Erik Clavery. - Clavery

  • On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, Erik Clavery, a resident of the Nantes region, smashed the record for crossing the Pyrenees.
  • 860 km in nine days 9 hours and 12 minutes to travel the Pyrenees from east to west.
  • Erik Clavery tells 20 Minutes about this extraordinary human and sporting adventure.

So it will never stop. At 40, Erik Clavery, the ultra-traileur from Remouillé in Loire-Atlantique, licensed at TUB (Rezé), pulverized at the start of the week the record for crossing the Pyrenees (GR 10): 860 km in nine days 9 hours and 12 minutes, beating by the same stroke of three days that held for two years by Thierry Corbarieu (in twelve days and 10 hours).

In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, he arrived under the cheers of his relatives in Hendaye, exhausted but satisfied. This Friday morning, the world trail champion in 2011 and France record holder for the 24 hours of running confided in 20 Minutes "after a long night but still disturbed by thoughts related to the excitement of the race " Interview with an insatiable defiant man.

Eric Clavery, new record holder for crossing the Pyrenees. - Erik Clavery

You just pulverized the record for crossing the Pyrenees for three days (from east to west, from Banyuls-sur-Mer in the Pyrénées-Orientales to Hendaye in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Have you become aware of the achievement achieved?

In fact, to be clear, I was never frozen on the record. I have always trusted my potential, what I can do. I had left on a crossing in ten days. I knew it was doable. Besides, before the race, I had spoken to specialists who had told me: "Are you happy to do it in eleven days!" They didn't want to believe it.

We see you exhausted on the images of your arrival. Is it a race that gave you no respite?

No, it was not hard from start to finish. I suffered a lot at the entrance to the Basque Country. I was told it was easy ... Not at all. It actually depends on everyone's feelings. Sometimes I had to put my hands on the rocks on the climbs. The body gets used to the physical and emotional load. It is an exceptional machine. After, on the last day, I was in a state of great freshness. I had one of the biggest stages to do before the end, with 110 km. The last 20-30 km were the most difficult. You feel that the arrival is approaching, psychologically, it is difficult to manage. It's also emotionally heavy. In Hendaye, in the middle of the night, on the last 5 km, there were 2 or 3 bumps. I railed ... It went up all the time. The nerves let go at that time and it generates fatigue.

What were the hardest moments?

The awakenings, every day, a hell. I stopped every evening between 10 p.m. and midnight in the valley because we sleep better in the valley than at altitude. I had a maximum of 5.30 hours break: 1 hour massage, 4 hours sleep in the motorhome and 30 minutes for breakfast. 4 hours of sleep is not much. My wife woke me up gently. Sometimes my eyes didn't even open. My legs were heavy. It was a great ordeal.

And have you had any big physical glitches?

I sprained myself during the first stage on Mont Canigou, my ankle was swollen. But above all, on the 7th day, I slipped and I fell. My head violently struck a pebble covered with moss. I had a headache ... The next day, I had hip pain. It handicapped me.

But do we manage to have fun very sincerely?

Yes, there is only positive. I experienced 9 days of extraordinary happiness. I was in my world. I had my loved ones with whom I could share this happiness. It was freedom with a capital L. I witnessed incredible sunsets and sunrises. When you are alone in a pass and you see this sunset, you feel like you deserve it and that it is reserved for us.

But what drives a father of three, 40 years old, to want to outdo himself again and again?

Frankly, the record is an excuse to do that. What inspires me is to show everyone that there is nothing impossible in life if you believe in your dreams and if you are determined to achieve them. You have to believe in yourself and stop putting on brakes. Dreams of adventure, I still have many others. I also have a project to organize a race in the Alpes Maritimes in September 2021.

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  • Nantes
  • Aquitaine
  • Trail
  • Pays Basque
  • Pyrenees
  • Running
  • Sport