Half way through the 2017 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series eight-race Ultra category, a stacked field heads for the Odlo High Trail Vanoise® on Saturday, July 8 in Val d’Isère, France. Europe’s highest race and the toughest race in France, it has top runners from around the world coming back for more after the 2016 inaugural event.
Almost doubling last year’s entries, some 300 competitors will be on Saturday’s 4 am start line headed by Skyrunning World Champion, Spaniard Luis Albert Hernando, winner here in 2015 on a similar course.
The 2016 course record holder is Frenchman Nicolas Martin who returns to defend his title.
Strong competition will come from current Ultra ranking leader, Dmitry Mityaev, third here last year, joined by top-ten ranked athletes, Nuno Silva from Portugal and Frenchman Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz.
Women’s Ultra ranking leader, American Hillary Allen will be pushed hard by 2016 Ultra Series winner, Spaniard Gemma Arenas, who placed fourth in the inaugural race. Ranking top-tenners pushing the pace include Spain’s Eva Moreda, Ragna Debats from the Netherlands and Italy’s Francesca Canepa. American Megan Kimmel, 2016 Sky Series champion, will test her skills in the longer distance.
The Odlo High Trail Vanoise® is set in one of the world’s most famous ski resorts, Val d’Isère, where the race starts and finishes. It’s easy to understand why the race is rated as one of the most technically challenging in France, with 68 km and 5,400m vertical climb over snowfields and glacier. Many participants will be struggling with the altitude which reaches the summit of the Grande Motte at 3,653m and touches on the Col de Iseran at 2,764m.
A slight course change has been announced by the safety team of the organisers of the Club des Sports de Val d’Isère due to unstable conditions at the summit. The race will now reach 3,453m, just 200m short of the Grande Motte summit and will be 1.3 km less over the total distance.
The standing records are by Nicolas Martin in 9h28’34” and French woman Anne-Lise Rousset in 10h13’00”, unable to race due to injury.
The fourth stage of the Ultra category offers an extra 20% bonus points to runners taking part in the 2017 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series ranking which awards an end of season bonus pool based on the three best results out of eight.
Saturday’s event is also valid for the European Skyrunning Ultra Championships medals and titles.
Vincent Jay, director of the Club des Sports de Val d’Isère, commented, “For the second time round, the High Trail Vanoise is part of the Skyrunner World Series. We’re proud to be on this circuit because the standard of each race is very high.
“This year we have 30% more competitors registered – all with good experience because running in the snow in the middle of July isn’t for everyone! They will run in two protected areas and the National Park so an amazing landscape… running on two glaciers, around a lake, through a forest. To find all this in one race is exceptional.
“We’ve organised live music at the checkpoints too, so we’re confident it will be an enjoyable all-round experience,” he added.
On Friday, July 7, the location will host the Face de Bellevarde Vertical Kilometer®, seventh leg of the new Vertical Kilometer® World Circuit.
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