Southern France is known for its fabulous sunny weather, but on Saturday the skies drenched not only day one of the Tour de France, but also amateur racers at La Maurienne Galibier Cyclosportive in St Michel de Maurienne.
From the first pedal stoke, heavy rain and storms played havoc with riders as they climbed high into the French Alps on 115km and 60km routes with 3465m and 2160m of climbing respectively.
Caution was the order of the day.
Frenchman Bruno Morel safely navigated dangerous slick descents to cross the finish line in 4:06:32 to win the 115km race. Thomas Van Die was next, coming in 4:30 behind. Rodolphe Heavy finished third 5:18 down.
Louis Varago completed the 60km race in 2:18:32 to win, followed by Jeremiah Nuer and Jordan Manenti.
The Women’s race (60km) saw Lisa Grandjean solo to victory in 2:54:13 ahead of Aurélie Avanturier by 7:03 and Maëlle DERUAZ by 9:14.
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 