August 22 2009, the date of the 20th "Grand Raid" - a celebration in every sense!!

Under ideal weather conditions and amongst a total of some 1'200 athletes, 5 die-hard friends took on the challenge, racing for Help-for-Hope, and in particular for children affected by autism. Picture to the left: Olivier Marchon in full action. More pictures further down

Thanks to many generous sponsors, CHF 38'172 were raised to benefit the Foyer "Cube de Verre" (please click here for more info), under construction in Arzier for autistic children. This amount, more than we could hope for, represents a huge step towards completing the financing of the one key element at the Foyer that Help-for-Hope is sponsoring. A big Big BIG THANK YOU for your support!!

Everyone of you sponsors deserves a special mention, for the act of class to dedicate funds to the cause of children. Help-for-Hope is conscious that you have other options on how to use your financial resources, and all the more appreciated your going extra miles. Beautiful stories of donors who have children affected by forms of autism, donors who make this part of their corporate responsability program, donors who have dedicated part of their birthday party gifts, and many others (see some pictures further below).

Help-for-Hope would also like to express a special thank you to Susie and John Burke, who very kindly offered their apartment in Verbier for the Help-for-Hope team to stay the night before the race. What a difference that made. Thank you John and Susie!! Picture to the right: the Help-for-Hope team the evening before the race, at Susie and John's place, from left to right: Jean-Luc Manoury, Stephan Bissig, Olivier Marchon, Laurent Massuyeau, Pieter van Tiel

The organizers and many volunteers did a fantastic job. And what a journey it was... a journey through stunning Swiss Alps landscapes, a journey that pushed physical and mental limits, and a journey that forged new friendships. A journey that saw a stellar performance by Olivier for an incredible 9:20 time - and that with little MTB training. Bravo Olivier!

A journey also that saw Jean-Luc and Pieter, who often trained together, completing the race almost together in outstanding times (10:30 and 10:32). Congratulations to both for this first impressive Grand Raid!! Laurent made it all the way to the Mandelon, unfortunately a technical problem with gears, following a crash, forced him to stop at the technical support station in Veysonnaz and cost hi too much time to make the subsequent cutoffs. And finally a journey that saw a number of more serious crashes with subsequent hospitalization (so also for Stephan, see further below). One element became clear to all, alone finishing the race IS a real feat!!

The Grand Raid is known as being to Mountain Bike marathons what the Ney York City marathon is to running. A legend. May be THE legend. 121 km in length, with a total climb of 5'430 m (!), from Verbier to Grimentz, through some of the most stunning Swiss alpine landscapes. A race where every year the Mountain Bike elite meets from all over the world. And a race that is open to whomever would like to push the limits - physical and mental.

Picture to the right: the profile of the race; scary!

THE PRIZE: This year's Help-for-Hope Prize Contest for the Grand Raid has seen a lucky winner: François Kremmer. Congratulations François on winning the case of premium champagne! You guessed Olivier's finishing time at 9 hours 15 minutes. Olivier's actual finishing time was 9 hours 20 minutes and 51 seconds, or only 5 minutes 51 seconds off your guessed time. Very impressive!

Picture to the left: Olivier Marchon, François Kremmer (winner of the contest) and Stephan Bissig

THE RACE PICTURES:

Pictures below:
- to the left, J-1, at the expo picking up the race numbers: Jean-Luc, Pieter and Olivier
- to the right Jean-Luc, Olivier, Laurent, Pieter carboloading with a good pasta and risotto dinner (thanks Jean-Luc for that tasty risotto!)

Pictures above: Jean-Luc, Olivier, Stephan, Laurent - and belowed pasta ;-)

Pictures below:
- to the left, the team wetting pre-race nervousness in a good old Guinness, in the center of Verbier (following the precious advice of Pieter's brother-in-law, a semi-pro MTB racer)
- to the right, an "anonymous" Help-for-Hope fan writing "GO! HELP-FOR-HOPE" encouragements on the race course, the night before the race. And what a difference that made on those steep climbs!! A number of other athletes asked us about the association, great publicity ;-)

Pictures above:
- to the left: the morning of the race, after not much sleep, getting into gear with the Help-for-Hope dresses and tattoos (Laurent, Olivier, Stephan)
- to the right: just before start, 6:45 in Verbier... ready to go!!

Pictures below:
- to the left: Pieter and Stephan arriving together in Nendaz, after some 1:45 of racing time; great moments! And nice Help-for-Hope gear ;-)
- to the right: Pieter with a smile, in spite of going like a rocket!

Pictures above:
- to the left: Camila, nonna and Alexandra cheering on the racers in Nendaz, what a boost!!
- to the right: Pieter and Stephan, in Nendaz

Pictures below:
- to the left: Laurent in Nendaz, way to go!!
- to the right top: Nonno giving mechanical assistance to a racer in need... in true spirit of the Grand Raid!
- to the right bottom: Stephan meeting the family, magic moments...

Pictures:
- above to the left: photo session in Nendaz
- above to the right: a glimpse at the water station in Nendaz, a tribute to the fantastic organization and great spirit of the many volunteers of the Grand Raid. Congratulations!
- below to the right: Stephan leaving Nendaz in good spirits
- below to the left: a glimpse at the parcours, just after the water station in Nendaz

Pictures below: meanwhile, Olivier was on his way to a real "exploit", or breakthrough performance; with very little bike training (but a stellar physical condition), he was flying across the course (NOTE: unfortunately no pictures available for Jean-Luc, Pieter and Laurent, who did fantastic races and came in with great times!!)

Pictures below: Olivier at the (in)famous Pas de Lona, the last and steepest challenge of the course

And while Olivier, jean-Luc, Pieter and Laurent were flying across the parcours, Stephan spread his wings as well... voilà, just before Veysonnaz, about 2.5 hours into the race - it happened. Hazards of Mountainbike races... Stephan with a bad crash. What a pity, all was going so well, having fun and ahead of schedule. But this was the end of the rae. Diagnose: multiple open fracture at the left oleocrane (elbow joint).

How on earth did that happen? Well, it went quick... Steep downhill on tarmac, which of course in the racer's mind meant going for speed. Roadworks, gravel and sand on a roadturn, and swish... the frontwheel sliding away to the right. No chance anymore. Hit the road and slid on it (how about that for a full frontal body massage)... Everything goes quickly. Hope nobody follows too closely. Fortunately not, the next racers skillfully manage to avoid the bike and me, and offer encouragements. Go get the bike, want to continue. Check the damage, bike ok. Body seems ok, except the left elbow which makes a funny noise when bending. Check it out. Blood streaming out, see the wound, OH NOOOO, doesn't look good. This one is clear, game over.

Sit down at the roadside. A elderly and very kind race marshal comes to help, takes the bike, we walk down to where the road is closed off. A person from the next village, cigar in mouth, offers very kindly to take me by car to the next SOS post, in Veysonnaz. Arrived there, first help, immediately forwarded to the local doctor. It is the mountains, everyone is very kind and helpful, talks about getting bones back into place after drinking a couple of glasses of "abricotine", the local liquour. Well... The doctor diagnoses the open fracture, thinks about calling in the helicopter but then calls the ambulance from the hospital in the valley, gives me morphine and a cookie. Well...

The rest is history. Hospital in Sion. I'm the first one there by ambulance. But not even that one a clean victory, three other athletes had been brought in by ... helicopter before me. Waiting the entire afternoon for a surgery slot, but there are too many worse accidents. In the evening transfer to the Hospital in Nyon, surgery on the elbow the next morning. Fantastic surgeons in Nyon for a complicated intervention. Left arm will stay in a cast for some 6 weeks, then physiotherapy. There is risk of chronic immobility in the left arm, + arthrose. Well... Time will tell. All in all very lucky, it could have been worse. May be a hint on how far to push racing, although starting to itch already for the next adventure. Wisdom takes time ;-)

More importantly, what remains is the memory of a magic race, and magic moments shared together. Thanks to the Help-for-Hope team, and especially all of you who supported us so generously and patiently before, during and after the race. THANK YOU!!

Pictures below: all together celebrating the after-race in late September with a BBQ, generously hosted by Catherine and Jean-Luc.

Picture above: the wonderful ladies who made this adventure possible - thank you for permissions and patience ;-) From left to right: Theresa, Estelle, Catherine, Silvia, Monica

Picture to the left: the new generation, may be future Grand Raiders? Thank you too for bearing with the many training hours!!

Picture below - the team having fun together, from left to right: Stephan, Laurent, Olivier, Pieter, Jean-Luc

Pictures below:
- Left: with Matteo and Simona, who very generously supported the Grand Raid team by donating part of Matteo's 50th birthday-gifts to Help-for-Hope and the Foyer "Cube de Verre". A very elegant gesture,a big THANK YOU Matteo and Simona!!
- Right: Matteo and Simona in their Bianchina, the coooolest couple in town!!