ROUND 7 - DYNAFIT SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - 25 January 2012

Marlène Bozon and Anthony Fraissard win the 7th round.

Since last Sunday, the whole team of the Courchevel Sports Alpinisme association has been working flat out on the Dynafit Ski Touring (DSTC) track to meet the specifications of the Fédération Française de Montagne et Escalade (FFME) in order to host the Vertical Race event of the French Championships next Saturday.

The France 3 national film crew followed the competition, which brought together 63 ski mountaineers, to make a report that will be broadcast before the February holidays.

In the pack was Maud Gobert of the Chamonix club, reigning trail running world champion, who with a time of 34min05s finished second on this 3.2 km climb with 500 m of elevation gain and left the victory to Marlène Bozon of the Club Multisports d’Arêches-Beaufort, who finished in 33min41s. Anne-Lise Chamiot Poncet took third place in 34min56s.

Among the men, Anthony Fraissard of the 7th Alpine Chasseurs Battalion (BCA) set his best time of the season and won this event in 25min50s ahead of Olivier Chacornac of the 13th (BCA) in 27min21s and Jérome Feige of the Club Multisports d’Arêches-Beaufort.

It is often said that the format of this competition attracts the elite of ski mountaineering but also the complete novices. Proof of this are Aurato Gui, Felipe Moura, Antonio Vieira and Alexandre Legey, four Brazilians on holiday in Courchevel who had never done ski touring before and who, once across the line, wanted only one thing: to do it again.

On Saturday 28 January, the French Vertical Race championship will kick off, with many competitors present. In particular, the best nationals such as Leatitia Roux (2012 French champion in the individual and sprint events, winner of the World Cup in Andorra last weekend), William Bon Mardion (2012 French individual champion), Alexis Sevennec (2012 French Sprint champion), Yannick Buffet (vertical race world runner-up and winner of the DSTC 2010-2011 season), Didier Blanc (winner of the 2011 Pierra Menta with Kilian Jornet Burgada), Mathéo Jacquemoud (French junior individual champion, 3rd junior at the World Cup in Andorra, 1st in the provisional DSTC standings for the 2011-2012 season), Corinne Favre (1st in the provisional DSTC standings for the 2011-2012 season).

The route of the French Vertical Race Championship will be identical to that of the “Dynafit Ski Touring Courchevel” held every Wednesday from 14 December to 4 April from Le Praz to Courchevel 1850 for the Cadet category (3.2 km and 500 m of elevation gain). Juniors will have to go 1 km further, to the top of the mur de la Loze via the piste des Coqs (4.2 km and 740 m of elevation gain), and Espoirs, Seniors and Veterans will finish at the top of the Loze piste at the level of the Soucoupe restaurant after covering 4.8 km of racing and 920 m of elevation gain.

As the first part of the French Vertical Race Championship course is identical to that of the DSTC, the runners' times will count towards the overall standings and a special prize-giving will take place.

For the occasion, companions and spectators will be able to ski all along the Loze piste to cheer on the runners, via the Loze drag lift, which will be open exceptionally and free of charge for the event.