Gran Fondo Mont-tremblant

LOCATION Mont-tremblant, Que. DISTANCES 45, 80, 125 or 160 km DATE May 27 granfondotremblant.ca

While the devil is not a sponsor for the Gran Fondo MontTremblant, he has a presence at the event. Riders of all fondo distances follow the Rivière du Diable for a stretch. Near the centre of the Mont-tremblant resort – where the event starts and finishes, and where many participants stay – is a microbrewery called La Diable. It does one hell of a lot of business during the fondo weekend. And rightfully so. In 2017, the night before the fondo, the establishment offered all participants a discount on food and a two-for-one deal on a house beer. The one beer not part of the offer was La Diable’s Extrême Onction. There’s some wisdom in that. Extrême Onction is a delicious, Trappiststyle ale, but with 8.5 per cent alcohol by volume…well, you wouldn’t want to march your fondo performance toward its Last Rites.