Round 14 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 16 March 2016

14th Millet Ski Touring Courchevel: triumph for Florent Perrier and Corinne Favre.

This 14th and penultimate round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) was marked by very strong gusts of southerly wind, more commonly known as the foehn phenomenon. The 3.2 km course with 500 m of elevation gain between Le Praz and Courchevel 1850 winds through a fir forest that sheltered the 145 ski mountaineers over a good part of the route. The two youngest competitors of the evening, born in 2002, Anakin Lecerf and Killian Jugand, were able to take advantage of the situation with less exposure to the wind, finishing in 33min39s and 45min28s respectively. Also worth noting is the fine performance of Pierre Gruneberg, the oldest of the evening, who at 85 completed the course in 1h11min47s

Florent Perrier was the best of this 14th round of the MSTC with a time of 23min57s. Jean-François Filipot came second in 24min09s and Sébastien Fayolle third in 24min56s. Sébastien Figliolini, manager of the partner shop “Le Camp de Base”, finished in 8th position in 26min12s.

Corinne Favre dominated among the women in 28min24s ahead of Véronique Lathuraz (31min25s) and Caroline Freslon (32min39s). The trail running champion Corail Bugnard, winner of the 2015 Saintélyon, missed the podium by 5 seconds with a time of 32min44s.

The grand final of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel will take place next Wednesday, 23 March.

For the occasion we will celebrate the 100th timed climb on this course. An epic that began on Wednesday 10 January 2010 thanks to the passionate volunteers of the organising association “Courchevel Sports Alpinisme”. Over the years and the Wednesdays, this race has found its place in the ski mountaineering world to become THE REFERENCE in Vertical Race events. Its success has not wavered over the seasons, reaching more than 2,000 starts in 2015, a number that will be exceeded this year. This event attracts the best in the world but also amateurs and holidaymakers who discover the charm of this discipline. For this great party, which will bring together around 500 participants and as many spectators, Guillaume Prin, president of Courchevel Sports Alpinisme, and his whole team have thought big. The start of this traditional fancy-dress climb will be given at 6 pm at Le Praz. Spectators can come to cheer on the runners, admire their costumes and make use of the Praz gondola, which will be open exceptionally until 6.20 pm to reach the finish area with music and a DJ. Extra ski buses are planned to take everyone back down to Le Praz for the rest of the programme. From 8.30 pm in the Envolée Gymnasium at Le Praz, at the foot of the Olympic ski jumps, the official prize-giving will take place with plenty of surprises. The concert by La Compagnie Créole will prolong this carnival atmosphere, making the birds laugh and the squirrels sing!

4th Grand Slam this week…

The 4th and last round of the Vertical Kilometre (KV) of the Plum KV Courchevel (PKVC) will be held on Friday 18 March. The 2016 French KV records will be awarded at the end of this final round, after the 4 rounds offered this season on this 5 km course with 1,000 m of elevation gain, approved by the French Mountain and Climbing Federation (FFME). The provisional best times of the PKVC 2016 are for the moment held by Mathéo Jacquemoud in 40min05s and Axelle Mollaret in 49min17s.

In the weeks when the MSTC and the PKVC are organised, a ranking is drawn up for those who complete the “Grand Slam” (taking part in the 2 events in the same week).

This week, the "4th Grand Slam" of the season will take into account the combined times of the MSTC on this Wednesday 16 March and those of the PKVC on Friday 18 March. The 2016 "Grand Slam" records are for the moment held by Arnaud Mazet in 1h09min22s and Axelle Mollaret in 1h16min46s.