Round 10 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 1 March 2023

The Koh Lanta adventurers take on the 10th Millet Ski Touring Courchevel

Among the 123 participants at the start of the 10th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) this Wednesday 1st March were 4 emblematic Koh Lanta adventurers. Laurent Maistret, 2014 winner of Koh-Lanta and of the 7th series of Danse avec les stars in 2016, was accompanied by Freddy Bolzer, Kunlé Adébowale and Yassin Métiri. For these ski touring novices, the 3.2 km and 500 m of elevation gain presented a real challenge. After a few falls and untimely loss of skis before finding the right technique, the 4 “castaways” finally reached the end of the course with enough energy to liven things up and get into the swing of selfies at the finish. “It’s much harder than the Koh Lanta challenges,” said Freddy, finalist of the 16th series in 2016, eliminated in the poles challenge, who completed the climb in 1h04min50s. A fine discovery for Laurent who, after 58min48s of effort, seems to have taken to the discipline, stressing the quality of the organisation and the friendliness between participants. A feeling shared by Kunlé (1h01min21s) and Yassin, who recorded the best time among them in 48min06s.

Rémi Cantan and Clémence David head and shoulders above the rest

With the world elite kept away in Spain, at Boi Taüll, for the Ski Mountaineering World Championships, it was a fine opportunity for the second string to win a place on the podium in this 10th round of the MSTC.

With perfect conditions, many competitors posted their best times of the season. As proof, among the women Clémence David won in 31min 51s, improving her time by more than a minute. Cindy Josserand took 2nd place in 32min27s. Coline Pasteur, who had finished second in the 2022 Ultra Ski Touring Courchevel “Défi Millet Everest”, completed the podium in 33min13s.

Among the men, the fight was intense. The first 7 were within a good minute. In this contest, Rémi Cantan, a member of CAF Léman les Vorosses, pipped the Pole Sébastian Druszkiewicz at the post by 2 seconds in 24min14s, and Rémi Berchet by 10 seconds. The Englishman Finlay missed the podium by a whisker in 24min58s. Worth noting was the first climb of the season by Pascal De Thiersand, chairman of the S3V management board, in 39min05s.

The MSTC, an excellent national springboard for the World Championships

The first results recorded at the world championships in Bol Taüll in Spain (sprint and Vertical Race) demonstrate the good form of the leaders of the provisional overall standings. Axelle Gachet-Mollaret, undisputed MSTC leader since 2017, won the Vertical Race. Gédéon Pochat, currently leading the MSTC provisional standings, took the bronze medal in the same discipline among the men. Thibaut Anselmet, MSTC leader on the fallback course, finished on the 2nd step of the podium in the sprint behind the Spaniard Oriol Cardona Coll. Emily Harrop, a member of Courchevel Sports Outdoor and currently third in the MSTC women’s provisional overall standings, finished 3rd among the women after losing time during the “transitions”. Excellent performances as a prelude to the other events (Individual, Team, mixed relay) for the French ski mountaineering team.

A tempting end to the season

The full moon will be back for the 11th round, set for Wednesday 8 March. For this third and last “Full Moon” of the season, a pair of R150 bindings from our partner Plum will be drawn by lot from among all the participants.

There will then be only one round left before the eagerly awaited grand fancy-dress final on Tuesday 21 March, followed by the 2023 prize-giving ceremony hosted by the patron Nelson Monfort and the exceptional concert by the band Tryo to conclude this season 13.

Next date: 11th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel on Wednesday 8 March 2023