Round 1 / SKI MOUNTAINEERING - PLUM KV COURCHEVEL - Friday 19 January 2018

Yoann Sert and Elisa Gayet open the ball at the Plum KV Courchevel 2018 in ski mountaineering.

After the 3 trail running rounds of the Plum KV Courchevel and the 3 cycling stages of the Dynastar KV Courchevel run last summer: time for the ski mountaineering version. The first winter round of the Plum KV Courchevel took place this Friday 19 January. In total, 3 ski mountaineering rounds are offered this season (19 January, 16 February, 9 March) and will count towards the 2017/2018 X2 and X3 KV Courchevel challenges. At the end of these 3 ski mountaineering climbs on this 5 km Vertical Kilometre (KV) course with 1,000 m of elevation gain, approved by the French Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (FFME), the 2018 French KV records will be awarded, with, as a bonus, a cheque for €500 for the men’s and women’s records.

After winning last Wednesday in round 4 of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel, Yoann Sert confirmed his current form by triumphing in 43min18s. Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz, winner of the 2017 New Balance X-Trail Courchevel 54 km, came second in 44min08s ahead of Arnaud Mazet in 45min45s.

Among the women, Elisa Gayet set the benchmark time with an excellent 54min52s. She was followed by Catherine Juillaguet (56min31s), surprised and delighted to have gone under the time barrier following major recent ankle surgery, and Géraldine Bau (58 min 02 s), winner of this Wednesday 17 January’s MSTC.

In the ESF Challenge, the winners were Killian Sylvestre (48min32s) of ESF Peisey and Pascale Gachet Mauroz (1h14min38s) of ESF Courchevel Village, who set the base times.

The "Plum KV Courchevel" in ski mountaineering, the big sister of the "Millet Ski Touring Courchevel", is reaching maturity. With twice the elevation gain, the "Plum", as many practitioners call it, can be impressive but remains accessible to the less experienced, with a start scheduled 45 minutes before the elites. Proof of this is the leopard of the evening, Olivier Cellier, the loyal participant who, always smiling, never goes unnoticed at races, most of the time disguised as a pink rabbit, who closed the march in 1h35min13s.

A little reminder: the current records of the “Plum” ski mountaineering version are held by Xavier Gachet in 39min 57s (the only one to have broken the 40min mark, a performance set in 2017), and Axelle Mollaret in 49min 17s in 2016 (the only woman to have gone under 50 min).

In the X2 KV Courchevel Challenge 2017/2018 (adding the best time of the summer 2017 trail KV event to that of the ski mountaineering event this winter 2018), Yoann Sert and Géraldine Bau provisionally hold pole position. In the X3 KV Courchevel Challenge 2017/2018 (adding the best times of the summer 2017 trail and cycling KV events to that of the ski mountaineering event this winter 2018), Yoann Sert consolidates his leadership among the men. Thanks to her cycling performance, Catherine Juillaguet takes the lead.

Yoann Sert and Géraldine Bau win the 1st Grand Slam.

In the weeks when the "Millet Ski Touring Courchevel" (MSTC) and the "Plum KV Courchevel" (PKVC) are held, a specific ranking is drawn up for those who complete the "Grand Slam" (taking part in both events in the same week).

This week, the "Grand Slam" took into account the combined times of the MSTC on Wednesday 17 January with those of the PKVC on Friday 19 January. 19 competitors thus did both races back to back: well done to them, the weather conditions were not at their best. No surprise among the men with Yoann Sert winning both rounds: he set a benchmark time of 1h 07min 05s. For the women, Géraldine Bau, with her 1st place on Wednesday and her 3rd on Friday, sets the bar at 1h30min08s. Records to beat for the next 2 grand slams!

The official prize-giving for the 3 "Grand Slams" of the season and for the 2018 "Plum KV Courchevel" in ski mountaineering is scheduled for Wednesday 21 March at the great ski mountaineering party in Courchevel with Emile et Images as guest star on the occasion of the final of the "Millet Ski Touring Courchevel". The X2 and X3 KV Courchevel Challenges will be awarded at the 2018 "Dynastar X3 Courchevel" on 15 April.