5 min read

Mercier Rides – Brittany

Photos: Charlotte Lindet

Once a year, as you well know by now, Mercier gathers its friends. Not a race, not a training camp. Something harder to define, yet instantly recognizable the moment you're there: a time of sharing built around the brand, the bike and the people who love them. This year, Saint-Malo hosted what has established itself, edition after edition, as the Mercier Brand Summit.For this edition, we had the good fortune of being hosted by Philippe, a friend of the brand since the very first days, who has settled in Brittany and opened a guesthouse as beautiful as it is generous: La Maison Lacase. A setting that had everything going for it: spacious, welcoming, with enough room for ten cyclists to live together without stepping on each other's toes, and a terrace for conversations that stretch on after dinner.The group gathered for this summit was no ordinary peloton, but a proud community of the wheel. Émile Mercier, of course, the soul of the project. Zoé, Mattis, Théo, Edgar — who came within a whisker of turning professional before joining Cycles Veran in Lyon, and whose pedal stroke still reminds everyone that he rides on another level —, Marc, a regular at photo sessions, whose kindness is matched only by his ease in front of the camera. Finally, Philippe, our host, and Amaury completed the party.

Day 1 — Go east: Pointe du Grouin, Cancale and Mont-Saint-Michel

Brittany saves its best arguments for those who rise early. It's actually a leitmotiv of Stéphane, our photographer, who seems to be there solely to set 5:30 a.m. alarms. But credit where it's due: at that hour, the coastal roads belong to cyclists alone. The low-angled light on the paths along the sea is worth the early wake-up call all by itself. Heading for the Pointe du Grouin, a rocky spur perched between Cancale and Saint-Malo, offering a stunning backdrop, from Cap Fréhel to Granville by way of the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. Twenty-five kilometres away, the Mont itself stands out. Offshore, the Chausey islands come into view.
After a coffee stop in Cancale, where we crossed paths with a group of American cyclists whose tour operator had organized an oyster tasting — overlooking the oyster beds, fittingly —, we got back on the road.
Our goal for the day took shape on the horizon as we made our way across the polders: Mont-Saint-Michel.
The way back ran inland, with the best Brittany has to offer when it shows its generous side: clean roads, granite villages and dense greenery filtering the light in a thousand ways.
Finally, with a hundred kilometres on the clock, we stopped by the sea. The beach was empty, offering the riders a few pedal strokes at low tide, between land and sky.
Back to Maison Lacase for some rest, before heading out to watch the sun set over a glass of wine in the old town of Saint-Malo — right by the water, next to the natural seawater pool.

Day 2 — The Rance Valley

After a hearty breakfast — crêpes, crêpes and more crêpes —, we headed south this time! The Rance valley is an estuary typical of the region. While vast expanses are revealed at low tide, at high tide the place looks like an arm of the sea. From Dinan to Dinard and Saint-Malo, the ride along the river banks is truly worth the detour!A 50 km loop, with plenty of short climbs. Edgar set the pace from the very first climb: we all have bikes, but we don't practice the same sport. The rest of the group followed as best they could — which is to say more badly than well, but with a smile.
Our group rode through stone villages and explored the many marinas, on the way to what was surely the point of interest of the day: the Rance tidal power station. Built in 1966 — and that was certainly no small undertaking —, it remained the largest tidal power plant in the world for 45 years. Once across the Rance, we tackled the climb back up to base camp. A short outing, admittedly, but we had something in mind — and for once, it wasn't food or drinks.
Indeed, Philippe — whom you can see cresting the Izoard a few years back in our video Mercier Rides – Southern Alps — had no intention of letting us leave without exploring the coast west of Saint-Malo. So a small, tight-knit group formed — Zoé, Edgar, Marc and Théo — and set off again in the late afternoon. Destination: Cap Fréhel. Riding as a four, especially with Edgar, means taking turns at the front, as the destination lies more than 50 kilometres away. The kilometres ticked by at a good pace, but what was bound to happen happened: nightfall. The small band of hardmen thus rolled back into Maison Lacase around 9:30 p.m., worn out and weary. Convicts of the road. Fortunately, Frédérique, Philippe's wife, had a hearty dinner waiting, rounded off with a few organic wines. Don't ask me whether there were crêpes: in Brittany, if there's a meal, there are crêpes.

Day 3

Last morning, last kilometres. That's also what the Brand Summit is about: that Sunday-morning moment when you know it's the final ride, yet you push on anyway, because the Breton roads deserve it and because goodbyes always come too soon.We set off in real rain, even taking shelter for a few moments. Then the magic happened: within five minutes, the sun came out. Smiles returned and we headed for the Île Besnard, a rocky headland — so not a real island — whose cliffs shelter the haven of Rothéneuf.
A successful Brand Summit. Demanding roads, landscapes worth the effort, a table that brings everyone together. And, as we set off home, the certainty that the brand isn't only in the jerseys — it's in the people who wear them.