Pascal Bahuaud and Craig Bycroft interview
Craig, in few words what are the ARWS? Why it has been created?
Craig Bycroft: The ARWS is a circuit of races around the globe that brings together the worlds top adventure athletes.
Pascal, Raid in France is like a family story, why did you choose to create this adventure race version?
Pascal Bahuaud: It has become a story family over the years, with volunteers more and more engaged, an organization pool of 10 people well-structured all along the year and racers who seem to be happy to be there each year. But at the beginning, we didn’t knew if this adventure will be a success. Personally, I wanted to recreate the incentive around the long adventure races. At the age of the Raid Gauloises, I had the chance to experience intense races as an athlete, long and engaged in wonderful countries. I often thought « hey, this place looks like Ardèche, this one reminds me of the Alps, etc, etc ». We have summarized all this in our slogan « France is magic » with, for me, the ambition to discover and show our rich and unique territories made for this « Back to nature » that I was always looking for in my layouts.
What are the criteria to choose an adventure racing world championship location? Is there specification? Who choose it?
Pascal Bahuaud: There is integration and selection rules for the annual world championship. One of the issues is that the circuit cover all the planet, what imply to don’t have 2 competitions in the same country. Then, any integration is voted by the race directors during a yearly meeting. For the world championship, if two races are candidates, we also proceed with a vote based on a selection folder.
Raid in France is deemed for its difficult but always beautiful routes. Did you fine your ideal route in Reunion Island ?
Pascal Bahuaud: Indeed, I think that I have found the route that I have would like to discover as a racer. This principle guides me. Now, the administrative folder is in the hands of the authorities and I keep my fingers crossed that it will not be too much distorted. But yes, the route promises to be a very beautiful discovery of the island in its whole attributes with some « made in RiF » parts.
Raid in France is the world championship for the second time, this is a beautiful gratitude but also many more work. Will the legs, the length or the difficulty be addressed in a different way ?
Pascal Bahuaud: Each adventure world series race has its own DNA, linked to the geographical and topographical particularities of the country. Raid in France is known for its technicality. We will not derogate to it this year. But we are not trying to create the year’s most difficult race because it is a world championship. No, this is a congruent race as the past ones, in its spirit. But it takes place in Reunion Island, a tropical and mountain area in the same time. A very special island, very different than what we can find in metropolis France.
How do you choose the place? And then you think about the ideal route that you validate in the field? Or is it the field that creates the route ?
Pascal Bahuaud: I go where I want to go as a racer. Then, I spend many times on the maps to understand the field, the places, the possibilities… I read a lot too, and I take a walk. A first route emerge from all this. It gather all the notable places to my mind. Then, I meet many people and we spend a lot of time on the field with locals, volunteers and guides to check and validate each leg. We check everything, sometimes several times.
What advice would you give for preparing for an adventure raid? and especially a world championship?
Craig Bycroft: Start planning early! Obviously training is critical, but don’t forget about all the small logistical elements – if you don’t get these right as well, it can have a big impact on your race.
We recently read that the next world championship would take place in a new country and will organized by the race directors of the circuit, can we know a little more about that?
Craig Bycroft: I think it is going to be a super exciting destination for teams and somewhere teams they will love to explore, both the terrain and the culture. We hope to be ready for the announcement at the end of this year’s championship in Reunion Island.
