Video: Brendog & Andrew Neethling take on the Megavalanche

ALPE D’HUEZ, France (October 24, 2024) — Having not raced for a couple of years, Brendan Fairclough & Andrew Neethling were after some start line butterflies. Where better to stir up some emotions than the notorious Alpe d’Huez Megavalanche. How did the boys fare?

Alpe d’Huez, France. Every mountain biker has probably heard of the famous Megavalanche. Since its inception in 1995, thousands of bikers in search of an adrenaline rush gather once annually in Alpe’Huez, to compete in the legendary Megavalanche. A mass start downhill race that starts at over 3300 meters above sea level and sees riders chase down an iconic glacier piste to descend 2600 meters down classic alpine trails into the finish.

Both riders have a few editions of Mega tucked under their belt, but neither have been back in years. The toughest enduro mass start race in the world was ranked high on Brendan “Brendog” Fairclough’s and Andrew Neethling’s to do list, so it was about time to slap on a race plate and line up at the start of the 2024 edition of the MEGA with their new SCOTT Ransom Enduro rigs!

With a personal bet between the two of them about the outcome of the race, the stakes are high for this one!

“There is no pressure here, the only pressure is in the tires, a little bit in the shock and fork!” — Brendan Fairclough

What happens when you send 2 MTB legends to one of the toughest enduro races on this planet?

Did things go to plan?

“Well, I have’t raced a World Cup in a while, so I wanted the race nerves back in and I thought what better race to do than the Megavalanche… So I brought a bunch of friends and family with me, so that we’d have a good week here!” — Brendan Fairclough

“Megavalanche was always an event Brendan and I did during our racing days, but we both thought it would be great to go back and really experience the week and event with a little less pressure now. It was epic to experience all the event has to offer and of course once the gun goes for the start… we can’t help ourselves being a little competitive again. It’s just a bucket list event that all gravity riders should seriously think about doing once in their life.” — Andrew Neethling

SCOTT Ransom

The Ransom, SCOTT’s latest Enduro bike is Brendan’s and Andrews weapon of choice for the demanding Megavalanche Enduro track. Both riders are “Ransom’ed up with 170mm of absolute anger”, in Brendan’s words, to fight the harsh conditions and ever changing terrain of the Megavalanche.

Both are racing the Ransom 900 RC, which has been engineered for maximum downhill performance around a 6-Bar Linkage. With the Ransom’s suspension layout they get a great pedaling platform, incredible grip when braking and fantastic support when giving it the beans. Combined with performance enhancing adjustability features, the Ransom is one of the most versatile action bikes on the market. Sounds like a perfect job for Megavalanche!

Learn more about the Ransom: SCOTT Ransom – Technology