News: Dean Downing to ride The Alpine Challenge

Rapha Condor Sharp’s Dean Downing will join HotChillee on The Alpine Challenge 2012, a multi-stage alpine sportive that starts on the 6th September with a 10km timed mountain prologue.

Other sporting stars to join HotChillee and Dean include Triple Crown winner, Stephen Roche and Professional Bulls mountain-biker Karl Platt, 7x Trans Alp winner. Jerone Walter, 3x Yellow Jersey holder on The London-Paris will also be riding The Alpine Challenge for the first time this year.

The 4-stage event, based out of the beautiful lakeside resort of Annecy in France will take the riders across 320 km of stunning French countryside with an ascent of approximately 7,000 metres. The route has a series of breath-taking mountain stages, over famous Cols that have featured in the Tour de France – including Col de la Croix Fry and Col Des Aravis.

With rolling road closures and a professional support team from masseurs to mechanics, riders get a pro experience. The flagged climb section gives riders in the peloton the chance to compete for the ‘King of the Mountains’.

There are seeded speed groups, determined in the Prologue and led by HotChillee Ride Captains. This caters for a range of abilities, from the pro to the enthusiast.

Dean Downing says: I’ve been wanting to ride in one of the HotChillee events for a while now and when I was invited as a guest rider on The Alpine Challenge I jumped at the opportunity. It’s going to be great riding into the mountains next to passionate cyclists and I’m told Lake Annecy is a stunning place to stay. One of the cool aspects of HotChillee’s Alpine Challenge is the race section. Everyone can go for it over the 15 km flagged section, and then regroup for a sociable tempo ride. Hopefully I can put some fast wheels in, pack my climbing legs and have a go at getting the fastest time each day”.

Above: Dean Downing.

Sven Thiele of HotChillee says: “Our aim is to create a multi-stage pro experience in the Alps allowing riders to immerse themselves for a few days and push themselves physically and mentally to the limit. Ultimately we all realise what an amazing feat the pro’s achieve and what they put their bodies through. Annecy has been chosen as the hub as it’s probably one of the most beautiful towns in Europe with some of the best cols in the vicinity. Many riders come back years in a row so strong friendships are built. Through our monthly training rides, new faces quickly become part of the family. I can’t wait to see everyone out in Annecy.”

There are eight teams riding The Alpine Challenge 2012, consisting of two from UK Youth, two from Wattbike, three from Adobe and one from TS-A. This year’s top tier sponsors include Adobe as the official Training Jersey Partner, Cyclosure as the Insurance Partner and Wattbike as the Training Partner. Skoda France is the Official Vehicle Sponsor.

During The Alpine Challenge, Wattbike will be running a competition in each of the hotels. Participants will race 500m on Wattbikes and the fastest male and female riders will receive prizes. Every rider taking part will be entered into a grand prize draw to win a 4 night stay at Stephen Roche’s Training Camp, with Stephen himself drawing the prize.

Other partners include SiS for nutritional support and The TriTouch for massage. Eurosport is the official broadcaster and Stephen Roche Training Camps and Sportique Active Skincare are also partners in 2012.

www.thealpinechallenge.com