ROUND 11 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 16 February 2022

Gédéon Pochat came close to breaking the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel record

This Wednesday 16 February, a fine skin climb by the light of the full moon was on the agenda, but rain tarnished this 11th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel 2022 a little. The weather criteria were not very motivating but, in the end, 91 ski tourers were nevertheless at the start of the legendary 3.2 km, 500 m elevation gain Vertical Race between Le Praz and Courchevel. With this rain and the snow that had freshly fallen during the day, glide conditions were perfect for fine performances. Having skipped the European Championships held last week, Gédéon Pochat, runner-up in the 2021 edition in 21min50s and 5th in the provisional 2022 overall standings in 22min35s at the start of the race, was there with the firm intention of making the top 3. An objective within his reach, as he is one of the quartet of competitors under the 22-minute mark, with Switzerland’s Rémi Bonnet (21min20s), Xavier Gachet (21min37s) and Thibault Anselemet (21min48s). Catalonia’s Kilian Jornet arrives in 5th position in 22min01s, which gives an idea of the level of performance. In the end, Gédéon missed by 7 seconds, winning in 22min09s, to take the provisional record of this season 12, still in the hands of French Vertical Race champion Thibault Anselmet in 22min02s, but he moves into 2nd place overall. “I had the legs to take the provisional record, but I lost time by losing a pole just after the start,” he said at the finish with a little disappointment in his voice. It is only a matter of time, because the 22-minute barrier will have to be broken to claim the overall win. Indeed, besides the members of the French team who stood out at the European Championships, Switzerland’s Rémi Bonnet, holder of the absolute climb record in 21min20s, and Italy’s Michele Boscassi are expected.

To complete the podium of this 11th round, Vincent Loustau, twice a stage winner this season, took the 2nd step in 24min40s ahead of Frédéric Perrin, 3rd in a time of 25min19s. Worth noting is the fine performance of ultra-trail runner Germain Grangier, winner of the Ultra-Trail Côte d’Azur Mercantour (2020 and 2021), who finished just off the podium in 25min39s.

American victory with Katie Schide.

Ultra-trail runner Katie Schide, winner of the Marathon du Mont-Blanc in 2019 and, among other results, 2nd at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail 2021, entered the top 10 of the women’s provisional overall standings by winning the round in 27min48s. She finished ahead of a trio who, after a close fight, arrived in this order: Clémentine Moreau of the Club Multisports d’Arêches Beaufort in 33min12s, Manon Morin in 33min44s and Clémence Gindre in 33min52s. Manon Morin was lucky enough to be drawn to win the pair of “Plum R150” bindings offered by partner company Plum for this 3rd Full Moon special of the season.

Among the women, even though Axelle Gachet-Mollaret set the bar high by establishing the new race record in 23min54s, the battle will be intense in the coming climbs, with the arrival in particular of Sweden’s Tove Alexandersson, future teammate of Axelle in the 2022 Pierra Menta, and Italy’s Alba De Silvestro. Suspense in prospect before the grand fancy-dress final on Wednesday 23 March in the presence of the race’s patron Nelson Monfort who will host the prize-giving before the concert by Louis Bertignac.

34 finishers of the Ultra Ski Touring Courchevel in 2021

On 5 and 6 March the second edition of the Ultra Ski Touring Courchevel (USTC) will take place: the Millet Everest, which consists of climbing 18 ascents, that is 9,000 m of elevation gain over a distance of 57.6 km within a time limit of 18 hours. This performance amounts to reaching the altitude of the summit of Everest (8,849 m) starting from sea level. Only the climbs are timed within the allotted time. The challenge will be run in 2 phases. The 1st part, known as the “M3000” qualification, will start at 1 pm on Saturday 5 March and end at 7 pm. In these first 6 hours of racing, 3,000 m of elevation gain must be climbed in order to continue the ascent by night.

Once this qualification is validated, participants must observe a compulsory acclimatisation period of at least 2 hours at the Everest Base Camp, where the film “Everest 2021” will be shown in the presence of Jonathan Lamy, who conquered this legendary summit on 23 May 2021. The final ascent will take place at night from 9 pm until sunrise at 9 am on Sunday 6 March, to complete the last 6,000 m in under 12 hours.

In 2021, 148 competitors tried the experience, 113 validated the M3000 qualification and 34 made it to the end of the USTC, with wins for Alexandre Pellicier in 8h43min44 and for Corinne Favre in 10h32min52s

In parallel with this crazy challenge, the 14th round of the MSTC will take place from 6 pm. The best of the 6 times set by participants during the M3000 qualification phase of the Millet Everest challenge will be counted for the standings of this 14th round.

Next event: Millet Ski Touring Courchevel on Wednesday 23 February 2022