Megavalanche 2022 Final - rocks, running and ruthless ruts! The ultimate MTB race sans good snow.

Mass start mayhem at the 2022 Megavalanche finals. There was way less snow than usual this time so the majority of us had to line up on the rocks which was a bit slower but probably safer than the narrow slither of snow that remained up top.
I got a reasonably good start behind my friend from home Liam Moynihan until we joined the snow at the first right hander - The entry was more like ice and I spun out as soon as I arrived. Thankfully I got going again quite quickly but it then meant I was in busier traffic and someone veered across and took me out. A bunch more riders went past and this was critical to my race. The snow was soft and once just a few riders have gone over it the deep ruts make it almost impossible to ride and it turned into a high altitude running race which my little legs didn’t much enjoy! Haha
I found myself in a bit of space on the traverse until catching up with a train of riders which was moving slower than I wanted it to. Premek Tejchman caught onto the back of the train too which started off a bit of a ding dong battle between us for the rest of the race. We eventually got past and I felt strong on the main climb up above Alpe d’huez. After Oz (just over halfway) I started to feel pretty cooked though and I was struggling to make ground. The last few minutes were really tough and in the end I had to settle for 25th position, just 20s back from 16th. The guys in front of our gaggle had big time gaps ahead and I was really pleased to see Liam take 2nd over all! Great result!
We’ll be back next year I’m sure…
Footage captured using an Insta360 One RS action camera and quickly edited using the Insta360 app on my phone. For more info, check them out for yourself:
www.insta360.com/sal/one_rs?i...

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks to everyone who liked, commented, watched and generally just enjoyed watching this video. If you could please subscribe to my channel so that I can hit the 1k mark before this race comes round again in July then perhaps I can actually make some money out of it. Cheers for your support!!

[@nealwright5630]

That was great that they had Arnold at the finish doing commentary!!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

He’s such a legend!

[@timroden6617]

That one kept me awake the whole way down the mountain. Never a dull moment.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Cheers man! Haha, I can assure you I was pretty focused too. Could have had a wee sleep by the bottom tho! 😆

[@rideitpodcast]

Quite the ding-dong battle with the lad in blue there! Well done James!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Aye, it was a good one! Haha

[@padmeamidala4883]

Good battle with Premek Tejchman

[@leobardonunez8454]

Congratulations on pursuing your passion, you are one of a kind! thank you for posting these great videos.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad you’re enjoying them 👊

[@danilsivkov3397]

удачи тебе друг!!! привет из России.больших побед тебе!!!

[@cryptoken9064]

Big Congrats Dude!⚡️💥💪🏼👍🏼 You have a great attitude and are a great rider!! Keep improving and doing better! Watched your prelim as well and you’ve got skills!! 😊👍🏼

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks! Very kind to say so. Cheers man! 🙌

[@GEN-X-]

Badass dude! I'm not into biking but I'm so high I watched the whole race. Awesome! 🔥

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Hahaha! Excellent, I’m glad you enjoyed it! 👊

[@jamesstevens2362]

Great video! The wide angle lens shows so much more than just the bit of trail in front, and it gives a much better view of how steep the up and downhill sections are than standard lenses.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

I’m glad you like it, cheers!!

[@cribbsprojects]

Smooth and exciting ride... love the sound of the slipstream. Bravo Jamesy! Nice filming edits.. got a subscriber here...

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Nice one. Thanks!! Really glad you like it 👊

[@abstraddic0442]

Just sub'd - That was insane. Very well done Sir.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thank you very much. Cheers!! 🙌

[@jamesstarkey9955]

You rode hard and placed well .. Good Job ...

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks very much!

[@nealwright5630]

Moley Moley Moley!!!

[@Whatever_fu]

Great ride my friend, respect, let that vids coming, i watch.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks man! I’ll try my best to keep them coming. Cheers

[@timmichael739]

Crushed the big climb Well done!!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks Tim! I was buggered after that! Haha 😂

[@Pozitivi]

Woah! such a legendary race! Well done buddy!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Aye, so cool! Definitely up for it again next year… Cheers!

[@Pozitivi]

@@jamesy_boy_shirley Cheers!

[@porkorosso7885]

Well done buddy! Thanks for sharing. 🤘🏼

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

You’re more than welcome. Thanks for your comment!! 🙌

[@porkorosso7885]

Haha. Actually, I watch these videos while working out on the tread mill. They are perfect for that. I wish I was young again. Keep going and stay safe.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@porkorosso7885 Ach, age doesn’t matter. They have various categories anyway. Get yourself involved!!

[@SonnyDarvishzadeh]

Side note: I can imagine one day we'll have an algorithm that combines all videos of each event to create a virtual 3D scene and improved details with the help of AI.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

That would be cool to see!

[@jorgmoser6016]

Very nice! Good job!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Cheers dude!!

[@scottperine8027]

Hella ride brother!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Cheers man!!

[@ferreirahotmail7645]

Parabéns esses caras mandam bem mesmo! !!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Obrigado!!

[@Erik-gg2vb]

Yes, you had good battles. Dicing back and forth.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Aye, quite exciting!

[@deElPaso]

A great result, considering that you fell at the start. You're doing a great job on the rise, well done! You're not good at cutting corners, you're losing speed and time.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

More straight lines needed… haha, thanks!

[@helgedragseth4599]

Fantastic ride!! A bit short of power the last third maybe?, but an amazing race all the way! I’ll follow your journey further👍

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks!! I’m glad you liked it and I think you’re right… I did burp a tiny bit of air out of my rear tyre but most of all I think I ran out of puff! It’s a shame because I was very close to 16th position in the end. I’ll make sure I’m extra fit for next year’s races…

[@helgedragseth4599]

Low air will slow you down, then it is even more impressiv! I enjoy your rides in other videos too. Good luck, and be careful!! 👍

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@helgedragseth4599 Cheers!! 🍻

[@Srobvio85]

YEA BOYYYYY.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Glad you like it! 🙌

[@tomgavin9212]

God you're fast and that was some climb up the hill....you must eat batteries for breakfast 😜 Well done 👏👏

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Haha, yum! Batteries are my favourite 🤣 I’ll get on the battery diet for breakfast, lunch AND dinner in preparation for next year’s event… 🔋😋

[@padmeamidala4883]

Where was the tree branch that helped Stephan Peter to clean his Go-Pro lens? 😉

[@billietyree2214]

Man, you surprised me. You took the hill that I think of as “heartbreak hill” like you were a Ford in second gear. What an advantage. You set yourself up very well for the rest of the race, which is almost all downhill and only with a dozen or less passing spots. You certainly have the strength, now to the track and the treadmill for endurance?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

A Ford in 2nd gear… hmmm… I hope it’s a GT40!? Haha.

[@jozelovsin841]

Res je zelo adrenalinsko še celo pred ekranom.Odličen video-lepa pokraina...

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Hvala!

[@dreamscometrue5578]

Wow let's goo

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Cheers!!

[@Kor3Gaming_Ghost]

this man playing riders republic in real life

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Hahaha!

[@ptjmwjpag]

Hello, spectacular !!. Could you use the rear view more often with the insta360, for us viewers? It would be more exciting to see the pursuers as well.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Hi. I’m glad you like it! Since the camera is mounted on my peak (for safety reasons) then the rear view isn’t actually very good most of the time. All you see is the top of my helmet!

[@johnworf]

is there a final finishing list on the internet - also how much is the entry fee and what are the prizes?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Hi. The results will be somewhere. I can’t see them in the UCC events page at the moment though. Entry is about 100Euro for the week and you win a trip to race in Reunion Island which is pretty cool!

[@johnworf]

did you go outside of the course at about 29:25 minutes?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Not that I'm aware of anyway!

[@herve160181]

Are any or all of these bikes E bikes?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Hey! In this particular race everyone is on acoustic bikes. There is a separate race at the Mega for the E-bike category.

[@Whatever_fu]

This year you will be first just in front of Kili :)

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Haha, I hope so! Thanks very much for the support ;)

[@Srobvio85]

hOW DOES YOUR CAMERA WORK? Can someone handle it remotely?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

It’s a 360 camera. It films everything around it. Then I can edit it using an app on my phone. Quite cool! Do you like the footage?

[@Srobvio85]

@@jamesy_boy_shirley It was asome. I watched videos from killiam Bron, Peter, Damien Desbrosses, and some others. This was the best editing. And I also like the ''YEAH BOY'', I think I heard you before many times LOL. Subscribed. GREAT CAMERA!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@Srobvio85 Haha, I’m glad you like it. Cheers!!

[@NorwayDrones]

@@jamesy_boy_shirley What kind of cam is it? I have seen multiple videos from this years run, and some have used the chest mounted cams. And they are generally shaky and uncomfortable to watch! The cam software you are using are doing some sort of stabilization?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@NorwayDrones Hi! It’s an Insta360 One RS. The quality is amazing. I’m really impressed with it!

[@taxamata]

25? elite

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Yep. I believe that's correct. They don't call it 'elite' as such but it's the main final with all the fastest qualifiers.

[@TwoWheels_OO]

Fastest down hill Ive ever seen

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

You should see it when the snow is firm! Speeds of well over 100kph.

[@TwoWheels_OO]

@@jamesy_boy_shirley Holly crap, is that in France, and do you know what hare hare means? Go go?

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@TwoWheels_OO I assume so! Yes, Alpe d’huez in France.

[@johnworf]

instead of saying - go go go - i think you have to say alle alle alle 🙂

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Would that get them out of the way faster!? Haha

[@johnworf]

@@jamesy_boy_shirley seems to work for a lot of the riders - if you shout alle alle alle really loud - they crap themselves and fall off at the side of the course...and you are through!

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@johnworf 🤣 Brilliant! Thanks for the intel. I know for the next time now! Haha

[@johnworf]

@@jamesy_boy_shirley i'm expecting a 5% cut in the prize money.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

@@johnworf 🤣👌

[@venom-kc7ri]

you need more training

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Haha, I think we all do! Can never be fit enough for this type of event.

[@vvvvbsshsyarans3867]

Камеру смени.

[@jamesy_boy_shirley]

Thanks