DESTINATION RACE

Training and Racing in Morzine, France

IT WAS THE perfect spot to take a bike that no one was supposed to see. We were two weeks out from the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, and I was supposed to be reviewing Cervélo’s new P-Series bike.

“Are you guys OK if I take it over to Europe with me?” I asked Cervélo’s media liaison Sarah Taylor.

“No problem,” she said. “You just need to keep things incognito.”

My perfect spot? Morzine, France – an area they call the “Portes du Soleil.” We were at a chalet called Chilly Powder, which is set below the cliffs of the spectacular French ski resort of Avoriaz. Calling Chilly Powder a chalet is a bit of a misnomer. Started by Francesca and Paul Eyre in 1996, there are a variety of accommodation options including catered bedrooms and self-catered chalets offering yearround holiday activities. They offer childcare, delicious food (dinners include wine) and a “nothing is too much trouble” attitude that ensures any stay is guaranteed to be amazing. The Eyres are incredible hosts – one of the highlights of our week was a night spent listening to their stories about how they met (both from the U.K., they met in Morzine), all the professional cycling teams that have stayed at Chilly Powder during the Tour and so much more. The do-everything-possible-for-guests attitude starts from the top and works down through the rest of the staff.

In addition to being a gourmet chef (hence the incredible cuisine that separates Chilly Powder from pretty much any other “chalet” I’ve ever stayed at), Francesca is an accomplished endurance competitor – she’s taken on numerous long-distance triathlon, cycling and trail-running events,

including the Manaslu trail run in Nepal that featured 220 km of running with 15,000 m of climbing. The Eyres’ three children are also accomplished athletes – son Ben played junior hockey in the United States and now plays the local professional team, Eloise is an elite skier and youngest son, Jaimie, is also making his mark as a hockey player.

It’s not hard to see how the family could excel when it comes to sports based on where they live. Chilly Powder is at 800 m of altitude and it’s not hard to hike, run or ride up to 1,800 m. The cycling is truly out of this world – the region regularly hosts the Tour de France, taking the riders up the Col de Joux Plane, the Col de Joux Verte, the Col de Ramaz and the climb from Morzine to Avoriaz.

Taylor has spent lots of time at the Tour over the years – so much so that when I sent her a picture of the P-Series at the top of Avoriaz, she immediately shot back with, “You took the P-Series up that?”

She immediately recognized the shot from the Col de la Ramaz. After that, I stopped sending photos.

I didn’t stop biking, though, and was constantly amazed at how quiet the roads were in terms of both traffic and other riders – I didn’t have to worry too much about someone recognizing that I was on a yet-to-be-released bike. Each ride began with the descent down to Morzine, which meant, of course, it ended with the climb back up to Chilly Powder, which isn’t too much of a challenge – it’s a long, gradual climb with a couple of steeper pitches. I wouldn’t hesitate bringing anyone from my training group up it. The riding doesn’t all have to be over Tour de France-level climbs, either. One of my favourite rides was up to Lac Montriond, which was another gradual climb that doesn’t require pro-like quads.

What’s possibly even more incredible than

the riding in Morzine, though, is the hiking and running. Once again, there are lots of options so you can choose your level of difficulty. From Chilly Powder we hiked for hours up into the Avoriaz ski area, enjoying the spectacular views down the valley. A short drive to Lac Montriond to watch the triathlon set us up for another beautiful hike from the lake to Les Lindarets, where we joined hundreds of other hikers enjoying a late lunch and the incredible views at one of the numerous cafés.

“Triathlon incorporates three sports,” you’re saying. “You haven’t talked about swimming at all.”

You beat me to it. I talked about Lac Montriond, which, since 2018 has hosted a triathlon race and offers pristine waters with a one-of-a-kind backdrop. Then there’s the swimming complex at the Parc des Dereches that features a 50-metre outdoor pool and an indoor 25-metre pool, along with both indoor and outdoor paddling pools and an 80-metre waterslide. Can you say training camp? So how do you get to Chilly Powder? We flew to Geneva, then rented a car for the 75-minute drive. Switzerland is super close – I was able to take a ferry across Lake Geneva for the elite racing at the ITU Grand Final in Lausanne, getting to the lake in about 45 minutes. Italy is not far, either – in fact, for some of the hikes from Chilly Powder you are told to bring your passport – it’s not hard to hike your way across a border.

For those looking for a family-friendly training venture, there are lots of activities available in the region that will suit all ages. For those who don’t want to take on the auspicious climb to check out the Avoriaz ski area, there’s a cable car five minutes’ walk from Chilly Powder sure to provide some excitement for the little ones. Once there, you can take on some easy jaunts around the unique ski village and there’s an indoor play pool perfect for kids, too. I even tried a canyoning excursion in which we followed a river down the mountain – doing everything from rappelling off a bridge to floating, jumping and climbing to make our way down. Such ventures are easy to find and do – the region is very dialed in to tourism and you can rent equipment for virtually any endeavour.

If you want to mix your trip with some sort of a sporting activity, there’s the Morzine Montriond Triathlon that includes supersprint and sprint events for the adults, along with a kids race that includes a 100 m swim, 2 km bike and a 500 m run. It probably comes as no surprise, either, that the Morzine Haut Chalblais Granfondo on June 21 is considered one of the most difficult Gran Fondo events.

While I can’t even begin to imagine how much fun it would be to ski in Morzine, time there in the summer isn’t too shabby, either.