ROUND 4 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 17 January 2018

Round 4 of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel goes to Yoann Sert and Géraldine Bau.

The difficult conditions forecast by Météo France for this Wednesday 17 January, the date of round 4 of the “Millet Ski Touring Courchevel”, were confirmed. Since the creation of this ski mountaineering race 8 years ago, Guillaume Prin, president of the organising club Courchevel Sports Outdoor, and his whole team of volunteers spent the start of each season snowing the route or resorting to the alternative course. This year, the trend has reversed and white gold is plentiful. After having to postpone round 2 because of a big storm, the organisers decided to hold this 4th round despite the strong gusts of wind and snowfall. “We are lucky that the “Millet Ski Touring” track is well sheltered in the forest, and climbing by headlamp with the snowflakes sparkling in front of the beam is magical,” Guillaume Prin told us. It must be said that in Courchevel it’s top class: whatever the conditions, a snow-groomer grooms the route a few minutes before the competitors start.

The original race concept devised and registered by Courchevel Sports Outdoor takes place on an identical course over several rounds during the winter season. The rankings by category evolve over the stages until the final, where the men’s, women’s and ESF records are validated and awarded: a great success that is confirmed every year. This formula thus allows participants to manage their schedule, their form, the weather and to choose the right moment to take part. For this 4th round, many chose to skip it because of the weather, but 60 diehards decided to brave the elements to try, despite everything, to set a time. Let us recall that in 2016 it was in a storm that Laetitia Roux and Mathéo Jacquemoud had claimed the records.

Last to start, first to finish! 

This Wednesday 17 January, no record at the end of the “Millet”'s 3.2 km and 500 m of elevation gain, but an excellent time for Yoann Sert , winner in 23min46s (3rd provisional time overall). Starting in last position in this time trial, Yoann, three-time winner of the extraordinary Dynastar X3 triathlon combining cycling, trail running and ski mountaineering from 2014 to 2016, caught all the competitors to cross the finish line first. The fight for the podium was tight between William Perrier (Courchevel Sports Outdoor), second in 25min54s, and Killian Silvestre (ESF Peisey), third in 26min07s.

Among the women, Géraldine Bau in 32min06s pipped Caroline Joguet (32min19s) on the line. Cloé Gryzka completed the podium in 35min02s.

For 4 years, a specific challenge dedicated to the Ecoles du Ski Français (ESF) has been set up with the help of the 3 Courchevel ESFs. This challenge allows instructors from all the ESFs of France to be ranked and the best of them to be named at the end of the season. For this 4th round, the ESFs of Peisey and Courchevel Village are in the spotlight with the respective wins of Killian Silvestre (26min07s) and Pauline Le Roux (35min47s).

Next week, before the February holiday rush, the ESF challenge will be in the spotlight: free registration for all ESF instructors.

This week will see the first Plum KV Courchevel and the 1st Grand Slam of the season.

The first ski mountaineering round of the Vertical Kilometre (KV) of the Plum KV Courchevel (PKVC) will be held this Friday 19 January. At the end of the 3 stages offered this season (19 January, 16 February and 9 March) on the 5 km course with 1,000 m of elevation gain, a route approved by the French Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (FFME), the 2017 French KV records will be awarded.

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

The 1st “Grand Slam” of the season will take into account the combined times of this Wednesday 17 January’s MSTC and Friday 19 January’s PKVC.