ROUND 14 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Thursday 23 March 2017

Patrick Sébastien came to get the towels spinning for the final of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel 2017!

For 7 years the final of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) has been eagerly awaited by all ski mountaineers. As every year, every Wednesday from mid-December to the end of March, they came and put on their ski touring skis to cover the 3.2 km and climb the 500 m of elevation separating Le Praz from La Croisette in Courchevel. The best specialists in the discipline and amateurs rub shoulders there to break records, fine-tune their training or simply enjoy themselves.

The final took place this Thursday 23 March and, as tradition demands, fancy dress was out in force for most of the 413 registered competitors, 348 of whom were ranked at the finish.

This year, a panel of experts from partner Deguisetoi. chose the best costume. The winner, Marion Allerme, dressed as a multicoloured sweet, was presented with the “Deguisetoi.fr trophy for best costume 2017” and a year of costumes!

Even though conviviality and good humour took precedence over the stopwatch for the vast majority of competitors, a few athletes had still come to secure their place on the podium of the season’s overall standings. Because of the premature melting of the snow, the start had to be moved forward by about a hundred metres, adding 40 seconds to all of the evening’s times.

Florent Perrier finished this final climb in style in 23min58s ahead of Pierre-François Gachet (24min18s) and Swann Juillaguet (25min07s). Among the women, Laura Deplanche won in 30min10s ahead of Catherine Juillaguet (30min28s) and Corinne Favre (30min44s).

Of the 14 rounds on this winter’s programme, 10 were held on the official MSTC Vertical Race course (3.2 km and 500 m of elevation gain) and validated for the 2016-2017 MSTC overall standings. The 4 events held at the start of the season on the alternative course because of the lack of snow were not counted. Across these 10 rounds, 1,908 starts were recorded for 809 different ranked competitors representing no fewer than 11 nations: a huge success on which Guillaume Prin, president of the organising club “Courchevel Sports Outdoor mountaineering and climbing”, and his whole team of volunteers congratulate themselves.

Patrick Sébastien came to get the towels spinning and the sardines singing…

For the final of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel, a big party was on the programme with many surprises. A buffet prepared by the “Comptoir Gourmand” delighted runners and spectators with, for dessert, an enormous cake specially decorated to celebrate this magnificent day.

To close the evening, the king of the party Patrick Sébastien got the towels spinning and the sardines singing: a great party that will remain etched for a long time in the memory of the 1,200 spectators present.

Marti Werner and Axelle Mollaret take the official records of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel 2016-2017.

Switzerland’s Marti Werner in 22min20s and Axelle Mollaret in 27min23s emerged as the big winners of this 7th season of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel, a competition that, over the years, confirms its international character. Thomas Veillard , representing the Millet Mountain Group, and Jean-Pierre Millet presented the “ René and Raymond Millet ” crystal trophies (the founders of the Millet company), together with prize money of €2,000 and a “Pieps” avalanche transceiver. Yoann Sert (23min16s) and Corinne Favre (28min26s) were rewarded with prize money of €1,250 for their second place. Florent Perrier (23min32s) and Spain’s Mireia Miro Varela (28min29s) completed the podium, winning prize money of €750.

Sébastien Figliolini , manager of the partner shop “Le Camp De Base” and 1998 Pierra Menta winner, gave substantial shopping vouchers to the winners of each category.

The category winners of this 2017 edition:

1st Senior-Veteran (60+): René Gachet in 31min31s and Armelle Favre in 36min17s.
1st Veteran: Florent Perrier in 23min32s and Corinne Favre in 28min26s.
1st Senior: Marti Werner in 22min20s and Axelle Mollaret in 27min23s.
1st Espoir (under 23): Swann Juillaguet in 23min46s and Laura Deplanche in 30min10s.
1st Junior: Arthur Blanc in 25min and Chloé Joly in 39min03s.
1st Cadet: Alban Raisin in 26min45s and Clémence David in 34min20s.
1st Minime: Anakin Lecerf in 30min44s and Zoé Raoult in 40min27s.
1st Benjamin: Titouan Raoult in 37min02s and Clara Malaval in 1h16min41s.

A big thank you to Patrick Sébastien, the musicians, the whole technical team, all the partners, the commune of Courchevel, the participants, the spectators and all the volunteers for this magnificent evening! WELL DONE TO ALL!