A little over a year ago, Romain Dumas — the reigning king of The Broadmoor International Pikes Peak Hill Climb — called his friend Laure Many and offered an aggressive invitation.

Come with me to Colorado Springs, Dumas said, and race at ridiculously high speeds along a winding road to the top of America’s Mountain.

“You will have fun,” Dumas said.

“You’re crazy,” Many replied. “No, no, no.”

Dumas is not one to surrender easily.

“Yes, yes, yes,” he said. “You come with me. You will see. It’s fun.”

Dumas was right, for the most part. Many enjoyed almost everything about her journey from Paris to Pikes Peak except the final chapter.

“I loved the ambiance,” she said in her classic French accent.

Then came race day. And the end of the fun.

She raced up the mountain, then her 1978 Porsche encountered snow and fog. She struggled to see the road. She limped to the top of the mountain.

But she’s back, and hopeful for a better closing page to this 2018 adventure.

Is she chasing fun?

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Oh, yeah.”

We, as Colorado Springs residents, can lose sight of the magic of Pikes Peak. It’s there waiting for us every morning, and like a lot of the best things in life, we take it for granted.

The Hill Climb is filled with drivers who have traveled far — sometimes very, very far — to take on the challenge of a wild and wonderful race. They yearn to experience, and in a way conquer, Pikes Peak. They do not, in any way, take our mountain for granted.

In 1916, Broadmoor owner Spencer Penrose devised a stunning idea. He wanted to invite racers to drive really fast to the top of the mountain in his backyard. The idea captivated drivers and spectators 102 years ago, and the captivation never has waned. Drivers flock from across the globe to try to tame that road and that mountain.

Many has earned her reputation primarily as a rally driver, competing in Monte Carlo and Morocco in vintage race cars. She’s accustomed to sharing the front seats with another driver.

She was alone as she drove on Hill Climb race day a year ago.

“You don’t have the co-pilot to know the road, and you feel lonely,” she said. “Those minutes are not long but they can be long when you have those conditions, especially last year with fog.”

She paused.

“I felt very lonely.”

She felt very frustrated, too.

Engulfed in fog, she could barely see. She wasn’t sure if she should stop or go. Finally, she decided to drive slowly to the top.

She’s back, she said, because she wants to experience the ride in better conditions.

Dumas is the heavy favorite to win the Open division, which includes Many. He’ll be driving a space-age Volkswagen electric car that is expected to break the nine-minute barrier and could flirt with Sebestien Loeb’s 8:13:13 course record set in 2013.

Many, by her own admission, lacks the experience and confidence and, most important, the car to win on Sunday.

“So,” she said, “it’s just for my pleasure and I will do my best to reach the summit in the best conditions.”

She was looking at Pikes Peak as she spoke. If it’s sunny and clear on Sunday, she knows what Dumas once promised her will come true.

She will have fun, in abundance.