ROUND 7 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 6 February 2019

7th round of the Millet Ski Touring: Ekaterina Osichkina smashes the record and Swann Juillaguet wins on his birthday!

This Wednesday 6 February, perfect conditions came together for good times in the 7th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel. 93 ski mountaineers were on the start line of this dry 3.2 km climb with 500 m of elevation gain between Le Praz and Courchevel 1850. This Vertical Race event is run as a time trial, with the less experienced setting off first and the elites last. This ritual lets beginners climb calmly, at their own pace, without the stress of being dropped at the back of the pack, and gives the best riders hares to push them beyond their limits. A few hundred metres from the finish, the strongest catch up with the first starters and all the competitors finish relatively bunched together before heading to the aid station and enjoying, since last week, the good cauldron soup.

Russia takes control of the women’s standings.

The ski mountaineering season is very short. Between national and international races, it is increasingly difficult for the world elite of the discipline to take part in popular races, as is the case in trail running events. Since the beginning, the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC) has been one of the few ski touring events to have achieved this osmosis, bringing together the world elite and ski touring enthusiasts. What a pleasure to see in the standings the Spaniards Kilian Jornet and Mireia Miro Varela, the Swiss Marti Werner and Rémi Bonnet, the Swede Emelie Forsberg and our compatriots Laetitia Roux, Axelle Gachet-Mollaret, Xavier Gachet, Willam Bon Mardion, and many others.

The Millet Ski Touring Courchevel is also an excellent intensity exercise and a true form indicator for athletes. At 19, the Russian Ekaterina Osichkina, 2017 junior world champion in Sprint and Vertical Race events and vice-champion in the Individual event, has just won every event of the last 2 World Cups in Andorra and Super Dévoluy in the junior category. She set the new provisional women’s MSTC record in 26min58s, a gain of 50 seconds on her best performance of last season, which had placed her runner-up in the final overall standings to Axelle Mollaret. She won ahead of Véronique Lathuraz, second in 31min29s, and Stéphanie Pommat in 31min54s, both of whom posted their best time of the season.

Swann Juillaguet, winner in 24 minutes 24 seconds on his 24th birthday!

Certainly, this athlete from Courchevel Sports Outdoor will remember his 24th birthday. This performance propels him to 4th place in the provisional overall standings. Charly Allerme finished second in 25min40s and Alexandre Pellicier completed the podium in 25min42s. Among the locals of the day, special note should be made of the fine performance of Stéphane Pétracin, head of the Courchevel Municipal Police, who, on his first participation of the season, took the Gold-Plated “La Trace” medal in 42min40s, thus improving by almost 1 minute his best time set in 2018.

The mid-season review is very positive. After 7 rounds, 756 starts have been given for 416 ranked competitors. In the provisional overall standings, Yoann Sert leads in 23min26s ahead of Arthur Blanc (23min50s) and Florent Perrier (24min). Among the women, Ekaterina Osichkina dominates in 26min58s with Corinne Favre (28min16s) and Lorna Bonnel (28min23s) in the places of honour.

In the ESF Challenge, no change among the men. Arthur Blanc of the ESF in Arêches remains leader in 23min50s and is ahead of Florian Sautel of the ESF in Valmorel (25min11s) and Morgan Lamure of the ESF in Courchevel Village (26min46s). Among the female instructors, a fine performance from Armelle Favre of the ESF in Pralognan, who, in 36min22s, climbs to second place overall behind Lorna Bonnel of the ESF in La Toussuire (28min23s) but ahead of Pauline Le Roux of the ESF in Courchevel Village (37min11s). In short, at mid-season the fight remains lively and no standings are settled to date.

The grand fancy-dress final is set for Wednesday 20 March, followed by an exceptional concert with the band Magic System to close this season in a wild atmosphere. 6 rounds remain to upset the hierarchy established to date, improve individual performances or set a time. With €8,000 of prize money for the final podiums, €4,800 of vouchers for the winners of each category and many prizes to be won in a prize draw, the battle remains open.

Next week: Grand Slam of the 2019 season.

After the Trail and Bike events held last summer, the ski mountaineering climb of the Vertical Kilometre (KV) of the Plum KV Courchevel (PKVC) will be held on Friday 15 February on the official 5 km course with 1,000 m of elevation gain approved by the French Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (FFME). At the end of this race, a specific ranking will be compiled and competitors who have taken part in all 3 events (trail, bike and ski touring) will be ranked in the Plum K3000 Challenge.

A special ranking will be compiled for those who complete the “Grand Slam” by taking part in the MSTC and the PKVC.

The Grand Slam 2019 will take into account the cumulative times of the MSTC on Wednesday 13 February and those of the PKVC on Friday 15 February. Competitors who complete both events will be entitled to a 50% reduction on registration for the Plum KV. A good way to come and discover this race, which is open to all.