Round 2 / SKI MOUNTAINEERING - PLUM KV COURCHEVEL - Friday 16 February 2018

Axelle Mollaret and Xavier Gachet, masters of the game at the Plum KV Courchevel 2018 in ski mountaineering.

This Friday 16 February, excellent weather conditions greeted round 2 of the Plum KV Courchevel in ski mountaineering. All the lights were green for good performances: mild weather, wet snow favouring glide and no wind. This did not escape the 88 participants on the start line, all driven by the desire to set the best possible time.

Among them, 2 members of the French team who also hold the records of this competition: Xavier Gachet holds the scratch time of 39min 57s set in 2017 (the only one to have broken the 40min mark), as does Axelle Mollaret with 49min 17s in 2016 (the only woman to have gone under 50 min).

At the top of their form, as shown by their performances in the ski mountaineering World Cup last week in Puy Saint Vincent (3rd in the individual event for Xavier and 1st in the individual event and the Vertical Race for Axelle), they flew through the race. Xavier Gachet won in 40min31s, the best provisional time of the season. Axelle Mollaret , for her part, produced the feat of the evening by smashing her previous record with a time of 46min36s. A good omen ahead of their participation next weekend in the European Championships in Sicily. Faced with such a level, the competition rose to the challenge. Among the men, Alexandre Pellicier finished in 2nd place in 46min04s (5th provisional scratch time) ahead of William Perrier in 46mi41s. Among the women, the podium was completed by the legendary Corinne Favre in 53min03s and Catherine Juillaguet in 56min39s (respectively 2nd and 4th in the provisional overall standings). The battle promises to be tough in the 3rd and final round on 9 March.

Even though this race is open to all, the field for these Plum KV is high-calibre because, 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.

Alexandre Pellicier and Véronique Lathuraz win the 2nd 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).

The 2nd "Grand Slam" took into account the combined times of the MSTC on Wednesday 14 February with those of the PKVC on Friday 16 February. The growing success of these competitions is worth noting: 213 climbs validated this week, including 125 for the “MILLET” and 88 for the “PLUM”. 35 competitors thus did both races back to back. Alexandre Pellicier, 2nd in the MSTC, came out the winner in 1h11min25s but Yoann Sert, with a time of 1h07min05s, keeps the benchmark time for now. Among the women, Véronique Lathuraz set the best performance in 1h33min43s, but could not dethrone Géraldine Bau , who keeps her distance in 1h30min08s.

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 and plenty of other surprises on the occasion of the final of the "Millet Ski Touring Courchevel".

Clean sweep for Axelle Mollaret and Xavier Gachet in the X2 KV Courchevel and X3 KV Courchevel challenges

- X2 KV Courchevel Challenge 2017/2018 : participation in 1 round of ski mountaineering on the PLUM KV offered this season (19 January, 16 February, 9 March) plus one on the PLUM KV in trail running last summer. Best provisional times for Xavier Gachet in 1h18min28s and for Axelle Mollaret in 1h29min43s.

 - X3 KV Courchevel Challenge 2017/2018 : same, plus one round of cycling (Dynastar KV) last summer. Best provisional times for Xavier Gachet in 2h03min28s and for Axelle Mollaret in 2h23min06s.

One round remains on the PLUM KV of 9 March 2018 to change these standings. The X2 and X3 KV Courchevel Challenges will be awarded at the 2018 "Dynastar X3 Courchevel" on 15 April.