ROUND 13 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 15 March 2017

13th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel. New records for Marti Werner and Axelle Mollaret

The final sprint has begun: 151 competitors were at the start of this 13th and penultimate climb of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel 2017. This Vertical Race course, 3.2 km uphill with 500 m of elevation gain between Le Praz and La Croisette in Courchevel, has won international renown by hosting the French Championships in 2012 and 2013 and the World Cup in 2014. For 7 years, this competition has welcomed the world’s elite in the specialty, with prestigious winners including Yannick Buffet (2011 and 2012), Spain’s Mireia Miro Varela (2011), Laetitia Roux (2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016), Mathéo Jacquemoud (2013 and 2016), Catalan Kilian Jornet (2014 and 2015) and Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg (2013).

This season, the top dogs waited until the penultimate climb to attempt the 2017 record. After a first Finnish win in January, it is Switzerland that opens its tally through Marti Werner. A member of the Swiss national ski mountaineering team and bronze medallist at the 2017 World Championships in the Vertical Race, he blew the clock apart in 22min20s. This new provisional record is a true performance, the 3rd fastest time ever on the course, 1 second off Italy’s Damiano Lenzi (22min19s in 2014) and 19 seconds off the record (22min01s) set by Kilian Jornet in 2015. Yoann Sert, second, confirmed his previous times in 23min16s ahead of Arthur Blanc of ESF Arêches in 25min.

Bronze medallist in the Vertical Race at the 2017 World Championships and holder of the Plum KV Courchevel 2016 records in trail running and ski mountaineering, Axelle Mollaret , a member of the French ski mountaineering team, was not to be outdone with a new provisional 2017 record in 27min23s. Behind her, Spain’s Mireia Miro Varela, a member of the Spanish team, multiple ski mountaineering World Champion and winner of this event in 2011 (29min01s), took second place in 28min29s. Corinne Favre, a regular in first place (7 wins this season), this time stepped onto the 3rd step of the podium in 29min14s.

In the ESF Challenge, Arthur Blanc of ESF Arêches won in 25min and set the category record for the occasion. Among the female instructors, Armelle Favre of ESF Pralognan won in 36min20s. Aurélia Lanoe of ESF Courchevel 1550 kept the record in 32min53s.

The grand final of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel 2017 will take place on Thursday 23 March with Patrick Sébastien!

The 14th round will be the elite’s last chance to position themselves for the records and the final standings.

For this great celebration, which will bring together around 500 participants and as many spectators, Guillaume Prin, president of Courchevel Sports Outdoor Mountaineering and Climbing, and his whole team have organised everything. The start of this traditional fancy-dress climb will be given at 6 pm at Le Praz. Spectators can come and cheer on the runners, admire their costumes and make free use of the Le Praz gondola, which will exceptionally stay open until 6.30 pm to reach the finish area. Extra ski buses are planned to take back down everyone who wants to carry on the festivities at Le Praz. From 8 pm, the L’Envolée gymnasium at the foot of the Olympic ski jumps will host the official prize-giving with a buffet. The evening will continue from 9 pm with Patrick Sébastien , who will come to get the towels spinning and the Sardines dancing!

This week: Plum KV Courchevel final, last chance to enter the X2 and X3 KV Courchevel challenges and the 4th Grand Slam…

The 4th and last Vertical Kilometre (KV) round of the Plum KV Courchevel (PKVC) will be held this Friday 17 March. The 2017 French KV records will be awarded at the end of this final round, after the 4 rounds offered this season on this 5 km course with 1,000 m of elevation gain, homologated by the Fédération Française de la Montagne et de l’Escalade (FFME). The best provisional PKVC 2017 times are currently held by Xavier Gachet in 39min57s and Corinne Favre in 51min59s.

It will also be the last chance to enter the X2 and X3 KV Courchevel Challenges 2017 for those ranked in the Plum KV Courchevel in trail running or the Dynastar KV Courchevel by bike last summer.

In the weeks when the MSTC and the PKVC are organised, a ranking is drawn up for those who complete the “Grand Slam” (taking part in the 2 events in the same week).

This week, the “4th Grand Slam” of the season will take into account the combined times of the MSTC on Wednesday 15 March and the PKVC on Friday 17 March. The 2017 “Grand Slam” records are currently held by Arnaud Mazet in 1h09min24s and Corinne Favre in 1h20min47s.