Act 4 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 6 January 2016

What a joy to be back on the official Millet Ski Touring Courchevel course!

Thanks to the recent snowfall, the official Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) course was able to open for this 4th round of the season. This course of 3.2 km with 500 m of elevation gain, starting at Le Praz and finishing at Courchevel 1850, has become in 5 years the absolute reference in Vertical Race for the best ski mountaineering specialists.

A real success for this original and friendly ski mountaineering competition, which began in 2010 on the initiative of the club ''Courchevel Sports Alpinisme''. Everyone can take part whatever their level: novices discover a new activity, amateurs try to improve their time and compare themselves with others or set themselves a new challenge, and specialists fight for the record. A competition à la carte: depending on your form, the weather, your schedule, everyone is free to decide which Wednesday they will come and take part. Even an hour before the start it is possible to say "right, I’m in", as registrations are taken on site a few minutes before the first start. Last year 13 rounds were run on the official course. With 2,030 starts and 940 different classified competitors last year, the MSTC has become the ski mountaineering race with the most participants in France and attracts more and more foreign athletes. Kilian Jornet and Laetitia Roux set the 2014/2015 season record in 22min01s and 26min04s.

First reference times of this new season for Swann Juillaguet and Corinne Favre.

This Wednesday 6 January the race for records was officially launched with more than 100 participants at the start. The records of this new season will once again be very well endowed, with 8,000 euros of prize money offered by the partner Millet and 4,800 euros of shopping vouchers offered by the partner shop "Le Camp de Base", not forgetting the "René and Raymond Millet" Trophy, named after the founders of the Millet company, which will be presented to the best men’s and women’s times of this 2015/2016 season. If all goes well, 12 rounds will be run every Wednesday until the final on Wednesday 23 March, when more than 1,200 people are expected to come and celebrate the 100th climb with the traditional fancy-dress climb and the famous group la Compagnie Créole, who will brighten the evening!

For this 1st official round under snowflakes, it was Swann Juillaguet who set the first reference time in 25min23s. His brother Will, who celebrated his twentieth birthday on this 6 January, came second in 26min08 ahead of Jean-Christophe Bette of the club Val d’Arve Ski Alp in 26min35s.

Corinne Favre of the Club Multisports d’Arêches Beaufort set the bar among the women at 29min26s. Catherine Juillaguet of the club Courchevel Sports Alpinisme took second place in 30min44s followed by Géraldine Bau of Méribel in 33min03s.

In the ESF Challenge, it was Florimond Gachet of ESF Arêches who won in 28min09s and Pascale Gachet Mauroz of ESF Courchevel 1550 who took the lead of the women’s ranking in 40min54s.

While waiting for next Wednesday, it is possible to train on this groomed and secured route every day of the season during the lift opening hours. For the most motivated, it is also possible to test yourself on the 1,000 m of elevation gain of the "Plum KV Courchevel" course before the race on Friday 22 January.