High Trail Vanoise 2016 Race Summary and Images – Skyrunner® World Series

Posted on July 10, 2016 by talkultra

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The Skyrunner® World Series continued at a pace today with the first edition of the High Tral Vanoise, a 67.4km race with 5355m altitude starting and concluding in the stunning location of Val d’Isere, France.

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This race in many ways personifies Skyrunning with a combination of fast trails, technical trails, snow, ice and altitude. The course has many key features with highlights coming at Col de Fresse (2500m), Le Panoramic (3000m) the highest point of the course, Grande Motte (3500m) and then a rollercoaster of climbs and descents that finally culminates with Aiguille Pers (2800m) before dropping down to the Col Iseran before the final push to the line.

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Departing under darkness at 0400, it was very apparent that a warm and hot day lay ahead. However, the early hours were always going to be chilly ones, especially as the runners climbed from just under 2000m to Grande Motte at 3500m+ in the first 17.5km. In the early stages, a small group of runners pushed the pace lead by Russian Dimitry Mityaev, Nicolas Martin and Fulvio Dapit. In the ladies race, Anne-Lise Rousset opened up a gap very early in the race that would prove instrumental, Maud Gobert, Anna Comet and Gemma Arenas followed but were already some way behind.

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From the summit of Grande Motte, the arrival of sunlight facilitated the long fast descent past Lac de Tignes all the way to La Daille at approximately 34km. By now the runners were spread out all over the course with Dimity and Anne-Lise leading the respective male and female fields.

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A 4km climb to Lac Sassier was followed with a rollercoaster descent to Le Fornet at 46km, Dimitry was still first but Nicolas was on his heals and now Marcin Swierc had taken up the chase with Fulvio Dapit in 4th. Anne-Lise Rousset was now in her own race, leading Maud Gobert by 30-minutes with Anna Comet several minutes behind in 3rd. The French lady was running so fast she hovered between 5th and 6th placed man – incredible!

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Now the action was really unfolding and arguably, the next section of the course from Le Fornet to Aiguille Pers via Tete Cema was going to be instrumental as this section climbed for 10km with an altitude gain of 1400m +/-. Dimity finally crumbled with Nicolas taking the lead and then finally Marcin moved into 2nd, Dimity had a good lead over Fulvio though; would he hold on?

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Aiguille Pers blanketed in snow made an impact on the race and the stunning blue skies provided a stark contrast to the white snow as the early morning sun beat down. Nicolas and Anne-Lise were the first male and female to the summit.

From the summit a fast descent to the iconic Col Iseran was followed by a short climb with technical sections before passing through a tunnel through the mountains which was followed by a fast drop to the line and finish in Val d’Isere.

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The overall standings for the first 3 men and ladies didn’t change now – Nicolas Martin took a great victory in 9:28:34. Added to his podium place at Transvulcania and the DNF of SWS leader, Cristofer Clemente, Nicolas now leads the 2016 ranking. Marcin Swierc placed 2nd in 9:31:59 and Dimity Mityaev held off Fulvio Dapit for 3rd in 9:36:31.

Anne-Lise Rousset dominated the ladies performance with a stunning victory in 10:13:00 which ranked her 6th overall. Maud Gobert and Anna Comet placed 2nd and 3rd in 11:04:21 and 11:09:30.

The Alpina Watch prizes were awarded to Anne-Lise Rousset and Fulvio Dapit for their times to the summit of Grande Motte based on a clever equation that takes into account age.

The final big news is that the respective winners, both French, received a BMW car for 1-year!

Full results available HERE

Attention now turns to the Dolomites next weekend for the iconic VK and SKY races – the SWS 2016 rolls on at a pace!

Thanks to the support of our Partner Migu Xempower, Sponsor Alpina Watches and Official Pool Suppliers, Scott Running, Compressport and Salomon.

About Skyrunner® World Series
Skyrunning was founded in 1992 by Italian Marino Giacometti, President of the International Skyrunning Federation which sanctions the discipline worldwide and sports the tagline:
Less cloud. More sky.

The Skyrunner® World Series was launched in 2004 and has grown to represent the peak of outdoor running defined by altitude and technicality. In 2016, the Series, composed of four disciplines, features 23 races in 15 venues on three continents.

iancorless.com is the official photographer and media partner for the Skyrunner® World Series Follow on:

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High Trail Vanoise Ultra and Face de Bellevarde VK 2016 Race Preview – Skyrunner® World Series

Posted on July 6, 2016 by talkultra

Skyrunning and the 2016 Skyrunner World Series arrives in France this weekend for an action packed double bill of VK and ULTRA. On Friday, the Face de Bellevarde VK kicks off in Val D’Isere to take on the steep slopes that lead to the summit way up in the sky.
Marco De Gasperi, Skyrunning legend has the record of 34:51 set on this course many years ago and this year, up and coming rising star, Remi Bonnet will be looking to set a new benchmark. The young runner won’t have it all his own way though, Ferran Teixido, current leader in the SWS rankings will be looking for a strong performance and the ever present, Urban Zemmer will push the young gun all the way to the summit. Marco Moletto, Hannes Perkman, William Bon Mardion and Pascal Egli will make up the main contenders in an impressive field.
For the ladies, Christelle Dewalle is the current SWS leader and ultimately the one to beat! Elisa Desco, Emily Collinge and Serena Vittori will push the French lady hard but can they beat Laura Orgue’s time of 40:52?
In both races, an incentive is on offer. Should a male or female break the old course records they will receive a cash prize of 2000 euros. If the runner is French, the opportunity to have a new BMW car is available for one year!

High Trail Vanoise is the main event of the weekend and it harks back to the golden days of when Giacometti, Brunod and climbed Monte Rosa and paved the way for this modern phenomenon called Skyrunning. Ice, snow, glaciers, altitude, the High Trail Vanoise has it all. Crossing the iconic Col D’Iseran at 2764m is merely just a taster, the high point of the course is the impressive Grande Motte at 3653m. It’s a tough race, 67km in length, runners will climb (and descend) 5400m to reach the finish line.

Cristofer Clemente heads up there men’s field after an impressive top 10 at Transvulcania and victory at Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira. Nicolas Martin, Nuno Silva, Jan Bartas, Dimity Mityaev and the ever-present Fulvio Dapit will look to take top honours and maximum SWS points.

Gemma Arenas fresh from victory in Madeira will be looking to consolidate maximum points and set herself up for a good chance of winning the 2016 SWS. Local French lady Anne-Lise Rousset may well have other thoughts though! Anna Comet has been fighting injury issues but a finish in Madeira and some quality RnR will hopefully set her up for a strong run in France. Travelling from the USA, Kristina Pattison will be looking to repeat her top 10 performance from Madeira and work her way up the rankings ahead of the RUT in the USA.

Just as in the VK, prize money is on offer and the respective winners can expect 3000 euros or French runners will receive 1000 euro and a BMW for a year.
Alpina Watches, sponsored of the SWS will also offer a male and female watch for the Alpina Smart Time.

600 runners will take part in a stunning weekend of high intensity action.

Thanks to the support of our Partner Migu Xempower, Sponsor Alpina Watches and Official Pool Suppliers, Scott Running, Compressport and Salomon.

iancorless.com is the official photographer and media partner for the Skyrunner® World Series Follow on:

Facebook/iancorlessphotography
Twitter (@talkultra)
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Ice Trail Tarentaise Race Report

Posted on July 15, 2013 by talkultra

Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg excel at the ISF Skyrunning Ice Trail Tarentaise. With over 60 km’s above 2000m altitude and with a highest point of 3653m at ‘Grande Motte’ this is a race not to be taken lightly. Memories of the Tour de France flood into my mind when I discuss this region, however, other than the highest paved mountain pass at the ‘Col de L’Iseran’ at 2770m, no bicycles will be seen.

The Tarentaise valley and the Ice Trail Tarentaise in many respects personify what Kilian Jornet has been pursuing for years, the term ‘Alpinism’ is often perceived as climbing but it is so much more. Traversing glaciers, ascending and descending summits such as ‘Aiguille Pers’ at 3386 m, participants in the 2013 Ice Trail Tarentaise will no doubt had a full appreciation of what Kilian and others like him strive for when they coin the term, Skyrunning. You see, Skyrunning is Alpinism but without the clutter, it’s about being light and moving fast.

Val D’Isère, 0400 on Sunday 14^th July, 600+ runners departed for one of the most challenging races they would ever experience. With a total distance of 65km’s, 5000m+ positive gain and over 60% of the course in snow, the race would ultimately be the most challenging Skyrunning race ever encountered by all the participants.

The 2012 race winner, Francois D’Haene dictated the early pace with Rickey Gates and Kilian Jornet. At Tignes after following a river trail and an early climb the field was already spreading out. Emelie Forsberg had opened a gap on the female competition and was already pulling away.

Darkness was now being replaced by the arrival of a new day and blue skies, temperatures started to rise but temperatures did drop to as low as -3deg on the first big challenge of the day, the Grande Motte at 3653m, this would see participants climb 1800m in under10km. The ascent included traversing a glacier (YakTrax compulsory) and then a 70deg climb that included sections of Via Ferrata. At the summit, km17, Kilian, Francois and Rickey continued to establish a lead over a chasing Fulvio Dapit and Philipp Reiter.

Christel Dewalle and Ronda dels Cims winner, Francesca Canepa pursued Emelie Forsberg but the pattern was set for the whole race. Emelie was in her element, and although she said post race that it was the hardest race she had ever done, she also admitted that she loved every step of it, ‘this is pure Skyrunning, it is what I love about this sport, the ability to combine mountains, snow, running and ice to combine together in one of the most challenging sports’.

The descent from Col Fours at 2976m to Pont Neige at 2530m now had Francois D’Haene and Kilian Jornet establishing a lead over the rest of the field that would not be relinquished. A small section of road and a right turn at Cascade ultimately proved to be one of the hardest sections of the course. Climbing from 2700m to the Col Pers at 3009m and then Pointe Pers 3386m resulted in many runners failing to meet cut-off times or drop with fatigue at Cascade. Marcus Warner from Ultra168 said, ‘that broke peoples spirits, I have buried the feeling it created; I had to look inside and decide if I wanted to put myself through it. However, I found that inner strength and moved on. The terrain was hard pack snow on the north side to waist deep soft snow. It sucked life from within me, the final 300m was a treadmill of slate and scree, I felt I was going nowhere’.

At the iconic Col de L’Iseran, the highest road in Europe the final challenge awaited, the 300m ascent to the Tunnel Lessieres at km56. It was in the final stages of this climb on the tough and technical rock section that Kilian moved ahead of Francois and pulled away to take another incredible win. Emelie Forsberg looked relaxed and comfortable, her lead was convincing and a victory was guaranteed. Christel and Francesca continued to hold second and third place and this format would not change to the finish line.

The 2013 ISF Skyrunning Ice Trail Tarentaise will be remembered in years to come as an iconic day in Skyrunning history. Along with Zegama-Aizkorri, Trofeo Kima and Canazei in the Dolomites, the ‘ITT’ will become a flagship event. It will test elites and non-elite runners to the limit and as many said post race, ‘km for km, that is the hardest race I have ever done’