Duo-Normand’s Dynamic Duos

Normandy, France

When Sam Johnson of Team Exergy mentioned on his blog that he would be riding the Duo-Normand on September 18th, in France, my ears perked up. First, a race I hadn’t heard about before. Second, imagining Sam’s alter-ego Krogg in France brings to mind some potentially silly situations we’ll enjoy reading about in Sam’s blog after the race. Sam will ride with Kai Applequist; according to the race website Exergy is also sending the two-man team of Matthew Cooke and Quinn Keogh. The elite men’s teams compete for a total of 6,010 Euros prize money; first place wins 2,425 Euros. It is a UCI 1.2 class race; UCI control applies only to the men’s elite category. The race began in 1982.

The Duo-Normand is a two-person time trial over 54 kilometers that starts and ends in Marigny, in the Normandy region of France. Marigny sits in about the middle of a peninsula, south of Cherbourg on the map. The race website indicates 30 countries will be represented in the 2011 edition of the race.

What’s really interesting about this race is both amateurs and professionals compete the same day on the same course, together with tandem, female, hand-cycle, and recumbent teams. Imagine sharing the podium with the pros. A team from Bike Radar experienced a place on the podium in 2009 when they won in the Corporation category of the Duo-Normand; their report describes the course and how foreign teams can stay with local families.

A collection of current and past pro-cyclists who have won this event include Jonathan Vaughters – Jens Voigt in 2001, Sylvain Chavanel – Thierry Marichal in 2005, and Brad Wiggins-Michiel Elijzen in 2007. Chris Boardman and Jens Voigt hold the record on the course in use since 1997; in 1999 they finished in 1 hour 4 minutes 17 seconds, average speed 50.3 km/hour.

The best team of two will win by each giving up self and focusing on their performance as a unit. A quote from Jacky Hardy on the Duo-Normand website describes this well. Jacky, a time trialist from Normandy, in giving advice to aspiring race entrants, said, “N’essayez pas d’être le meilleur des deux, mais la meilleure équipe de toutes.” Don’t try to be the best of the two, but the best team of all. A concept, based on an interview of the team, that Exergy’s dynamic duos will play-out on September 18th.

Categories for licensed riders: Elites, 2ème Catégorie, Junior, 3ème Catégorie, Départementaux.

Categories for “others:” Vétérans, Féminines, Mixtes, Handisports, Tandems, Corporatifs, Vélos-couchés, Non-licenciés