ISMF-LGC World Championships Long Distance Team – 20th Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême - First stage
Press Release
ISMF-LGC World Championships Long Distance Team – 20th Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême
FIRST STAGE
Lausanne, 31 March 2022 – The ISMF-LGC World Championships Long Distance Team started in the name of Matteo Eydallin and Davide Magnini (ITA), but the overall ranking is far from being certain. The first three teams crossed the finish line with a gap of less than 30’’. The women’s teams, on the other hand, were not so close, with the French couple composed by Axelle Gachet-Mollaret and Emily Harrop attacking from the very beginning.
For the occasion, given the uncertain weather forecast, the tracers, coordinated by the Race Director Marco Camandona and the Track Director Roger Bovard, have designed the first of the three stages of the event entirely in the ski area of La Thuile. From tomorrow onwards, the race will move to the usual location in Valgrisenche and in particular the third and last leg will start and finish in the charming village of Planaval.
At the starting line of the only Italian event of the La Grande Course 2022 there were athletes from several national teams and ski mountaineering enthusiasts, with 159 male and 15 female teams for a total of 348 competitors representing 15 countries.
The race, in true Tour du Rutor style, took them to the summits of Bella Valletta and Bellecombe, with a loop including 2400 m of difference in height, including three ascents, as many descents and two parts on foot. After a close race and lots of overtaking, Matteo Eydallin and Davide Magnini crossed the finish line in La Thuile first in 2h27’49’’, ahead of the Frenchmen Xavier Gachet – William Bon Mardion (2h27’52”). The other French team composed by Mathéo Jacquemoud and Samuel Equy finished today’s race in third position with a final time of 2h27’56”. In the top five the duos of Robert Antonioli – Nadir Maguet (ITA) and Jakob Herrmann – Paul Verbnjak (AUT) stood out as well getting the fourth and fifth place respectively.
Among women, as expected, Axelle Gachet-Mollaret and Emily Harrop of France tried to leave everyone far behind, crossing the finish line first in 2h54’51”, followed by the Italians Alba De Silvestro and Giulia Murada (3h03’45”). Marianna Jagercikova (SVK) and Iwona Januszyk (POL) won the bronze medal (3h09’08”), but their third place is not valid for the ISMF-LGC World Championships title because of their different nationalities. The Italian team of Mara Martini – Ilaria Veronese finished fourth in the overall ranking but third in the ISMF-LGC World Championships’ one.
Once concluded the first stage of the event, tomorrow there will be the second competition to be held in “Valgrisa” (as the locals call it), at Alpe Vieille. For the occasion, 67 youngsters of the U20 and U18 categories will also be at the starting line to compete on a track dedicated to them.
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Contact
Roberto Cavallo, Event Director, rcavallo@ismf-ski.org, +39 335 5745945
Tour du Rutor, info@tourdurutor.com
About the ISMF
Founded in 2007, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation ISMF is the global governing body for ski mountaineering competitions. Since 2016, the organization is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee IOC. Its main goals are the promotion, regulation and development of the ski mountaineering sport worldwide. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the ISMF’s membership consists of 40 national mountaineering or ski sports federations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The ISMF organizes ski mountaineering World Cups events and World Championships. For the first time, ski mountaineering has been a medal sport at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne Switzerland and has recently been included in the programme of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
About La Grande Course
Six world-famous events, six classic races for true ski-mountaineering gourmets. The world’s top runners, the entire skimo community, a uniquely enthusiastic public, in some of the loveliest and most breath-taking locations in the Alps. Steep slopes, vertical couloirs and technically challenging descents are the basic ingredients of this sport. Team spirit and tow-rope camaraderie play a very important role: in fact, there is no individual racing in this competition and each race is run by teams of two or three athletes. Only the overall Grande Course time classification is individual, so competitors can race each event with any companion they choose, regardless of nationality.
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