ACT 2 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 28 December 2022

Last of 2022 for the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel!

This Wednesday 28 December marks the last of the 2022 series for the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel (MSTC). The organisers had to roll up their sleeves to ensure the second round of this legendary ski touring race could go ahead. Indeed, with the heavy rainfall that has hit the Alpine massif and the mild weather up to high altitude, some parts of the route turned out to be completely bare of snow. As the word "cancellation" is hardly part of the vocabulary of the organising club Courchevel Sports Outdoor, a great deal of work was done to make sure everything went wonderfully. After 2 days of toil and a lot of shovelling, the white blanket was back on the 3.2 km of piste with 500 m of elevation gain.

Mathéo Jacquemoud back in the spotlight

Despite some narrower sections with a few icy patches, smiles were back at the finish on the faces of the 148 delighted ski mountaineers, who did not fail to acknowledge the work done. Although conditions were not optimal for going after records, very good times were posted, and even about ten skiers who were there for the first round managed to improve their times, like Virgile Cancre, Philippe Mugnier, Jean-Louis Fillatre or Capucine Le Corrone, the youngest participant of the evening, born in 2013.

Winner of the 2013 and 2016 editions of the MSTC, Mathéo Jacquemoud wins this second round in a time of 24min19s. "It wasn’t easy to perform well today but, with the current conditions, it’s great that they did what was needed to keep the race going. Even if the result could have been better, it’s still a good training session," he said. An instructor at the ESF in Les Ménuires, Paul Jay crashes the party in second place in 24min24s ahead of Pablo Giner of Team Isère Montagne in 24min30s.

A fine battle between Perrine Gindre and Corinne Favre

The sport of ski mountaineering is increasingly popular among women: 39 competitors were on the start line. To win, there was no time to dawdle along the way. At the finish, Perrine Gindre (Team Isère Montagne) won in 30min20s by 3 seconds ahead of Corinne Favre (30min23s). Louna Dupont completed the podium in 31min57s, herself followed by less than 10 seconds by Clarisse Monnet of the Méribel Sport Montagne team.

Belgium in the spotlight

No fewer than a good twenty participants from across the Belgian border took on the MSTC challenge. In this mini “national championship”, Michael Saverys in 34min07s among the men and Hélène Hannecart in 44min47s among the women came out on top.

Courchevel, the high point of ski mountaineering next week

Snowmaking efforts will continue in an attempt to begin 2023 in the best possible conditions. Next week, ski mountaineering will be in the spotlight in the resort of Courchevel. On Wednesday 4 January, the first “Full Moon” of the season will take place, with, as a bonus, a pair of R150 bindings from partner Plum drawn at random from among all participants. The week will end with the French ski mountaineering championships on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 January.

Having hosted the French Ski Mountaineering championships on many occasions (2012 and 2022: Vertical Race, 2013: Vertical Race and Sprint, 2020: Individual) as well as a World Cup in 2014 (Vertical Race and Individual), the “France” championships will return to the resort with the Mixed relay on Saturday 7 January (an event that will be on the programme of the Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics in 2026) and the Vertical Race on Sunday 8 January on the official Millet Ski Touring Courchevel course.

The championship vertical race will be open to all and will serve as the 4th round of the MSTC. Registration for the championships is online only before midnight on Thursday 5 January.

With the difficult snow conditions and uncertain weather, the detailed programme for these championships will be revealed early next week.

Upcoming events:
- 3rd Millet Ski Touring Courchevel on Wednesday 28 December 2022
- French Mixed Relay Championship on Saturday 7 January
- French Vertical Race Championship (4th MSTC) on Sunday 8 January