Vibram Natural Games
Posted under: This summer I am going to be driving all over France and Italy racing and riding Enduro’s. It’s really exciting having a proper season away of just racing and good times! My Swedish friend Hanna is coming with me for the first half of the trip which will be awesome.
First stop is the Vibram Natural Games! Karim Amour invited me out to do the Enduro. I hadn’t heard of it but it looked a really cool festival, so we went! After driving for 24 hours, with stops at my Gran’s for tea then Paris for croissants, we arrived late at night in Millau. It is a beautiful French town with a massive river running through it and Europe’s longest bridge over the valley.
We got there early in the week, so it was great having a few days to chill. We did loads of yoga, core and road rides to get back into it. 
The Natural Games is a really cool outdoor festival with Enduro, dirt jumping, climbing, kayaking, slack-lining, and music! We met up with Karim, Alex Stock, Dan Atherton and his wingman Reece, Nicolas Lau, Alex Lupato and Vittorio Gambirasio. The ‘invited’ riders got some sweet static caravans to stay in, lunch tokens for each day, and access to the VIP tent for free coke refills and hot tubs. Boom! Everyone was so welcoming and nice, and it was really well organised. 
On Friday the organisers sorted out shuttles for us to ride each stage, which was amazing! 
The stages had a bit of everything. There were some really steep loose sections where it was just steering it down steep loose scree, some fast peddaly sections through the trees and some nasty climbs which are always good to throw in, and the final stage went through the houses and streets. Proper enduro riding!
On Friday evening it was the opening ceremony for the event, with a band line up and dj set. At midnight all the invited athletes from every discipline got invited on stage and welcomed to the event, which was so cool! I was really happy to be include with all these amazing athletes! Hanna got bitten by a big black dog on the leg so after the ceremony Alex took her to hospital to get the rabbies jag. 
On Saturday evening it was the prologue, something I’d never done before. It was about a 30 second obstacle course around a field. It looked like ritual humiliation and I wasn’t really looking forward to it.
On the start ramp I got well psyched though and loved it, and got the fastest female time. 
We had a sweet set-up at ‘Action Team’ base! 
Race day went smoothly, no mechanicals or crashes, and I felt good. I just keep it smooth and flowy, as I knew I had a good lead so didn’t have to risk riding totally flat out for the win.
I won all five stages, with Hanna second and Emille Serre third. Nico Lau, Alex Stock and Karim Amour made up the guy’s podium. Good times in Millau! 
