3rd DYNAFIT MOONtain RACES COURCHEVEL - 21 July 2012

Ludovic Pelle and Céline Jeannier win the 3rd stage.

For runners unable to come on full-moon Tuesday evenings, an exceptional opportunity was given to be part of the overall standings of the “Dynafit MOONtain Races de Courchevel” (DSTC): at the “Courch’à pied” on Saturday 21 July.

Indeed, although the moon was obviously not there, the first part of the course of the National Mountain Running Challenge event (17 km) was identical to that of the Courchevel DSTC from Courchevel 1650 to the Grand Plan refuge. An intermediate time was taken on arrival at the refuge so that the 115 participants in this 3rd DSTC could be ranked. At the refuge, leading with a time of 49min42s was the AC Ondaine Firminy member Ludovic Pelle, bronze medallist at the 2012 French Mountain Running championship. Arnaud Bonin of the Club Ambrieu Marathon, first in the second stage of the DMRC, came through in second position with a time of 49min48s ahead of Geoffrey Gras of the Club Coureur du Monde en Isère in 50min48s.

Among the women, Céline Jeannier of UOAT Albertville won in 1h02min59s ahead of Kaline Osaki in 1h04min47s and Sandra Martin in 1h04min5s.

The full moon returns next Tuesday (31 July) for the 4th DMRC. Participants will set off in a time trial from 8.30 pm in front of the Courchevel 1650 tourist office on this 9.3 km course (100 m of elevation loss and 800 m of elevation gain), to try to beat the provisional records currently held by Julien Rancon in 47min59s and Stéphanie Duc in 58min28s, but also to improve their own record, compare themselves with others or simply enjoy a good time in the moonlight, with a good soup at the finish prepared by Lionel Blanc, the refuge keeper.

Among the favourites, for the moment, we will find the Spaniard Mirea Miro Varela of Team Salomon, ski mountaineering world champion and women’s record holder of the 2011 Dynafit Ski Touring Courchevel (DSTC), and Laurent Brochard, 1997 road cycling world champion, who in 2005, during the 10th stage of the Tour de France Grenoble/Courchevel, crossed the Col du Cormet de Roselend in the lead before leaving the stage win to the Spaniard Alejandro.