Ride Report: Sofiane Sehili – WishOne130 ride report
Posted By Gravel Union
On 29 June 2021
Shimano Gravel Alliance rider Sofiane Sehili entered the WishOne130 event and then decided to ride the 750kms to the start. This is the story of his very soggy ride in this year’s event.
After taking part in the first edition of the WishOne130 last year in Aveyron, I was looking forward to seeing what the team had in store for their venture in Morvan, a hilly and sparsely populated region located in the east of France.
The event offered either an opportunity to race or a chance to bikepack over the course of a weekend. As I'm always eager to ride my bike as much as possible, I opted to race on Saturday and then join the bikepacking ride on the Sunday. The registration and riders’ briefing took place on Friday evening in the tiny village chosen to host the event. It was good to be reunited with friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Then I was quickly off to bed to be ready for the 6am start the next morning.
Due to Covid19 restrictions, the peloton was limited to 50 riders and we took off a bit worried, given how grim and menacing the sky was looking. The race format was similar to what is done in Enduro, with 4 timed sections spread over 130km. This allowed for a bit of socialising in between the sections or right after them, where the re-supply points were located. Manned by volunteers, they offered food, drinks and basic tools in case something went wrong during the section.
Roughly 30 minutes after the start, the rain started falling, making the course which had already been muddied by a big storm the night before, even wetter. The Morvan is a heavily forested area, meaning the trails were often taking us deep into the woods where the weather made things fairly technical. I was happy with my 48c René Herse tyres, while many riders sporting narrower 38c tyres seemed to be struggling.
After 17km, I was ready for the first timed section. Situated on a smooth, fast rolling gravel road, it was about 4km long with gentle ups and downs. Not really my forte, as I usually shine on steep grades, but I did my best anyway. After a quick stop at the resupply point, I got going again. It was still raining and I actually welcomed a paved section after a brutal start to the race. As I got closer to the second timed section, I caught a rider from Lille and we chatted a bit to take our mind off of the pouring rain. This ex cyclo-crosser from Flanders was right at home on these muddy inclines. We tackled more wet trails in the woods then a bit of a somewhat drier single-track before arriving at the start of the second timed section.
After climbing a gravel road as fast as I could and cautiously navigating the descent, I entered the last part of the section full blast. On this narrow forest trail, I hit a rock I hadn't seen, crashed and ended up with a pinch flat. I struggled for five minutes to seal the puncture and inflate my tire. A catastrophic way to deal with this second timed section. I got back on my bike and made it to the re-supply spot where the crew handed me a floor pump so that I could get my tyre back to a proper pressure and make sure it wasn't leaking anymore.
With any hope of climbing on the podium now gone, I proceeded with the rest of the ride. I have to admit I was in a hurry to finish and kept thinking about the hot shower and dry clothes waiting in my Airbnb. Around noon, the rain stopped falling. Even though the skies remained grey and menacing, it felt really nice to see this improvement in the weather. The last timed section was a 5km long climb, with insanely steep portions, going all the way to the finish. I still had a bit of power left and I managed to post the third best time on this section. A volunteer at the finish served me a very welcomed hot coffee before I shared a well-deserved beer with komoot's French community manager.
I was wet and covered in mud, but happy that I had raced to the best of my abilities and finished. Despite my crash and mechanical, I secured a place in the top ten, so that was not all bad.
Later that day, we gathered in the school yard of la Grande Verrière, the tiny village that hosted the event. The winners got their prizes, the mayor made a speech and we all shared a glass of wine before eating a generous plate of boeuf bourguignon.
It was the perfect ending to the day and exactly what everyone needed after a race that was mostly type 2 fun. The way the WishOne130 integrated itself into the life of this small community and seeing the volunteers from this small village so happy to be involved in the event, reminded me of the first edition in the Aveyron last year. This atmosphere is the reason I elected to come to another WishOne race.
It rings true to the spirit of cycling - a sport that has always been grassroots, that has always belonged to the people. The no frills attitude of everyone involved offered a welcomed alternative to the hip and polished image usually associated with gravel riding. It reminded us that it doesn't matter which kit you wear or which bike you rode - the important thing was that we were all cyclists, united by the same passion.