I
(Oli) took some time out from training at home to take part in an early season
French selection race and check out the St Etienne setup. The race weekend took
place in Le Caylar in the South of France in an amazing, rocky Lunar landscape.
It was very difficult in spite of the perfect, detailed maps and it was impossible
to run at full speed without making big mistakes. Unsurprisingly Thierry dominated
the weekend with 2 impressive victories in Middle and Long, with Nicholas Girsh
winning the sprint race. 
The
terrain in Le Caylar is mostly open with large areas of rock towers and crags,
reminiscent of the best Czech sandstone. It is like a limestone pavement with
5-20m high clints that form a kind of rock maze. In the hardest areas visibility
is reduced by a covering of patchy 
bushes
and trees. While it is fast and easy to get close to your control, the last
100m are very difficult and this is where I lost time to the French runners.
The terrain will be used for the
French 5 day this summer, where the temperature will rise from the -10 we
experienced to around 30 degrees. It should be a great competition. After a few days training with the French team, I can understand why they have been so successful in the last few years. With the core group all based in St Etienne, there is a great training setup with several orienteering sessions each week, medical support and a strong team spirit. We can use many of their ideas for our own training group in Sheffield. Thanks to all the French team for their welcome. If you want more information about training in France and see some more maps, check out Damien Renard's website.