Round 3 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 25 December 2024

The 3rd round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel in the magic of Christmas

The final round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel in 2024 took place on Christmas Day. For the occasion, participants were invited to come dressed in a Christmas theme. The organisers gave every competitor a Father Christmas hat to capture this festive evening in wonderful photos.

100 Father and Mother Christmases joined in the fun to climb the 3.2 km and 500 m of elevation gain of this Vertical Race course on ski touring equipment, from Courchevel Le Praz up to Courchevel 1850.

With the arrival of winter, freshly fallen snow on the course and a superb starry sky, all the conditions were in place for great results and above all to enjoy this Christmas climb amid the glitter reflected on snow swept by the beams of headlamps.

Candice Bonnel and Florian Sautel sweep the board in this 3rd round.

A dream Christmas evening for the couple Candice Bonnel and Florian Sautel, both instructors at ESF Valmorel and members of the French ski mountaineering team. They stood on the top step of the podium in this 3rd stage, improving on their performances from the World Cup on 15 December.

Candice Bonnel won in 28min46s ahead of Géraldine Bau, an employee of the Société des 3 Vallées, who in 32min06s had to fight hard to fend off the attacks of American Kaitlin Allen, 3rd by a whisker (32min12s).

Among the men, Florian Sautel took the win in 23min54s. Vincent Loustau of team Vibram took second place in 24min57s. Simon Gérard completed the podium in 26min47s.

Note the fine turnout of our Belgian friends, who came in force with 14 runners at the start, led by Michael Saverys, 18th in 32'40''. To that end, a Belgium special will be scheduled at the end of February, with a dedicated ranking at that round. The same will go for a Brazil special, the date of which will be announced shortly. The 2025 season will therefore continue with various themes: New Year’s Day, Epiphany with its cakes, Candlemas with its crêpes, full-moon evenings, Shrove “Wednesday”. These themes will enliven some of the 11 remaining climbs up to the big fancy-dress final and the concert by the phenomenal band Fatal Bazooka.

Between sport, conviviality and Christmas spirit, this 25 December saw a fine close to the 2024 chapter. The MSTC series continues this Wednesday 1st January with good resolutions.

Next date: Millet Ski Touring Courchevel on Wednesday 1st January 2025