Duo Normand preview 21/9/08

This year's Duo Normand time trial will be held on 21st September, and after a year's absence, Team Grumpy (a.k.a. Gerry Oram and me) will be competing again.  For a change, we are entered in the Corporate category instead of the Veteran category (we may revert to veteran if we continue to be the sole team in our category!).

Team Grumpy recorded improved placings on each of the four times we've ridden the Duo Normand:

2003:  9th place   01:24:01

2004:  5th place   01:22:18

2005:  4th place   01:23:15

2006:  2nd place  01:23:11

2007:  did not enter

2008:  ????            ????????

We've always been favoured with good weather at the Duo, with the exception of 2006, when the weather could fairly be described as "British" - windy and very wet.  In fact usually, the biggest problem is the heat (well, for me at least, being Scottish).

This year's event comes as the last time trial of my rather uninspired season of time trialling (though glimmers of hope come from new LTS times at 50 and 100 miles).

Things to remember if you plan to ride the Duo:

• Take safety pins - these aren't supplied
• Take plastic insulating tape to reinforce the pin holes on the number (in 2006 many competitors finished with no number because the number is paper and went soggy in the rain!) 
• You can pay the entry in a £ sterling cheque
• You sign on in Marigny on the Saturday
• You can have a following car
• Buy a programme on Saturday from one of the hordes of small children in Marigny that will be selling them
• There aren't very many toilets in Marigny, and it is very busy on race day

Click here for details of the course

Here's the profile of the course (click the image for the full version):

Here are a few galleries of photographs.  First up, the 2004 race:

{gallery}2004-normandy/2004-duo{/gallery} 

And the 2005 race:

{gallery}2005-normandy/2005-duo{/gallery}

 And also one picture from the 2006 race (in which Team Grumpy are too soaked and tired to stand up properly after the race:

{gallery}2006-normandy/2006-duo{/gallery}