I Rode The Craziest Race On A Prototype Bike! ｜ Megavalanche 2026

There aren't many events that race over 20 kilometers downhill and descend more than 2,500 meters and with over 2,000 entrants all racing at the same time, albeit in different categories. Did I mention it starts at nearly 3,500 meters up in a glacier? Let's hear it. We'll be right back. It's called the Mega Avalanche and I'm going to be racing it. Before we get to the racing, I've wheeled out this, the Mega Mullet. Yes, people, it's the Mega Mullet versus the Mega Avalanche on a race I first did back in 2008, but the event was even older than that. I'm back. It's been 18 years since my last attempt. I am a little older, possibly a little wiser, but I'm definitely just as competitive. When the opportunity arose to put the Mega Mullet to the test on a properly competitive gnarly track that should suit it to the T, well, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Before my wheels touch dirt then, what am I up against? Well, you see the Mega Avalanche was the brainchild of George Edwards back in 1995 here in Alpe d'Huez. He was frustrated with the single rider time trial style format that was the done thing at the time and wanted to create a spectacle, create a mass start race that was chaotic with some of the toughest riding in it in the world. Alpe d'Huez then with its 3,300-meter drop all the way from the very top of the Pic Blanc glacier to the valley floor in Alamond was the perfect location. The course itself would use 2,600 meters of that vertical drop. Over a 21-kilometer course, ice, snow, rock, roots, dust, mud, you name it, this can throw absolutely anything at you. The mass start on the glacier way up there requires lightning-quick reflexes to survive to tell the tale on that part. After that, though, you're into the minefield of boulders and drops in the middle part of the race run. Be careful here. You got to be quick and sharp to avoid punctures or damaging your bike. Once you've made it past those two sections of trails, it's the endless wooded single track to end on where fitness and stamina are going to be absolutely crucial. It's no wonder this event is a bucket list for a lot of riders and has been going for over 30 years now and keeps them coming back. Speaking of coming back for more, then it's the day before Qualies, which means I need to get signed on and get my number. Vague six. This is vague six, mate. 1,006. Let's go. It's the new. How are you doing? I love what you're doing. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I picked up my number board and saw the riders in the pits and then you know mountains in the background. It was like that, oh crap moment, it's on kind of thing. It just reminded me as well of how much of a unique one-off and big event this is. As we head up to get some practice in, I thought I'd break down the format with you because it's not just a unique race, the Mega, it's a unique format as well. To start with, everyone who enters will race in some form or another. There's even a kids race. That's over 2,000 people competing down these mountains right here. The first race of the event is qualifying on the Friday. This is on a slightly different course to the main race, which happens on the Sunday or Saturday for some as well, below the Petit Blanc glacier. That's kind of done to save the glacier for racing on the main events. It also helps sort everyone out into their various, we'll call it abilities and categories, for the main event. In the qualifying event, people set off in waves of 100 to up to 200, sometimes depending Depending upon the amount of entries. The top 35 or so of that will then go through to the main event on Sunday, but like I said, there are other categories along the way. Everyone does race. It just seeds you as to where you are. What are my goals? Well, I'd really like to finish in the top 20 when it comes to qualifying. That's going to put me right at the front waves, if you like, for the main race. Qualifying is crucial, as it is with pretty much any sport. The further near the front you are, the less do or die missions when it comes to overtaking you have to make in the main event. Coming into practice then, I suppose the best way to describe my feelings was apprehension. I'm actually a little bit nervous. I didn't think I would be dropping in for the first time. The difficult decision I had to make was that, what do I practice? We definitely didn't have time to head up to the glacier. That was out of the question. We opted for the qualifying track because that would make the biggest difference is to actually making it into the main event. We're going to go down the qualifying track and get that one dialed because that's what we're on tomorrow. Still didn't even have enough time because we've got to film and stuff and do other bits and bobs whilst we're here to practice the very top of quali. I just was like, I'm just I'm just going to hit that blind, hope for the best. It's so loose, so dusty. The conditions are absolutely lethal, I would say. But sessioned our way down. Got some good lines on there. Made a few alterations to the bike to get a little bit more comfortable. It's definitely going to be like a, I'll call it a breaking in period. Touch wood, no actual breaking. I'm just getting used to the bike and getting it set up again. And just kind of focused on that for the day, really. Let's drop in. Flipping heck. **** you up. It's a bit of a baptism of fire for both myself and the bike. Just getting back up to speed on what this proper big mountain loose stuff is like and the ride characteristics because remember, the only time I rode this bike previously was for that first look we did back at Paganella Bike Park. I've just got to do a bit more tinkering and setting up. It's cool. It's like dodging bodies already. It's going to definitely be survival of the fittest on qualities and race day. What a day on the mountain. Absolutely relentless. Big mountain riding is so good, but it does beat you up. I forgot just how rough and fast it is. I had to kind of change up my riding style a little bit and tone down the aggression. Basically, I really don't want to break the bike or get a puncture. I want to finish both races and do well. My normal riding style is pretty wild. It's a lot of steer with the rear, so just hanging off the back. If I do that here, I know I'm going to potentially cause a problem. Also on top of that, this bike encourages you to be over the back end a little bit because it's a little higher at the front. I need to compensate that for that, but it's good. I've really enjoyed getting back up to speed on it today. Feeling good. I need to give the bike a clean down. I need to go and rehydrate and get some electrolytes in me because I checked Garmin, it's been 35 degrees this afternoon. It doesn't feel like it because you've got a breeze and stuff, but it's all good though. There's no bad days in the mountain. Lots of real friendly people, random fist bumps, and good times. Many smiles have been had, but I do need to go rest up. Wish me luck, everybody. Did you want a cup of tea? Racing tomorrow then, qualifying. I'm actually genuinely a little bit nervous now. It's been a long time where I've had to do a qualifying race to get into a main race. Just knowing how hard to push tomorrow, what to do, check in lines, there's a lot of racing blinds. I suppose as long as I make the, we'll call it the main on Sunday, then it doesn't really matter too much. It's a good pour. It's not a bad kettle with a good spout up. Tomorrow's qualifying course is about 9K. Drops about 950 or so meters. It does have a bit of a kick in the middle, a bit of a sprint, which is what I'm going to try and focus on. I'm excited. I am genuinely excited. I know, why not seem it? I really want to qualify, really, really want to qualify, but not to get too carried away because I think it's kind of rein it in a bit, ride smart, and just make sure I'm in I'm in that top 35, really. So I was feeling I'm pretty relaxed, but there is a bit of a weight on qualifying because it does obviously play such a huge part in where you start on finals day. Not being in that top 24, I think it was, it turned out to be for this race, meant you went in the next race, not the main race. That was it really. I just wanted to finish in that top 24, so that was the only pressure I was feeling. This is it then, qualifying time. We are at 2,751 meters of elevation. The latest load of victims. I mean, riders have just come up for the top of qualification and we're going in completely blind, everybody. I didn't get a chance to practice this one yesterday, so what could possibly go wrong? Mass start, blind racing, big mountain, unknown bike. That sounds like a recipe for a win. Have fun. It's a bit of a big rig, isn't it? Don't tell anyone. Here we go then. Start line. 30 seconds. 10 seconds. Qualifying was nuts. Two things, forgot how gnarly downhill mass start is. Secondly, riding the top blind, kind of challenging. It went well, though, for the best part. I got a pretty good start. I think I was sitting about fifth or sixth into the first turn. Killian Bron, who's an insane rider, was leading it out. Well, that guy knows where he's going. And Deeks was in there, so another good rider. And I think another guy who was really fast, but sorry, I don't know your name. So I was like, sick, I'm up there. Held it all through the first turns, got to the first snow patch, fully cross-rutted, and could see my feet in the sky. I was like, bugger. I was pretty pleased with how I rode and the gap I was from the lead boys. It wasn't massive. It was really encouraging. What was discouraging is cheats. Let me talk. Cheating at the Mega Avalanche is It's not rife, but it does happen. I was following some guy through some chicanes. I'm just going to call him out because I think it's only fair. He just fully straight-lined it to the right-hand side of us. Oh, you cheat. No cheating. I called out his number and everything. I was like, that's just not the done thing, but desperation, people do it maybe. I don't know, maybe veered off course. Try and give him the benefit of the doubt, but straight-lining stuff, not cool. Holy smokes. I'm absolutely That absolutely rinsed me at the beginning, the intensity is off the chart. Oh my God. Yeah Annoying crash at the beginning, getting cross-routed on the snow. That was frustrating, dropped me back a bit. Then I had to burn loads more energy to get going. Yeah, I know. I haven't pushed hard that hard in a long time. I'm not sure the mix of goat's cheese and Coca-Cola is the one either. I mentioned a minute ago going in blind. Was it a good idea? No, not really. If I was being truly competitive, I definitely should have had a little look, just ridden the first corners. I've known a few lines through the snow and the bits after, because basically I had to do some emergency pulls off of some blind drops, which were proper sketchy. If I was going any slower, we'd be having a big one, so I should have looked up really. There's a great sense of relief when crossing the finish line in any race, but Crossing it here after the qualification is even better because it's done, the bike has survived, you have, for the best part, survived. You check the results and I came 12th. It's like, right, we're done. It means actually you can chill on Saturday as well because the main race is on Sunday. It's just a huge sense of relief and weight off your shoulders. He told us, but, you know. At the same time, it's sad that it's over, but not really. Yes, that was it. That was the day done. Time to chill, but you know, looking around, everyone's on basically full 29-inch setups. I'm getting like a few looks from everyone. So it did just get me thinking, like, why is there no more mega mullets? Why aren't they a thing yet? And when will we see them? The thing that blows my mind is what this race must have been like to do back in the mid-'90s, when suspension was, well, elastomer, a bit of rubber, rim brakes were a thing, and tires were flimsy and rock hard. It must have been an absolute nightmare. So fast forward on time, how have we ended up on something like this, the Mega Mullet? Well, after I rode the Nikolai G1 Mega Mullet prototype that first time back at Paganella, it got me thinking that, well, Where is this thing going to be best? You see, 32s have been around a while. I shan't drone on them too much because, well, we've seen them in cross-country. We've seen them in gravel popping up, long-distance riding. They make perfect sense. We just haven't seen them in the gravity world, but with the increased rolling speed, that better rollover capability, it all sounds dreamy. So what's not to love? Well, a few things. You see, those bigger wheels require more energy to get going. That sprightliness off the line, should we say, just isn't there. On top of that, actually, they take longer to slow down as well, especially once you're up to speed. And there is no denying the fact that they just don't feel as nimble and as quick to react as a full 29er. I think that is where the mixed wheel size comes into play. You see, in the world of gravity, enduro, and downhill, a full 32 would be too much. I'm convinced of it and it's why we haven't seen that yet. But the mixed wheel size could be the ace up its sleeve. You see, in downhill, we often see the mixed wheel size being 29, 27, 5. And well, it's essentially that but on a slightly bigger scale. The smaller wheel on the back over a 32 allows a bit more back-end clearance to swing off the back a little bit more, and it also sort of gives that extra agility to what a full 32 setup would be, which is, I think, absolutely crucial. Up until now, other limitations such as wheels, rims, obviously, you know, tires, and suspension have all been a limiting factor of the mega mullet in the gravity world. And I think we've overcome that. This new bike especially has got a different set We're going to take a look at some of the rigors and physicalities of, well, just what this place is going to throw at it. But just like anything in its experimental phases, you have to push those boundaries to know where the limits are, which makes me very proud here at GMBN that we're actually able to try a completely custom bike like this in such an insane setting almost before anyone else is really doing it, properly putting it to the test. That being said, though, it is an absolute monster truck. As fun as it is to ride, shorter riders are definitely going to struggle. Bonjour. It's the night before the race. Nerves are running high, but I basically got a bit of time to go over my bike and make sure it's fully prepped. So it did seem like the perfect opportunity to introduce you to it. Now, this is, of course, the Mega Mullet, the almost only one-of-a-kind custom Nikolai G1 that has been built for us. Obviously, not only does this Nikolai G1 look absolutely sick in this paint job they've done for us, for the stats and geometry geeks out there, it's got some It's got some pretty interesting numbers as well. 64 degree head angle, 479 reach and a 447 chain stay. When it comes to travel, it's 165 mil out back and we got a custom Dorado set at 170 mil up front. Now the Dorado, it can be lowered to 180, but Manitou have hooked us up a little bit extra and managed to reduce it just that extra 10 mil to bring the front end down. Now, up until fairly recently, getting 32-inch parts that can take a beating has been pretty difficult. Many manufacturers, including our partners Vittoria, have been making 32-inch tires, but nothing for the gravity or enduro world. Well, luckily, our partners Reynolds have sorted us right out here. We've got an A32 aluminum front wheel, which is in its prototype stages, but it's designed for gravity riding. It's very similar, it's basically a bigger Bigger version of the A309 aluminium rim I've got on the back of this bike. As you can see, it is shod with Schwalbe tires. It's a Tacky Chan Gravity Pro on the back, 2.4, and I've gone for a prototype Romi on the front, 2.4 also. Both wheels have inserts in and both wheels have some pretty firm pressures. I've upped it to 25 PSI in the front and 27 PSI on the back just to try and avoid any chances of getting a puncture. In fact, the insert in here has got about a four-inch gap because obviously there's no 32-inch Insert's available, so I've managed to find a 29er and cut it and put that one in there. It's about as good as I could do right now. Just to run through the rest real quick, braking is taking care of Hayes' Dominion A4s in that purple Hayes color scheme. Why? Because they look sick and they've got plenty of power, 200-mil rotors front and rear. I wasn't sure basically on flats or clips for this, but I've opted for clips and gone with Mallet Enduros on there from Crank Brothers. As you obviously can see, it's got a full 1x12 GX group set on there because there is a lot of pedaling involved in this race, but... Speaking of pedaling, I need to get a wriggle on, get this thing sorted, and go sort out the rest of my kit upstairs. Night before, final, you've seen bikes ready down there, looking all moody in the car park, getting it prepped. Final bits of kit are prepped as well. I've got your Bluegrass Legit full face carbon, so it's nice and light on my head. Bluegrass Aura knee pads, Venture vest. After practice, pretty happy with my setup now Now for race day with what spares and kit I'm wearing, so. It is really the only thing I can do now is get it done. I'd ring the missus for some pre-race motivation. Oh, hello, are you watering the garden there, darling? What's going on? And yourself. Do you have any words of wisdom? Flat out, sir, and that's my girl. I mean, that's as good of advice as I could ask for. Yeah, you'll be great. Just win it, okay? Just win it. Well, I like your ambitiousness. It's a bit nervous now, isn't it? We're getting ready to go down to the snow in our grids. The problem with race day is it starts flipping early. I'm not going to lie, you've got to be at the gondola for about 6, 6.30 in the morning, which means about 5.30 wake up. Oh my God, that's rough. I did not sleep well that night, unfortunately. I don't know if it was nerves, a lot of my brain just thinking about the race, what to do, the bike. I didn't sleep well, and I looked at Garmin and it said less than six hours sleep, which is never ideal. In fact, you might go as far as saying suboptimal, but got up to the gondola all kitted up. Once you get kitted up, you're like, right, I'm in my battle suit, I'm ready to go. That made me feel better. Then you start seeing other racers turn up, have a little chat. The nerves dissipate, especially when you've got so much time, because the actual race doesn't start until nine, but it's a lot of lifts to get there. Top 100. A 50-odd-minute time would have been incredible. That's what the goal was, but it's such an unpredictable event that having goals is great, achieving them is much harder. This is it. We've had the call-up. Time to go get it done. It's going to be a wild one. All you can see ahead of you is just nothing. It's like an infinity pool of snow. It just disappears over the edge. Obviously, like I said, I haven't ridden this at all, so we are going to be fully blind. I'm not even going to go and look, because I'm going to just go on pure ignorance and bliss on this one. Yeah, it's a big one for the Dora. You and me, what's the best? And you're fine. Final instructions before I start. Look at this. Things are about to get wild. It's absolute carnage already. Oh, sorry. Sorry for standing on your bike, mister. Tripod activated. That was absolutely crazy. This is insane. So far away. Come and see me for a little interview. We're with Marc. Hello. Hello. Oh dear, so tough. I didn't hear you at all. That's so difficult. So the race is done, everybody. Oh my goodness. Before it, I said in an interview question, I was like, I've got a plan of just to be smooth and preserve myself and the bike and get down it. Well, that went out the window straight from off the bat. I ended up standing on someone's bike because I had nowhere to go. Battling down the snow was ruthless. Full tripod was activated. It was so slushy. I don't remember it being that soft, just these huge ruts. It was literally like riding moto. The problem with that is when it gets really soft, you can't keep your speed as easily for the flatter sections. I did a lot of running and we all know how I feel about that. After the start, I managed to survive the snow and I was feeling pretty good. I could see I see guys like... pretty good guys not too far ahead, so I thought, I'm on pace here. The problem is, as soon as you come off the snow, you're then filtered into a lot of single track where overtaking is nigh on impossible, which is quite frustrating because you can't do anything about it. I pushed on and I then managed to make some moves, but the altitude again absolutely killed me. The main race starts at 3,300 meters, considerably higher up again. The altitude 100% gets you there. The pedaling and the running on the flat and the pedaling in the middle, and especially in the middle is a huge climb. I was gutless. I was turning over, keeping things moving. But to actually accelerate was not happening. I was really struggling there. I wasn't struggling with the arm pump or fatigue in my legs in terms of strength, like holding myself up, but my cardio system just couldn't handle it. It was tough. By the end of the race, I was struggling big time on the bike. I don't know why. Maybe I hadn't spent enough time setting it up, but Basically, as you drop down to Alme, the Finnish town, it's a lot of steep switchbacks, really tight. The Thunderbuster is the mega mullet, is just quite tricky to change direction, to maneuver. It's quite high front end, so you've got that big wheel on it. It's a pretty long bike, that G1. Then it just started to fatigue even more. A few people come past me. It's frustrating, but I was still in one piece, so that's the main thing. The competitive side of me was driving me on, but the work side in a way was like, get to the finish, Rich. You can do this. I can. I'd add some more memories come flooding back because as you get towards the finish, you just drop onto a bit of path, and then you have to go over a bridge, and then the final pedally sprint bit. You can definitely tell because the crowd starts to ramp up along the sides of the track, and then you can hear the cowbells going. You can hear the commentator. It was sweet Seeing that finish line arch, if you like. I was done. I'd crossed it. There's loads of people in there. It's bustling. You get given your little finisher's medal, which is pretty sick to have something like that. Yes, exactly. I was cooked. I just weaved my way through people, dropped to the floor, and was just like my chest just going up and down, breathing. It's really hard to take a drink during the race and you can't eat during it either unless you're chilling a little bit more. It's just full gas. Speaking of full gas, the result, well, it was top 100. I came 81st, which is pretty sick actually. It's the target result. It's quite well within. It obviously always goes, oh, I could have been 74, a bit more. Time on the other hand was a bit steady, 55 minutes 34, I think, off the top of my head. That was a little bit disappointing. I know I lost some time in the snow, and the snow was just running slower. I think there was just time lost for everybody there. Those hill climbs, I found hard from a lung capacity and a leg capacity. Big bikes as well, it's hard to get over the front and really drive up a hill. I think that's where the Mega Mullet might lose out to a 29, but I'm pleased I survived. I've got a cool story to tell Fred when he's a bit older. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing the family. I've done an incredible thing 18 years on, which I never thought I would do again. The best part is I've got to share it with all of you out there. I do hope you've enjoyed watching, but on that note. If you've watched this and you want to see a full race run of mine, well, stay tuned because that's coming out shortly. For me, from the Mega Avalanche, thank you very much for watching, everyone. It's been an absolute pleasure. I'm going to take a dip in the pool. I'll see you later. Cheers to everyone who's done the Mega. Well done.