La maîtrise du Road-book avec Loïc Minaudier et Jordi Arcarons
30 July 2024
Apprendre à utiliser un road book et maîtriser cette compétence essentielle libère votre potentiel lorsqu’il s’agit de participer pleinement aux épreuves de Rallye Raid. Mastering the roadbook is something that two of our Yamaha Ténéré Spirit Experience trainers, Jordi Arcarons and Loïc Minaudier, are able to explain in detail to riders of all levels.
Jordi est un ancien pilote du Dakar avec à son actif une longue liste d’exploits en course. Il est à la tête du Ténéré Center MBSM du Maroc et propose des cours qui incluent l’apprentissage du road book en plein désert.
Loïc, for his part, is an experienced enduro and Dakar rider. He runs another authorized Ténéré Center training facility in the stunning natural landscape of Aveyron, in the south of France. A large part of his courses is dedicated to the basics of roadbook navigation and advanced riding skills.
Débuter avec le road book
With over 500 km of roadbooks across the varied terrain of his region, Loïc Minaudier offers multi-day sessions. Regarding the most important points that riders need to know when using a roadbook for the first time, Loïc indicates that the focus should be on “how to understand the specific roadbook lexicon so that riders can understand the correct symbols and, on the other hand, the interpretations of the roadbook’s graphic descriptions.”
Jordi Arcarons explains the initial process he applies to new riders when they visit his training center. « You learn to follow specific directions, to simply read what is written and decipher the symbols, which are very important. You need to know how to write your own notes so that you don’t have any doubts while riding. Customers always want to ride fast, but at the beginning, you have to ride slowly to be able to read the roadbook correctly, otherwise you miss the intersections. ».
« It takes several hours of adaptation to improve your reading and pick up the pace. The roadbook contains complex navigation sections; you have to slow down a lot so as not to miss notes or key points. Once you know how to interpret the roadbook, you move on to the GPS, with the various mandatory navigation points marked on the roadbook. ».
Les premiers pas vers l’efficacité
Loïc Minaudier explique : « When new riders arrive, we organize a short morning session where we explain how a roadbook works, as well as the equipment used on the bike, such as the odometer and the navigation tower. Then, we review a roadbook that we will use in the afternoon on the terrain—the route for the entire planned outing. Finally, we work on the different roadbooks and GPS recording systems used during competitions or events. ».
A propos des erreurs typiques que les nouveaux pilotes devraient essayer d’éviter, Jordi explique :
« Riders simply need to stick to the speed that matches their level of roadbook interpretation. If you go faster than you can actually handle, you will definitely get lost. You have to work hard on your ability to read the roadbook, improve your visual memory, and how you read the terrain. »
Des niveau de maîtrise différents en fonction des objectifs
Quant à savoir combien de temps il faut en moyenne à un pilote pour apprendre à utiliser un roadbook au point d’être capable de naviguer et de participer à un rallye raid, Jordi Arcarons ajoute : « It’s one thing to participate in a rally-raid with the goal of simply finishing. It’s another thing to want to achieve a good result. In the first case, if you have no prior experience, two four-day courses provide the minimum experience to participate in and finish a desert rally. In the second case, we start with a very comprehensive training camp to analyze the rider and develop a year-long program, particularly focusing on navigation on more technical terrain, such as sand and dunes. »
Loïc Minaudier commente la différence entre l’utilisation d’un road book à l’entraînement et la compétition réelle : « The advantage of discovering the roadbook during training is being able to take the time to understand it at your own pace and comfort. The element of stress is not as present as it is during an actual competition. It is even better to dive back into it a few days before a Rally Raid to relive the navigation sensations during training, in order to work on visual reflexes and the synchronization between reading the roadbook and reading the track. »
