ROUND 6 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 19 January 2022

The Millet Ski Touring Courchevel gear up to host the 2022 French Vertical Race Championship

Three days before the 2022 French Vertical Race Championship, this 6th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel was the last chance to come and prepare for the 73 participants present. With 4,927 people ranked over these last 11 editions, for 165 rounds held and 17,688 starts, this MSTC Vertical Race course has become the reference in the ski mountaineering world. The race records held by Laetitia Roux in 25min31s (2014) and by the Swiss Rémi Bonnet in 21min20s (2020) were not approached this Wednesday 19 January in this 6th round held under the full moon.

There was a fine fight for the podium, with the win going to Frédéric Perrin of Caf Albertville in 25min06s. By a mere second in 25min42, Jean-Christophe Bette records a third consecutive second place ahead of Florent Besses (25mn43).

In the women’s race, Cindy Josserand of the Club Multisports d’Arêches Beaufort wins in 33min42s ahead of Lola Even (38min11s). The ultra-loyal MSTC regular Pascale Gachet-Mauroz of the ESF Courchevel Village completes the podium, once again improving her time (38min56s).

For this second “Full Moon” special of the season in partnership with the company Plum, a pair of Plum R150 bindings was up for grabs in a prize draw in the presence of the director Albert Félisaz. In a time of 53min15s and with a fine bronze “La Trace ESF” medal to go with it, Alexandre Le Corrone was the lucky winner.

Axelle Gachet-Mollaret and Thibault Anselmet will come to defend their title

This Saturday 22 January, the resort of Courchevel will host the French Vertical Race championship, which is also the backdrop to the 7th MSTC round. On this 3.2 km / 500 m elevation gain course, after the national championship in 2012 / 2013 and the World Cup in 2014, this long-awaited return to the resort, now an 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. Spectators present at the finish on the Courchevel snow front will also be able to follow the live coverage on the giant screen that will be positioned near the TV set.

Axelle Gachet Mollaret and Thibault Anselmet will come to defend their French Vertical Race champion titles among more than 200 participants. With a personal best of 25min34s on this course, set on 4 December last year at the French Cup, the backdrop to the 1st round of the MSTC 2022, Axelle, five-time winner of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021), will be the logical favourite, but the competition will be tough given the level of the members of the French team. Among them, we must mention Jessica Pardin, 2nd in the MSTC 2021 in 26min53s, Emily Harrop, bronze medallist in the Vertical Race of the Andorra World Cup last week, Laura Deplanche, 4th in the provisional MSTC 2022 standings in 27min36s, not forgetting Célia Perillat Pessey, 3rd in the 2022 Andorra VR World Cup. There is no doubt that the women’s record for the climb is likely to be under threat.

In the men’s race, the title holder Thibault Anselmet, winner of the 2021 edition of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel in 21min48s (3rd best performance in the race), will be the man to beat, all the more so as he recorded a fine 5th place (best French performance) in the Vertical Race of the Andorra World Cup last Sunday.

The men’s field will be of high quality with Gédéon Pochat and Samuel Equy, respectively 2nd and 4th in the MSTC 2021. The returnee Mathéo Jacquemoud, winner of the 2013 and 2016 editions of the MSTC, and the Ultra Trail specialist François D’Haene will have their say. The Italian trail runner Henri Aymonod, winner of the 2021 Vertical Kilometre World Cup, will add spice to the race.

The “youth” categories will also be competing. Among them, the following will be present, among others:
- U16 category: Zéo Pailhe Belair, 2022 French Individual champion, and Boris Cabau, French Sprint champion.
- U18 category: the 2022 French Individual and Sprint champions, Louise Trincaz and Jules Raybaud, the latter winner of the VR French Cup in Courchevel in December.
- U20 category: Margot Ravinel, 2022 French Individual and Sprint champion, and Anselme Damevin, 2022 French Individual champion.

A great spectacle in prospect in a grandiose setting.

Programme of the French Championship:

14:00: start of the U16 and U14 men’s race
14:10: start of the U16 and U14 women’s race
14:30: start of the U18 men’s race
14:35: start of the U18 women’s race
14:50: start of the U20 men’s race
15:00: start of the U20 women’s race
15:20: start of the senior women’s race (U23/Senior/Master)
16:00: start of the senior men’s race (U23/Senior/Master)

Upcoming dates: French Vertical Race Championship (7th MSTC round) on Saturday 22 January.