ROUND 3 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 9 January 2019

Loisel and Juillaguet win the 3rd round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel.

After the record participation seen in the first two rounds of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel, there was a small lull this Wednesday 9 January, with 75 ski mountaineers on the start line of the 3rd stage because of the proximity of the French championships this weekend. It is surely the calm before the storm of the upcoming events, or rather the calm during the storm, since this climb took place in winter conditions with cold, snow and strong gusts of wind.

You had to be brave and motivated to start but, like every Wednesday since the beginning of the season, the course for this ski mountaineering Vertical Race event of 3.2 km with 500 m of elevation gain was masterfully prepared to allow participants to post fine performances. An evening without a record but with fine podiums, with the win by Etienne Loisel of CAF Chambéry in 25min41s followed by the most decorated rower in French rowing, Jean-Christophe Bette (Olympic gold medallist at the 2000 Sydney Games and 5-time world champion), in 26min36s and by Hugo Pellicier in 26min47s.

Among the women, Catherine Juillaguet of the Courchevel Sports Outdoor club, on her first participation of the season, climbed onto the top step of the podium in 31min23s ahead of Stéphanie Pommat (32min55s) and Laetitia Renard (38min27s).

In the ESF challenge, the Courchevel Village ski school stood out with Nicolas Mater winning among the men in 29min43s and Pascale Gachet Mauroz in 39min48s among the women.

With €8,000 and €4,800 of vouchers to be won by the winners of this 9th edition, the discipline’s elites should not be long in showing up. Only 9 rounds remain before the grand fancy-dress final on 20 March hosted by the band Magic System to close this season in style. The fight promises to be tough for the 2019 record and for the “René and Raymond Millet 2019” crystal Trophy (the founders of partner company Millet), accompanied by a €2,000 cheque. Who will come out on top in the end? Will the records of Kilian Jornet in 22min01s and of Laetitia Roux in 25min31s be beaten?
No time to think, every Wednesday counts!