GRAVEL ALLIANCE: Simon Taulelle
Posted By Gravel Union
On 18 December 2019
Rider Name:
Simon Taulelle
Location:
The beautifull and sunny city of Marseille, in the south of France.
Tell us what your local gravel riding is like:
Clearly a 10/10. It’s sunny, dusty, hilly and sometimes a bit (too) rocky. Oh, and the views are amazing as we often get a sea in sight!
Also, because the area is very exposed to forest fires, the gravel track around are always carefully maintained in good shape. They are called DFCI which stands for “les voies de défense des forêts contre l'incendie” (protection routes from forest fire).
I also had the chance to live near the “Parc national des Calanques” which is one of the most famous national parc in France. It’s only a 10km ride from home so I feel really lucky to get such a beautiful place to ride.
Gravel bike:
Custom everything Genesis Fugio
Last event ridden:
Tour du Vaucluse Historique 2019. Kind of a “Brevet” event which is inspired from a vintage French race.
It takes place in the beautiful hills of the Luberon and it has been the best way to end the season for 2 years now.
Favourite Gravel Ride:
Hard one but I think that Les Calanques de Marseille would be my pick !
What events do you want to do in 2020?
Dirty River → 17-18/04
Nova Eroica → 26/04
Born To Ride → 5-10/06 (already register)
The Rift → 25/07
Grinduro Switzerland → TBD
Grinduro Uk → TBD
Further Rally → 21-24/08
Bohemian Border Bash → 10-13/09
La resistance → 19/09
Deiadar Gravel → 25-27/09
650 or 700c?
I remain convinced that it depends on where you ride! For me, Mother Nature has decided that I should mostly use 650b with 2.1 tires in Marseille but she also told me that I could switch to 700c for road or flat/muddy area :-)
Mechanical or Electronic Gears?
Mechanical until now, Electronic soon!
Favourite mid ride snack?
PIZZA! Who doesn’t like pizza? I really like pizza!
What do you see as the future of gravel riding?
Oh, I see leisure cycling! of course there will always be people who’ll want to race their bike and I’m totally ok with it, but secretly, I keep my fingers crossed so that the gravel remains more oriented towards exploration and adventure than performance.
More importantly, future of gravel riding will be about gender equality. We do not need men and women to be separate in two different categories anymore. It’s been like that for way too long and I think it’s time to just ride together and enjoy it! Bike industry has a lot to learn from women cycling and I can’t to see what it will bring!
Oh yes, and I'm told that there will be a lot more flannel shirts than lycra jersey!