Act 3 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 30 December 2015

147 participants and new records for Mathéo Jacquemoud and Candice Bonnel in the 3rd round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel.

This 3rd round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel was again run on the fallback course of 2.4 km and 500 m of elevation gain, starting from Courchevel 1850 up to the top of the Loze relay. The lack of snow currently makes the official Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) course impassable for ski mountaineering, but this does not demotivate the participants, who are coming in ever greater numbers, with participation records set every Wednesday since the start of the season. This Wednesday 30 December, for this last round of 2015, 147 competitors were at the start! Many holidaymakers were at this ski mountaineering race that has become an unmissable institution, such as the Russians Anna and Dimitry Orlov, who take part every year with their ski instructor Henri Thurier.

In this gigantic peloton the fighter jets were present. The specialists of the discipline start last in this Vertical Race time trial but very often arrive first. Holder of the record on this fallback course in 19min43s, the new French Vertical Race ski mountaineering champion of the club Courchevel Sports Alpinisme, Mathéo Jacquemoud, managed to smash it by finishing in 19min28s. The two representatives of Team Isère Montagne, Léo Viret and Samuel Equy, took 2nd and 3rd place in 20min34s and 20min43s respectively.

Among the women, the women of the Maurienne swept the podium, with Candice Bonnel taking the new women’s record in 26min47s. Next came Léna Bonnel in 27min33s and Laura Deplanche in 27min35s.

After winning the 2015 "Dynastar X3 Courchevel" as a team, Candice and Léna Bonnel will be at the start again of this extraordinary triathlon combining cycling, trail and ski mountaineering on 17 April, accompanied by Lorna Bonnel.

In the ESF Challenge, ESF La Toussuire took the first two places among the women instructors with Candice Bonnel and Laura Deplanche, followed by ESF Le Grand Bornand, represented by Charlotte Le Roux, who finished in 31min25s. Among the men instructors, Cyril Vuarand of ESF Courchevel 1650 won in 26min18s ahead of Frédéric Bouchage of ESF Courchevel 1550 in 27min01s and Yannick Costaz of ESF Aime 2000 in 28min19s.

The snow forecast for the end of this week should allow the 4th stage on Wednesday 6 January to take place on the official course. This first round of the year will be held on Russian Christmas Day and, while waiting for the participants, spectators will be able to enjoy a magnificent show at the finish on the snow front of Courchevel 1850, with the torchlight descent, the fireworks and plenty of other surprises.