ROUND 3 - EIFFAGE COL DE LA LOZE TIME TRIAL - Sunday 22 August 2021

A final of the 2021 Eiffage Col de la Loze Time Trial that lived up to all its promises.

This 2021 edition of the Eiffage Col de la Loze Time Trial was held for cycling enthusiasts and amateurs over 3 rounds (20 June, 18 July and 22 August). The final took place on Sunday 22 August with around fifty participants coming to attempt the last time of the season, starting from Courchevel Le Praz to the summit of the Col de la Loze at 2,304 m above sea level, on a route totalling 17.3 km with 1,100 m of elevation gain. From the first round, Arthur Blanc, a member of the Swiss Racing Academy team, had taken the polka-dot jersey. He set the bar even higher on the second climb with a time of 45min29s, a benchmark performance that will ultimately be the record for 2021. Winner of this 3rd round in 49min38s, Swann Juillaguet finished second in the overall standings ahead of Johan De Oliveira (50min34s). The podium for this Sunday 22 August was completed by Will Juillaguet, runner-up in the Felt X3 triathlon last week, in 52min03s, and by Nicolas Ougier, a member of ASC Macot la Plagne, third in 52min59s.

Among the women, the waltz of the polka-dot jersey lasted right to the end. First held by Corinne Favre after the 1st round, it fell onto the shoulders of Christelle Zambon on the 2nd climb, before ending up with Laura Deplanche. Already winner of the 2021 Felt X3 last week, she confirmed her current form by winning in 57min36s. A double for Christelle Zambon, second on this final climb in 1h02minn11s, a performance that also places her on the 2nd step of the final podium. Corinne Favre took the 3rd places in this Sunday’s race in 1h05min46s and in the final overall standings in 1h05min28s.

Also worth noting is the participation of Camille Cabley, a member of the French Marathon mountain biking team in the espoir category (1st at the 2021 French championships and 2nd at the 2021 European championships), who finished in 1h25min10s after winning the Semnoz climb the day before.

The Crystal trophy for Laura Deplanche and Arthur Blanc

At the closing ceremony, as usual, all the cyclists left with a water bottle bearing the race’s emblem according to the time achieved: you had to ride in under 1h for the gold bottle, 1h10min for the Vermeil, 1h25min for silver, 1h40min for bronze and with no time limit for the finisher bottle.

The Best Climber 2021 jerseys were awarded to Laura Deplanche and Arthur Blanc , who received the 2021 Eiffage trophy and prize money of €500.

See you in 2022 for the 3rd edition of the Eiffage Col de la Loze Time Trial.