Diamond in the rough
London to Paris is one of the most established and popular road routes in Europe. But how does a gravel version rate? John Whitney goes in search of the answer
I already knew how special a ride this had been, but what was happening right now hammered it home. We were riding in a 350-rider convoy making a 50km beeline for Paris from the town of Menucourt; this was a closed-road peloton with motorbike outriders speeding ahead to close all junctions for us, to keep us safe and, theoretically at least, in constant movement deep into the French capital. It’s how Hotchillee, the Surrey-based cycling events company, always ends its London-Paris ride, bringing together several groups separated by speed and ability into one for a memorable mass finish under the Eiffel Tower.
One of these groups, with whom I had pedalled, hadn’t even made the journey to Menucourt, via Folkstone and Calais, on tarmac, instead taking a totally different, more direct route, via Newhaven and Dieppe, on gravel. And now, after three days and over 300km of relaxed solitude, slowly making our way through the thickets and forests of Normandy, we had been pitched into an altogether higheroctane world of bunch road riding. Hotchillee’s ‘Ride Captains’, whose task within the road groups is to control the riders, keep them together and get them working as one, were particularly vocal here, urging the convoy to stick together and avoid being strung out. Sirens blared and horns honked, and the speed of the peloton alternated with a whiplash-like energy – a scene utterly juxtaposed with the ones we’d recently emerged out of. It’s not that there was anything wrong with this. I love riding in a big bunch as much as any roadie. We, the 40 riders that comprised the gravel group, were simply out of kilter, as the road riders would’ve been had they swapped 35km average speeds up to Menucourt along the pristine roads of Normandy, for a slow traipse into Paris on the banks of the Seine.
Three days earlier, on a humid morning in mid July, one where we had narrowly escaped the extreme, record-breaking heat of the summer, the gravel and road groups had gone their separate ways in Surrey, on the start line at Esher’s Imber Court Sports Club. After 18 years of taking riders to Paris on the road, Hotchillee had mapped a 313km gravel route to Menucourt – a natural, logical choice for a company that was an early UK adopter of gravel riding. It already has numerous gravel events on its calendar around the world, in Switzerland, Catalonia and, when travel over there in our new Covid reality gets easier, South Africa. A gravel version of London-Paris had seemed imminent when, in 2019, Cycling Plus joined Hotchillee for an off-road London-Brighton (see issue 358), though the pandemic kiboshed any ambitions for such an event in 2020. Finally, then, it was happening with this pioneering event, routed and recced by ride captain David Kirkby.
“Welcome, all, to the first-ever Hotchillee London-Paris gravel ride,” he told riders at the pre-ride briefing, on the cusp of departure. “We’ll soon be finding out whether or not it was a good idea,” he said, tongue perhaps only half in cheek. What was inarguably a good idea, even if it didn’t feel like it in that bleary-eyed moment, was the 6.30am roll-out time from Esher. There were 120km to go to reach the 5pm ferry at Newhaven and getting 40 riders of varied abilities there on time for the 3.30pm check-in with all the unknowns that come with off-road riding meant that the ride captains weren’t taking any chances. Had we missed the 5pm crossing, the only option would have been the 11pm which, with the extended 5hr travel time, 1hr time zone jump and longer delays at French passport control, would have meant a roll down the Ferry ramp at 6am, straight into stage 2.
Wey to go
Our passage to Guildford, 35km away, largely followed the River Wey – flat riverside paths, of varying degrees of passable, thanks to outof-control nettles and other grazing and piercing foliage. Early dog walkers were out and I was glad of my last-minute decision to add a bell plugged into the end of my handlebars. Even with a bell to let walkers know that you’re coming, not everybody was pleased to see us, in particular one stroller, who positively hissed at the riders who passed by. To be in such a foul mood so early – all I could say was good luck for the rest of the day. With British cyclists getting such greetings off the road as well as on it, it makes you wonder where we are actually welcome?
Until the route reaches Brighton, the only open roads that you must contend with are to either cross onto a different side of the water, or like in Guildford, to navigate the town centre. In the same way as the convoy finale into Paris, such dalliances with the real world were highly disorientating – like being parachuted onto some alien planet – and it takes time for your usual road sense to return. With it being a largely off-road ride, you avoid at all costs actually riding on the road, using assorted bike- and footpaths instead, where in fact, as roadies, riding on the road is usually second nature. It’s a curious quirk of the gravel ride.
In contrast to the roadies, our route skirted around the flat western edge of the Surrey Hills and onto the Downs Link, a 59km shared-use path following two disused railway lines, which stretches all the way down to Shoreham-by-Sea. It would be the fastest stretch on the whole route, particularly with the gentle tailwind on the day pushing us forward like an invisible hand on the back. The surface is largely fine gravel, though it is rather flinty, and punctures slowed the progress of several riders. It’s because of sections like this that organisers recommended running tubeless tyres; not a 100 per cent guarantee against flat tyres, but a substantially better bet than the prospect of pinch flats with inner tubes.
“In contrast to the roadies, our route skirted around the flat western edge of the Surrey Hills and onto the Downs Link, a 59km shared-use path which stretches to Shoreham-by-Sea”
Even once in Shoreham, and onto the coastal section through Brighton and into Newhaven, the route planners took great care to keep us off the main road, taking us along the extensive bike path network along the sea front. The route’s only climb to speak of came just before Newhaven, so whether you’re heading on to France or catching the train back to London, this flat 120km route of just 419m elevation is tailor-made for riders of all abilities. For our well-honed multi-day riders, the course proved a doddle, with everyone arriving in enough time to indulge in burgers and pints at the brilliant Sidings café on Newhaven harbour.
Normandy’s wisdom
Ask any cyclist who’s done a multi-day bike event, like a London- Paris, and they’ll all agree on one thing: the riding is the easy bit. Well, the easier bit. It’s the time off the bike that’s more exhausting, in the logistics of making your bike ride happen. Waiting, packing, unpacking, cleaning, showering, stretching, fuelling… there’s not much time for rest, which is the thing that would truly help you survive the next stint on the bike. Arriving into our Dieppe hotel at 11pm, just nine hours before we were due back on our bikes ahead of the toughest day of the event, we experienced multi-day riding at its most draining.
When the riding is so good, however, it’s all quickly forgotten once you get moving and your blood starts pumping. Day 2 was to take us 137km through Normandy backwaters to Vernon, and proved a far hillier and wilder affair, as we gained nearly 1,400m in elevation and, just as crucial in rocky, unpredictable terrain such as this, about the same in descent. Towards the end of the day, word spread out from the riders who rode the recce that there was a ‘Gully of Death’, though having ridden solo for much of the day and after barrelling down several perilous slopes with my heart in my mouth, that could have referred to any one of five or six descents. Where day one was all about speed and forward propulsion, day two could be defined by gritted teeth and hard-earned forward movement, by any means necessary, however long it took.
“Nothing raised my spirits like a flast, flowing section of forest trail, while a grimace would set in with every one of those rotten drover tracks with deep, overgrown tyre-made crevices”
The fun, throughout the journey, was in not having a clue as to what was around the next corner. The route had a bit of everything: technical singletrack, rough forest paths, treacherous drover roads, gravel tracks, bike lanes, suburbia and minor roads. If a section was difficult, you could at least be confident that it would never last long. If it was easy, it could be used to drink, recover and eat into that hefty 137km. It was a ride with an episodic nature, that made it easier to break down that distance into chunks rather than be overawed by its entirety. Nothing raised my spirits like a fast, flowing section of forest trail, while a grimace would set in with every one of those rotten drover tracks, characterised by deep, overgrown tyremade crevices that make it impossible to pick a stable line.
Being self-sufficient on the route was often emphasised; while there were mechanics on route, they were sticking to the road so you were master of your fortunes out on the trail. This was the first time I’d ever used a tubeless system on a bike so had the tyre not sealed around a nail when it punctured my rear tyre at some indeterminate point before lunch, I’d have been hastily rediscovering the YouTube How To videos on how to fix a flat that I’d been watching the night before the challenge began. The gravel gods, however, were smiling on me all day and I made it to the finish in Vernon, bowed, battered but elated at having tamed a savage route that’s up there with the Fred Whittons and Dragon Rides, in a little under 10 hours. That evening, even the Kronenberg tasted good.
Seine of the times
Day three, that final 56km to Menucourt, picked up where the day before had ended, with easy singletrack along the Seine, before a handful of wall-like climbs and descents through the Vexin Natural Park, a place – with flowing singletrack along open moor and through dense woodland – for which gravel bikes were built. With the shadow of that 137km day lifted, there was a carnival atmosphere in the air, the group tired but safe in the knowledge that 56km of gravel could be enjoyed rather than endured. It was so enjoyable, in fact, that many of the riders who I spoke to would have been happy to carry on to Paris on the gravel – feedback that the organisation took on board, and it will be looking into plotting a journey into Paris along the Seine for next summer’s ride.
That mass convoy into Paris might have been, at times, incongruous with what had come before, but there was no denying the spectacle of arriving at a finish, in a closed peloton, right under the Eiffel Tower. It’s hard to wrap your head around just how this Surrey company executes such a high-wire act of logistics, and who has the powers of persuasion to square it with the Paris powers-that-be to arrive here, in this fashion, just one day before the Tour de France finishes. This year was the first time that Hotchillee officially partnered with ASO, the Tour de France organiser– which certainly can’t do any harm – but they’d been doing this event for years before ASO came on board. With the addition of the gravel ride to the long-established road event, the company ASO has hitched its wagon to has never been in stronger shape.
To answer David Kirkby’s question on the start line in Imber Court, about the wisdom of taking 40 riders on a wild ride to Paris, a good idea it most definitely has been.
The Ride
Entry is now open to the 2023 London-Paris, which takes place 19-24 July. The gravel event costs £1,900 and includes, on top of three days’ riding with full ride support, four nights accommodation (twin sharing), Eurostar return, bike transport back to the start line, baggage transfers, event jersey and T-shirt, plus a day in Paris to watch the Tour de France. Optional extras regarding the Tour de France are available, including VIP and hospitality packages and the chance to ride on the city centre course ahead of the pros.
hotchillee.com
The routes
Day 1
komoo.com/tour/861433294
Day 2
komoot.com/tour/861441638
Day 3
komoot.com/tour/861441638
