231 M ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE AMER
In Élancourt, we still call “Hill of Revanche” this old landfill which gave its name to the mountain bike race that takes place there, “La Revancharde”. It rose over time to become the highest point in Île-de-France, at 231 m. It will host the 2024 Olympic cross-country event on a recently completed 4.4 km track and, on Sunday, a dress rehearsal (women at 1 p.m., men at 3 p.m.).
It was far from won. Elected environmentalists and the Friends of Revanche association have long wanted to preserve the recent awakening of nature on its slopes. A millstone quarry in the 19th century, household waste dump and automobile scrapyard, it only became a wooded hill after the accumulation of earth and rubble linked to the construction of the new town of Saint-Quentin-en -Yvelines.
The fauna and flora having gradually regained their rights over the past forty years, they have already avoided the construction of a dome, a restaurant, and even an indoor ski resort. But they still consider their Revenge soaked in polluting products, despite the rehabilitation work carried out for the Olympics (10 million euros, according to the organization).
The Dutch named this hill in the northeast of the Netherlands, in Wijster, “VAM Pass”. (Meurer/Beautifiul Sports/Imago/Panoramic)
4,800 CM OF HAPPINESS FOR CYCLISTS
Out of pragmatism more than out of poetic concern, the Dutch have named this hill in the north-east of the Netherlands, in Wijster, “Col du VAM”, where the European Cycling Championships are being held this week (Elite women on Saturday, Elite men Sunday). “VAM” for “Vuil Afvoer Maatschappij”, the former Waste Disposal Company. Opened in 2018 to cyclists delighted to find a little difference in altitude in their flat country, the VAM pass is the product of the accumulation of clinker (residues from the combustion of household waste).
It was born in the mind of local MP Henk Brik, who wanted to build a mountain in his province of Drenthe for the enjoyment of cycle tourists. The company that owns the site (Attero) has developed, sealed and secured this embankment, and even continues to dump waste on one of its sides.
The VAM pass, which has already hosted several Dutch Road Championships, culminates at 48 m (“4,800 cm”, jokes the sign at the summit), altitude increased to 63 m last month by an extension of the asphalt road to the brand new “Toit de la Drenthe”. The contenders for the starry white jersey will face (six times for the Elite men, five for the women) a slope 800 m long at an average of 6.8%, with passages at 14% for a difference in altitude of 50 m.
