In September 2003 I first rode the Duo Normand, a well-established 2-up team time trial in the Normandy countryside around Marigny. My teammate for that, and every subsequent Duo Normand ride, was my regular 2-up partner. We semi-seriously style ourselves Team Grumpy, and we have a Team Grumpy website. We rode the Duo Normand every year from 2003 to 2019, except for one year. The high point was our victory in the Corporatif category in 2010, but since then age has brought with it diminishing returns.
We always saw the Duo Normand as the last event of our respective time trial seasons, and a very refreshing change from the rather low-key events we'd be riding in the UK. It was full of razzamatazz, with a start ramp, PA systems, photographers, various elements of catering...and a large field of 300+ teams of riders. These teams ranged from the unlicenced riders through categories such as veterans and corporate to riders from professional teams. There was always a large contingent of riders from the UK, mostly from southern England and the Channel Islands, but sometimes from further afield (one year there were a large group from Ilkley CC. Usually, these riders spent registration day hanging about the cafes and bars of Marigny, while not checking out the course, making for a very likely atmosphere. This wasn't to last, however.
Not only were our UK time trialling activities themselves declining, but 2016 saw the ludicrous EU referendum in the UK, and after the outcome there was a significant drop in the value of sterling. This contributed to a decline in UK racers over the following years. By 2019, the event's atmosphere wasn't what it had been when we first rode the event. 2018 saw the adoption of a new course after a fatal accident involving a following car. 2019 was our last ride at the Duo Normand, and one in which we had a particularly alarming run into the finish, with a high-speed rear tyre blowout just a few hundred metres from the line. Sadly that appeared to be the last time the Duo Normand would be held: in 2020, the Duo Normand was cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, and despite at least one attempt has not been run since.
Until now.
Earlier this year, the current organisers of the event announced that it would return in 21st September. There followed a lengthy period of radio silence. That’s not too surprising, the organisers always seemed to be ‘minimal communicators’ (for example, the Duo Normand website has been moribund for years - maybe they've lost the password!). As the summer wore on, and no news was forthcoming, I decided to email the organisers and find out for sure what was happening. I received a surprisingly quick response, confirming the event was going ahead, and a while later, entries opened. Further information released included that they would be using a new 40km course. This course uses roads from the version of the course that was used in our first ride in 2003 until about 2017, but ridden in a clockwise direction. The hair-raising finish on a slight descent still remains.
The new 40km course looks pretty good, though dropping 14km is a bit of a disappointment.
Team Grumpy were initially rather excited about the return of the Duo, but a variety of factors including work-life balance, retirement, injury, family crises, lack of form and so forth meant the decision to enter was held off until shortly before the closing date for entries.
We’ve made changes to the logistics of travel. For most of our Duo Normand rides, we either combined them with family holidays, or Gerry drove over to Bedfordshire and after picking me and my bike up, on to the ferry port in Portsmouth. Unsurprisingly, Gerry was unwilling to do this amount of driving this time, and our plan includes my travelling to Portsmouth via train.
For the first time I’ve been figuring out how to get my TT bike in a bike bag (which I actually bought about two decades ago, but never used), and seeing what else I can get into it, with the aim of having a single bulky case to transport via the balkanised UK train system. I’ll report later on how that goes. Anyway, with a week to go before Team Grumpy set forth on what may be our last hurrah at the Duo Normand, everything is in place - ferries booked, trains booked, accommodation arranged... and barring last-minute crises, we're set to go.
Team Grumpy isn't expecting a stellar performance - hopefully a respectable one for a pair of old veterans - but we do want to experience the race at least one last time.