The French love their Enduros and always lay on a superbly organised event. 2003 was to be no different with 5 special tests per lap: 2 Enduro, 2 Cross and 1 Extreme test were all marked when I arrived with David Knight in the early hours of tuesday morning. The weather was hot and we knew we were in for a dusty event. Not since the ISDE in Portugal in '99 had I seen so much dust. As ever the spectators turned out in their thousands to cheer on the French riders. Beside each special test there several fields full of spectators cars and the roads were so congested that the traffic was almost at a standstill. Again the conditions were completely alien to me. The ground was hard but still cut up really bad to make soft dust berms. The only test I felt at home on was the extreme test which was wet and muddy. It was held in a stream with several small waterfalls and a few detours into the trees and over slippery logs. Stefan Merriman was the man to beat as he whupped every body on the extreme test in particular. Other notable performances came from Freddy Blanc and Ivan Cervantes who proved that they are not just motocross riders but can ride in the enduro conditions as well. I struggled to get the top 8 results that I would like. I was feeling good on the tests but the times weren't coming. Instead I finished 12th and 13th. Frustrating but with my lack of time on the bike hardly suprising.