialties ranging from Cross Country to Cross Country Marathon to Gravel, (for who those who follow this new trend) and then Tandem and, for the first time, the Electric-bike category. Bearing in mind that in the exhibition area of the village we also created special tracks for Trial and BMX lovers, we can safely say that there was something for everyone. And if there really was nothing up your street you could easily spend a lazy day sunbathing at the beach. Deus Cycleworks was present on the track and on the beach to test the new Bronco MTB in special Columbus steel. There was a 57km long track which involved altitude differences of 1350m and was used for the Cross Country race (XC) that took place on the Sunday. The Bronco was welcomed to the start line at Frejus with the mistral wind in its face and the sun at its peak. After a slight delay on the starting grid a huge dust cloud was raised by 500 people fighting to better their positions. The trail winds its way, snake-like, around the Frejus hills, with plenty of climbs, dust, gravel and singletracks in the woods leading to the demanding downhill of the Fournel, then disappearing again in the middle of the oak trees that lead to the Le Clapiers climb. The riders sport sweat and earth masks and the heat provides a hard test of physical endurance. The crowds are out to cheer, especially on the steep climbs where the cyclists literally make their way through the screaming throngs of people who will bash or blow anything that makes noise to urge on the competitors. And on the spectacular downward slopes it is one big "Allez-Allez" and "Bravò" (with the emphasis on the “o” as it is pronounced in these parts). Some make a dive and are forced to walk, especially on the steep and slippery slopes. One person slides out and for him alas, the ambulance is the only way forward. All things considered this is a tough race; maximum concentration is needed to see where best to steer the wheels to avoid overturning and slipping. Braking is often needed even though speeding on sometimes seems the only way to overcome the obstacles. The Bronco advances fearlessly, thanks to Enrico’s determined guidance, and in just over two hours arrives on the sandy stretch of Haut Saint Aygulf where the trail literally passes amidst beach houses and restaurants. It is a unique spectacle made up of passionate fans, children playing on the beach, and people sitting eating a Plateau Royale or a Moule dish accompanied by a glass of Rosè. I understand why everyone wants to take part in this event. The sea, the pine forests, the oak woods, the hills that plunge down into the water, the sun that bathes everything, the cote d'azur and, above all, a sea of sportsmen sharing the same passion for sport and the MTB. Touché! Photo: Francesco Dolfo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roc d’ Azur è uno degli eventi MTB più grandi d’ Europa, come affluenza di persone, ed è giunto quest’anno alla 34a edizione. Per tutto il weekend 14000 ciclisti hanno preso parte alle diverse specialità che spaziavano dal Cross Country al Cross Country Marathon, al Gravel, per chi sostiene questo nuovo trend, e poi ancora i Tandem e, per la prima volta, anche la categoria Electric-bike. Tenendo conto che nell’area espositiva del villaggio erano state create apposite piste per gli amanti del Trial e delle BMX possiamo tranquillamente dire che c’era trippa per tutti. E se non ti piaceva la trippa potevi stare tranquillamente in spiaggia a prendere il sole. Deus Cycleworks era presente sul tracciato e sulla spiaggia, per testare la nuova mtb Bronco, in acciaio speciale Columbus, sul tracciato di 57 km con 1350 mt di dislivello della gara di Cross Country (XC) che si è disputata la Domenica. Sole a picco e mistral in faccia hanno accolto la Bronco sulla linea di partenza a Frejus, un po’ di attesa sulla griglia di partenza e poi un polverone generato da 500 persone che scalpitavano per guadagnar posizioni. Il percorso è un serpente che si snoda sulle colline attorno a Frejus, pieno di saliscendi, polvere, pietraie, singletrack in mezzo al bosco e che conducono alla impegnativa discesa del Fournel, per poi sparire di nuovo in mezzo alle querce che portano alla salita di Le Clapiers. I riders sono una maschera di sudore e terra ed il caldo mette a dura prova la resistenza fisica. Il pubblico è numeroso, specialmente sulle ripide salite dove i ciclisti devono letteralmente passare attraverso la folla urlante che sbatte qualsiasi cosa per produrre rumore ed incitare i concorrenti. E sulle spettacolari discese, non è da meno, ed è tutto un fischiare, un “Allez-Allez” e “Bravò” con l’accento sulla o, come si usa da queste parti. Alcuni demordono e sono costretti a proseguire a piedi specialmente nelle ripide e scivolose discese, uno scivola per terra e per lui ahimè, non c’è altro modo per continuare se non con l’ambulanza. In fin dei conti stiamo parlando di una gara difficile, in cui bisogna valutare bene tutti i passaggi, osservare bene dove mettere le ruote per evitare ribaltoni, scivolamenti, bisogna frenare quando serve anche se accelerare a volte è l’unico modo per passare indenni gli ostacoli. La Bronco avanza senza paura, merito di Enrico che la guida con grinta, ed in poco più di due ore arriva sul tratto sabbioso dell'Haut Saint Aygulf dove il percorso passa letteralmente in mezzo alle case ed ai ristoranti sulla spiaggia, uno spettacolo unico nel suo genere fatto di tifosi, di bambini che giocano sulla spiaggia, di gente seduta che mangia un Plateau Royale, o un piatto di Moule con un bicchiere di Rosè du domaine. Capisco perchè tutti vogliono partecipare a questa manifestazione. Il mare, le pinete, i boschi di querce, le colline che finiscono nell’acqua, il sole che rende il tutto più piacevole, la cote d’azur e, soprattutto, un mare di sportivi che condivide la stessa passione per lo sport e per la MTB. Touché! Foto: Francesco Dolfo

ENGLISH TEXT BELOW

Sabtu pagi, 17 Juni 2023, menjadi hari yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh 250 peserta reli sepeda motor dan 80 kontestan flat track race di Bali. Itu merupakan acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure keempat yang diselenggarakan oleh komunitas pecinta motor trail vintage yang lebih dari sekadar menggemari motor dual purpose era 80-90-an. Dikenal sebagai Trail Asik Adventurer, AKA… Tasik Adventure yang telah menunggu setahun untuk merencanakan dan mengerjakan nya demi tidak mengecewakan siapapun yang ikut berpartisipasi.

Coba kamu bayangkan , ada dua sisi koin berbeda pada event kali ini. Yang pertama adalah Reli. Mereka memberi nama Challenge "Tantangan", menjadikan setiap peserta sebagai "Penantang" Challenger. Jadi, di tempat parkir Sangeh Monkey Forest, sambil menikmati keteduhan pohon jati raksasa yang awet muda, 250 Penantang parkir untuk menerima kode QR untuk etape pertama rute reli. Seluruh perjalanan adalah 3 etape dengan 3 titik pemberhentian. 4 jika Anda menghitung tujuan.

Ada beberapa motor keren di sana, Honda XR, Yamaha DT, Suzuki TS, Suzuki DR, dan beberapa custom modern, motocross dan scrambler. Sekitar sepuluh atau lebih, mereka berbaris di titik start dan memulai rally dari sana. Misi setiap orang adalah menyelesaikan setiap tahap dan berhenti di 3 titik pemberhentian untuk mendapatkan kode QR untuk bagian berikutnya. Keindahan Bali selalu menjadi pendamping, saat kami terbang di sepanjang kombinasi jalan aspal, jalan pedesaan, dan jalan tanah di daerah Tabanan. Kami perlahan-lahan terbang tinggi dan semakin tinggi ke perbukitan dan pemandangan sawah dan hutan akhirnya habis, sebenarnya lebih seperti perlahan menjadi satu ketika kami sampai di tujuan. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF) yang juga menjadi tempat berkemah semalam. Jika Anda mengumpulkan semua kode QR Anda, Anda mendapat medali Rally sebagai bentuk penghargaan.

Sisi lain dari koin yang disebutkan sebelumnya, atau event kedua, adalah balap jalur datar (flat track). Atau dalam hal ini jalur dengan landasan yang tidak rata karena tempat mereka membangun jalur itu berada di atas tempat yang dulunya terdapat dua sawah terasering. Jadi titik start finish lebih tinggi dari jalur lurus pertama dengan penurunan pada tikungan pertama dan sedikit menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Saat kami masuk ke BOF, kami sudah bisa mendengar suara motor flat track dan sorakan penonton yang berkumpul. Kami parkir dan membuat jalur jalur seperti lebah.

Keseruan seutuhnya pada acara, disaat tingkat kesulitan tambahan dimasukkan ke dalam jadwal sore hari menarik perhatian yang sangat luar biasa. Mereka berhasil menarik sekitar delapan puluh peserta, terbagi dalam 4 kelas: Kelas Mesin Horizontal, Kelas FFA 4T Max 250cc, Kelas FFA 2T Max 250cc Flat Track, dan Kelas FFA Big Bore.

Antusiasme untuk balapan flat track sangat terasa. Kegembiraan tumbuh saat kami melewati babak penyisihan dan membangun sesuatu yang luar biasa untuk final setiap kelas. Tidak ada kata menahan, mereka hadir untuk memenangkannya. Pembalap dari setiap komunitas bersaing sengit di setiap kelas. Nama-nama seperti Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, dan lain-lain tak main-main, sebagian besar dari memamerkan skill mereka tanpa mengesampingkan sportifitas dan keselamatan.

Trek dengan permukaan tanah liat merah keras yang kering memberikan tantangan. Di awal, para pembalap disuguhkan dengan bagian menurun pada tikungan pertama, setelah itu mereka memeras gas di bagian trek lurus sebelum berputar ke kiri lagi tapi kali ini menjadi bagian menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Itu memaksa mereka untuk menggabungkan keterampilan balap trek datar mereka dengan banyak teknik motocross. Pada akhirnya, semua pembalap bersenang-senang dengan debu tanah liat merah yang menutupi segalanya dan semua orang.

Saat matahari terbenam ke arah cakrawala, saudara dan sahabat motoran kami meraih pecahan cahaya terakhir untuk mendirikan tenda mereka dan dalam persiapan untuk berkemah malam. Matahari menghilang di balik Gunung Batukaru memberi semua orang pemandangan yang menakjubkan, tetapi segera menyelimuti kami dengan udara yang jauh lebih sejuk dari dataran tinggi di Baturiti Tabanan ini.

Percakapan tentang rute reli dan balapan flat track mengalir dari pintu tenda semua orang yang berkemah, yang lain membaringkan tubuh mereka yang lelah untuk mengantisipasi perjalanan keesokan harinya, perjalanan yang relatif santai ke Pantai Pasut.

Dengan begitu, acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 pun berakhir. Sampai bertemu lagi tahun depan, salam untuk semua penantang, pengalaman yang luar biasa.

Berikut daftar pemenang Kelas Flat Track:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana

Saturday morning, June 17, 2023, was a highly anticipated day for 250 motorcycle rally participants and 80 flat track race contestants in Bali. It was the Fourth Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure event organized by a community of vintage trail motorcycle enthusiasts who love more than fanging about on their dual-purpose motorcycles from the 80s and 90s. Known as the Trail Asik Adventure Community, AKA… Tasik Adventure people had waited a year for the follow up and none were disappointed.

Just so you can get it straight in your head, there’s two very different sides to this coin. The first one was the Rally. They hung it under the banner of “Challenge”, making each partaker a “Challenger”. So, in the carpark of Sangeh Monkey Forest, which enjoys the shade of giant ageless teak trees, 250 Challengers parked up to receive the QR code for the first leg of the rally route. The entire ride was 3 stages with 3 stop points. 4 if you count the destination.

There were some amazing bikes there, Honda XR’s, Yamaha DT’s, Suzuki TS’s, Suzuki DR’s, and some custom modern motocross and scrambler bikes. In lots of ten or so, they lined up at the starting point then let them out for the event. Everyone’s mission was to complete each stage and stop at the 3 stop points to get the QR code for the next bit. Bali’s beauty was the constant companion, as we flew along a combination of asphalt roads, rural roads and dirt tracks in the Tabanan area. We slowly winded up high and higher into the hills and the views of rice fields and forests finally ran out, actually, it was more like blurred into one when we reached our destination. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF), which was also to be the overnight camping spot. If you collected all your QR codes you got a Rally medal as a form of appreciation.

The other side of the aforementioned coin, or second event, was the flat track. Or in this case staggered track because where they had built the track it was over a spot that had once held two rice terraces. So the Start finish straight sat higher than the return straight with a drop on the first turn and an uphill bit on the second. As we were pulling into BOF we could already hear the flat track bikes and the assembled crowd cheering. We parked up and made a bee line track side.

What an absolute corker of an event, the added degree of difficulty jammed into the afternoons schedule made for the most marvelous distraction. They’d managed to attract around eighty participants, split over 4 classes: Horizontal Engine Class, FFA 4T Max 250cc Class, Flat Track FFA 2T Max 250cc Class, and FFA Big Bore Class.

The enthusiasm for the flat track races was palpable. The excitement growing as we whittled down through the heats and building to something of a crescendo for the finals of each class. There was no holding back, they were in it to win it. Racers from each community fiercely competed in each class. Names like Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, and others were letting nothing slip, flaunting their skills without compromising sportsmanship and safety. Mostly.

The track, with its dry hard red clay surface, presented challenges. Off the start, the racers were presented with a downhill section on the first turn, they hit the gas on the bottom straight before spinning left again but this time into an uphill section on the second turn. It forced them to combine their flat track racing skills with a slew of motocross techniques. In the end, all the racers had fun with the red clay dust lay across everything and everyone.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, our compadres and accomplices grabbed the last shards of light to set up their tents in readiness for a night of camping. The sun disappeared behind Mount Batukaru affording everyone a magnificent view, but immediately enveloping us in the much cooler air of these high grounds here in Baturiti Tabanan.

Conversations about the rally route and the flat track race flowed out of the tent flaps of all those who camped others bedded their weary bodies down in anticipation for the next day's ride, a comparatively leisurely meander down to Pasut Beach.

With that, the Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 event came to an end. Until we meet again next year, greetings to all challengers, what an amazing time.

Here is the list of the days winners:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana