2-5-07 // Online Exclusive: The Alien Returns

Chris Lesser

Manu Molle

Eyebrows were raised last month when rumors began circulating that 10-time downhill World Champ Nicolas Vouilloz would be returning this year to World Cup competition after a five-year hiatus. Those rumors gained ground when Nico won the Megavalanche race on La Reunion Island off the coast of Madagascar last month. That victory came just days after capturing the French National Rally Car Championships, which is how Nico has been spending his “time off” since retiring from mountain biking in 2002.

BIKE caught up with Nico last week on the trails of Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas, where he was on hand for a Michelin tire launch.

Vouilloz was quick to dispel rumors that he would be competing in all the World Cup races this year, but did say he plans on competing in the World Cup race in Champéry, Switzerland, June 9-10 and in Schladming, Austria, July 7-8. If the season goes well, Vouilloz is considering the final race in Maribor, Slovenia, September 15-16.

“It’s difficult for people to understand with all I did before that I’m just doing this for fun,” Vouilloz said. “I have no time to do them all. It’s just for fun.”

That sort of happy-go-lucky attitude may surprise those who remember Vouilloz for the laser-like intensity he brought to each and every race during his dominating 11-year career. In fact, he developed such a stoic persona that he became known as the Alien.

Manu Molle

“In one week I’ll be 31, and I’m going to see what I can still do,” Vouilloz said. “Before, if I was not winning I was mad, but now if I lose you will find me smiling. A top-10? 7? 5? Before, it would not be possible for me to be happy with that. But four different guys won a World Cup race in 2006, and I know it will be tough.”

Vouilloz recently signed a rally racing contract with French automaker Peugeot to compete in Eurosport’s Intercontinental Rally Cup, which hosts one race a month for an eight-month season.

“During the first World Cup race I have a rally race, which I prefer, because if I did the first [World Cup race] people would think I was going to do all the races,” Vouilloz said.

“But that’s not to say I’m not still going to give it maximum effort,” he added. “I want to challenge myself to win, and I realize the level is set really high. Now I have to be faster than before.”

Vouilloz said he was bit by the mountain biking bug again while riding in Whistler with friends back in September.

“That was so fun,” he said. “I really missed racing—that was my life for 11 years. It will be five years soon with no [downhill] racing, and I find with my rally-car racing, mountain biking really helps.”

Vouilloz said he continued to ride mountain bikes in his off years, but never seriously.

“When I restarted, my speed was not so good. Now it’s coming back again,” he said. “For DH I need to be really strong. People think four or five minutes is easy, but it’s hard. I am not what I was, but want to get there again.”

Manu Molle

“I’ve been trying to ride different trails to try to catch up after all the years I didn’t try. And I have started already doing DH runs. Five years ago, I would only be doing physical strength training until March, but I’m trying to catch up. For me, it’s a challenge—for Lapierre to try to promote the bike and the brand,” Vouilloz said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do in three months.”

Vouilloz said he entered five endurance downhill races last year—including the Megavalanche on La Reunion—and won all five.

“But DH is different. Strength and power are more important. I will race some local DH races in France for training. Maybe with Fabian Barel.”

In the short-term, Vouilloz said mountain biking helps develop his reflexes for rally racing, and he’s also taking an active role in bike development for Lapierre, his sponsor.