Site officiel du Trèfle Lozérien AMV 
Killian Lunier, leader at home for the first day
The first day of the 37th Trèfle Lozérien AMV headed for the Margeride for a 235-kilometer loop, featuring the legendary AMV breakfast, tour of the lakes and 5 special stages. Rain accompanied the 600 competitors on Friday, with local racer Killian Lunier leading the way this evening, 7.2 seconds ahead of Till Declercq.
Lunier still in the lead, a leader who must be giving Ludo a hell of a lot of pleasure up there!
Low, wet skies on the first day of this 2023 edition make for slippery conditions. It was at Mont Lozère and its 1400m altitude, at around 8:45 am, that the first lap times fell in the tall grass of SP1. The fastest rider to wake up was none other than the day’s winner, who won by one second over the veteran but nonetheless fast Julien Gauthier, three times runner-up in the event in 2009, 2013 and 2015. Lunier, aboard his Husqvarna LM Racing, took advantage of the situation to win the second special stage, before ensuring excellent results throughout the day, firstly 2nd in SP3, then 3rd in SP4 to finish 4th at La Vabre to close the day. Consistency is a major ingredient in this Lozère classic, and Killian Lunier understood this. A fitting tribute to Ludo, LM Racing’s boss, who tragically passed away a few weeks ago. The experienced Julien Gauthier also had a solid day, finishing consistently in the top 3 on all stages with the exception of SP4, where he made a few mistakes on the gradients. To put his mind at rest, he won the final stage of SP5 ahead of Till Declercq.
The Dafy Enduro Team rider’s day closely resembled that of Julien Gauthier, with 4 excellent times, 1 win in SP3 and a mistake in SP4. Second overall, he who finished 3rd last year is more than ever in the race to improve on his 2022 result. Behind the three men on Friday’s podium are number 12 and number 13 respectively. Number 12, Jérémy Tarroux, with a 100% classic program, winner of the Val de Lorraine, is well and truly up front, as is Zach Pichon, AMV, Sherco, Motul rider and number 13 for the occasion. These two riders are within 15 seconds of the leader, which leaves real prospects for the overall at the end of the 3 days. In other news, Valerian Debaud won SP4, Julien Roussaly took 4th place on the same special and MX specialist Mathys Boisramé finished 13th on the day. On the race side, the course was changed 3 times due to the rain and the bad souls who untangled the course but put it back in working order this morning by the openers.
Second day on the Gévaudan and Aubrac tracks
There will be 221 kilometers on the clock this Saturday. To establish the hierarchy in terms of times, there will be 5 special stages: 4 with banners and one “group” meadow race. There will be grass, more technical stages among the fir trees, climbs and descents – enough to vary the pleasures. Will Killian Lunier once again be the best awake? We’ll find out tomorrow morning at 8.25am for SP1 at Lac de Ganivet.
Nicolas Provost for Trèfle Lozérien AMV
Photos Credit : Damien Astruc Photographie & Julian Suau
