ROUND 5 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 12 January 2022

The French Ski Mountaineering Championship returns to the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel

Benefiting from ideal conditions, this 5th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) was held on 12 January, before the return of the French elite. Next Wednesday, a “Full Moon” special in partnership with the brand “Plum” will be part of the 6th MSTC round, which will take place under the full moon. For the occasion, a pair of “Plum R150” bindings will be drawn by lot at the end of the race, a prelude to the big event: the French Ski Mountaineering Vertical Race Championship, the backdrop to the 7th MSTC round on Saturday 22 January. After hosting the national championship on this 3.2 km / 500 m elevation gain course in 2012 / 2013 and the World Cup in 2014, this long-awaited return to Courchevel, official partner

of the French ski mountaineering team, will be broadcast live on the channel TV8 Mont-Blanc from 2 pm and on the social networks of the club Courchevel Sports Outdoor and of the event’s partners. Only FFME licence holders will be able to compete for the national title, but the race will be open to all FFCAM licence holders as well as to people holding a medical certificate (online registration is compulsory, no registrations on site).

No record for this 5th climb, as the discipline’s top names were held up in Andorra for the second round of the World Cup. Nevertheless, some fine performances were recorded, with the win going to Florent Besses in 25min52s ahead of Jean-Christophe Bette (4 starts this season with 3 podiums and a win), who misses out by 5 seconds. Matthieu Ayglon completes the podium in 26min29s.

In the women’s race, an encore for Manon Morin. Already a winner last week, she improves her time to 35min45s to win ahead of Caroline Rainieri (36min51s) and Pascale Gachet-Mauroz (38min59s).

Raymond and René Millet Trophy

The partner brand “Millet”, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021, is about to be taken over by descendants of the Millet dynasty, fifty years after leaving the founders' family fold.

This company, founded by Raymond and René Millet, specialising in mountain clothing and equipment, has greatly contributed to the growth of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC), a Vertical Race competition that has become the reference in the ski mountaineering world.

In tribute to the founders, a crystal trophy engraved with their likenesses is awarded each season to the winners, man and woman, along with prize money of €2,000.

They will be presented on 23 March by Jean-Pierre Millet, grandson of one of the founders and shareholder of Millet Mountain Group, and Romain Millet, also a great-grandson of one of the founders and managing director since December 2020, at the prize-giving ceremony hosted by Nelson Monfort, during the grand fancy-dress final with the concert by Louis Bertignac.

Tribute to Patrice Gibaud on Wednesday 2 February!

The road is still long before the grand final. It will be punctuated by 3 highlights: the French championship on 22 January, a Patrice Gibaud special on Wednesday 2 February, and the Courchevel Ultra Ski Touring with the Millet Everest challenge on 5 and 6 March.

A loyal volunteer at the side of Guillaume Prin, president of the organising club Courchevel Sports Outdoor (CSO) since the launch of the MSTC adventure in December 2010, and a lover of outdoor sports, Patrice Gibaud, president of the CSO Trail Running section, left us on 19 November. During his 58 years, he knew how to share his passion and bring many fans together at his side to achieve many challenges and dreams. At the start of a multitude of endurance and ultra-endurance races, with many podiums to show for it, he was able to rub shoulders with, and form bonds of friendship with, many amateur or renowned athletes. Among all his encounters, it is unquestionably the Nepalese Dawa Dachhiri Sherpa who will remain his role model, because of his kindness and his vision of sport and of the world.

On Wednesday 2 February, the 9th MSTC round will be dedicated to Patrice. For this tribute, a cork board will be placed at the finish so that everyone who has a photo of him or with him can make one last climb at his side before displaying it at the summit. This board will then be given to his children Matthias and Baptiste. All registration fees will be donated to the association of Dawa Dachhiri Sherpa “Parrains et Marraines pour le Népal” for humanitarian projects in the villages of Taksindu and Chhulemu, located in the Everest valley, 280 km from Kathmandu.

Upcoming dates: 6th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel on Wednesday 19 January 2022 and French Vertical Race Championship (7th MSTC round) on Saturday 22 January