Tro Bro Leon 2019

Lfgss peeps,
Anyone done this sportif? We have a small contingent braving the overnight ferry this year to go ride and watch the pro race.

Any experiences welcome and local pro tips most welcome.

I’ve done Paris Roubaix twice (/boastpoast), but gather terrain on this route may be even more mixed so pondering tyre choice too ( probably gravel king sk).

Any help much appreciated...

Cheers,
Zed.

Are you taking Chalfie?

Its not my bag.

Bump.

interview with pro mechanic from few years back -pros seem to ride it on fairly standard "tough" road tyres - if its wet i'd put a cx tyre on

http://www.thedrumup.co.uk/cycling-kit-equipment/focus-on-mechanics-brendan-milliken/

Did you do the Tro-Bro Léon last April? How did that affect the equipment?
I have been mechanic for the last 2 seasons for Tro Bro Leon, it is a very tough race, very hard to win for a rider, it can be a lottery as almost every rider will suffer punctures, it has to be raced aggressive from the front! The race features 20+ off road sections, not pavé but gravelly forest paths!
For a mechanic the bikes have to be kitted out to endure the tough terrain and minimise the chance of punctures. For this I work with Continental for the best tyre for the conditions, Grand Prix 4season 25mm was the recommended model. Tyre pressure is also very important again to minimise punctures yet maximise grip. We draft in as many of our spare wheels as possible for this race and helpers as the roads are narrow and very hard to get the car to your rider for service. we had a plan with helpers driving ahead to the end of the off road sections with spare wheels for this year! I have been in the car changing inner tubes as quick as the wheels come in! We have Zipp wheels in all the different models, the one we used for the race was the aluminium 101 model, light and very stiff and safe in the knowledge they wont break in such conditions!
Alex Blain was our rider for the win in 2011. I put him on the carbon Zipp 202 wheel with a Gatorskin tubular, but with a double puncture in the final stages on a off-road section, Alex had to ride to the end of the section, damaging both wheels beyond use. However with a swift wheel change he was soon paced back in the game by his team mates and finished off with a grand 6th place! Alex has a goal of winning Tro Bro Leon in 201.

Now I'm in here.....
I would have thought this would lend itself to something very like roubaix tyre choices.
28mm and something like the vittoria pave?

If you're going on something bigger, then the gravel kings?
But, isn't it like roubaix? So while there are dreadful sections of pave and what the fuck calll this a road? You don't want to base your whole ride around them?

https://roadbikeaction.com/bianchi-history-from-paris-roubaix/

The ribinous don't seem anywhere near as rough as the P-R cobbles. A quick search on French forums would suggest a tough road tyre in 25. Even if it's wet it's going to be less muddy than P-R, so I don't see why you'd take a CX tyre.

Someone on the forum posted about riding in this area, on the same parcours. Can't recall who.

UTFS

Did a search nothing came up.

If you’ve got nothing helpful to say, jog on...

Thanks @Lolo. Makes sense.

If it’s wet I’d want to have some traction on the gravel tracks, just no idea how muddy they would / could get.