The electric mountain bike allows access to very technical trails, downhill as well as uphill.
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Mustache Bikes
Every Thursday, in its “off-field” section,
20 Minutes
explores new spaces for the expression of sport, unexpected, unusual, clever or booming.
This week, we are looking at electrically assisted mountain biking, the practice of which is exploding in France, driven by the general boom in cycling.
Nonexistent ten years ago, this market is experiencing tremendous growth because it offers the possibility for all audiences to practice.
But also because it generates incomparable sensations, including for professional pilots.
Julien Absalon is a fan of it.
Some call it the E-MTB, others the “e-bike”.
Whatever its name, the electric mountain bike is unanimous among its practitioners.
"To try it is to adopt it", they all sing in chorus.
Still confidential a few years ago, the practice is exploding, driven by the appetite of more or less seasoned athletes for this sensational sport which is suddenly opening up to a wide audience.
“When I started, there was a stigma.
We were taken for lazy people.
We were criticized by saying that we did not need to pedal, that it was not sport ”.
The words are signed by two-time Olympic champion and five-time mountain bike world champion Julien Absalon.
In the history of sport, we have undoubtedly seen more lazy than the Vosges.
The latter was one of the first to agree to ride an electric version, even before retiring in 2018. “I did my preparation with it.
It allowed me to go further, to ride longer, to do more technical training with bigger tires and more travel [in the fork].
We looked and the athlete's power values are similar.
We can even do more cardio, because the pedaling frequency increases, ”says the 40-year-old.
More and more people are tempted by the VTTAE to explore the mountain or the forest without the training of an Olympic champion.
- Mustache Bikes
The French champion is not the only one to have fun riding his machine.
Throughout our discussions, all those who told us about their new bike praised the pleasure of the discipline.
“Those who think it's an old man's bike have never tried it.
There is such a pleasure to drive on the climbs, you can practice technique, never stop.
We stay on the bike all the time because we can ride almost anything, it's incredible, ”explains Nadine Sapin.
Based in the Alpes Maritimes, this pharmacist is one of the ambassadors of the French VTTAE, which she has been riding for five years after a semi-pro career in classic mountain biking.
A way to swallow unthinkable drops and escape far, far away.
“Some did not dare, were afraid it would be too hard.
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To summarize the explosion of this practice to the only competitors would however be a mistake.
Because everywhere on the roads of France and the world, electric motors come to lend a hand to enthusiasts of all levels.
We think in particular of Gérard, 79 years old, an excellent rider who was advised to slow down the practice of mountain biking to spare his heart of almost octogenarian.
The retiree had invested 3,000 euros to afford an electric mount a little over four years ago.
A significant purchase which allowed him to pursue his passion and to continue to follow his friend Michel, almost twenty years younger than him, on the paths of the Brière marshes, in Loire-Atlantique.
And that is priceless.
Without knowing it, the electric mountain bike came to erase the differences in age, level, and power too.
We see couples riding together for the first time in their lives.
“We quickly felt that there was great potential for what we call healthy sport.
It's a great tool for putting people on or returning to ATVs.
Some did not dare, were afraid it would be too hard.
More and more communities or winter sports resorts are contacting us to set up circuits.
The increase in the number of riders is very strong ”, engages Joaquim Lombard, technical manager in charge of the discipline within the French Cycling Federation.
Briton Tom Pidcock won the last E-MTB World Championships in Leogang, Austria.
The route has been widely criticized by the riders of electric mountain bikes.
- Alex Whitehead / SIPA
Even before the federation opened its eyes, some bicycle manufacturers had scented the right vein.
The French brand Mustache was one of the first to believe in this niche market, which only represented a tiny percentage of sales when it launched into production in 2012. “When we built our first prototypes of Electric mountain bikes, we quickly realized the magic side.
We were going all the way through the moguls, it was fantastic.
It was impossible for it not to work, ”remembers Emmanuel Antonot, one of the two founders of the Vosges brand.
Still in its infancy for competition
For ten years, their workshop has grown and now employs nearly 150 people, carried away by the wave of electricity.
“We sometimes receive letters from people thanking us that their bikes have changed their lives, that they can go back and ride with their friends, with their husbands or wives.
And then we have people who enjoy piloting, who climb crazy slopes that they thought impossible.
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If the leisure practice has taken off, the competition remains a little chaotic for the time being.
Nadine Sapin retains a bitter taste of the last world championships organized by the UCI in Leogang, Austria.
“The layout was not at all suitable!
We were put on the same course as the classic cross-country, that had no interest ”.
She finished 6th, just over twelve minutes behind the French Mélanie Pugin, crowned world champion.
Among men, the French Jérôme Gilloux finished second, proof of the excellent level of the French in the discipline.
With an electric mountain bike, you can go anywhere.
Well, almost everywhere ... - Nardus Engelbrecht / AP / SIPA
To better meet the demands of practitioners, the French Federation has decided to stand out.
On June 6, it will organize its French championship in Villard-de-Lans (Isère) in “rally” mode.
Only certain portions will be timed and a real adapted route will be offered to the pilots.
“Our ambition is to attract champions, but also less experienced practitioners to make the discipline known.
Competition remains the best showcase for publicizing a sport.
We are at the very beginning of the history of this sport, it is a very young discipline, ”recalls Joaquim Lombard.
Should we imagine making it Olympic one day?
“That’s impossible.
It is contrary to the Olympic spirit, ”says Julien Absalon.
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The rush to the stores
The Covid crisis has created a sudden and unexpected demand for new bikes.
ATVs are not excluded from this trend and some references have waiting times of several months.
Like all manufacturers, Mustache struggles to procure spare parts and must adapt.
“There is a strong demand and some key suppliers like Shimano are struggling to keep up.
Sometimes we can't ride a bike because we're missing a saddle, or a derailleur.
It's frustrating ".
To get a new E-MTB model, count at least 1,200 euros.
The practitioners already confirmed will undoubtedly have to double the sum.
Lorraine
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