Cross-country skiing: Léonie Besson, a behind-the-scenes look at her achievement
On Tuesday 17 September, Alpine cross-country skier Léonie Besson set herself an unprecedented challenge : to climb the Agnel, Izoard and Galibier passes (via Le Lautaret) in the same day.
The project, which had been in the back of her mind for a year and a half, took shape this autumn thanks to the support of her equipment manufacturer, Atomic. Several weeks later, as the video of her feat was posted on her social networks, the i3 Ski Team member agreed to tell Nordic Magazine about her crazy day .
The start of the day was marked by a mechanical breakdown… and the bitter cold at the top of the Col Agnel…
“I already had three boys to look after me, which was a real luxury! There was my boyfriend [Glenn MacArthur, editor’s note], Léo Gruber, the videographer, and Thomas Chambellant. Chambellant drove the Atomic lorry, looked after the refreshments and managed the project. He was the voice of the Austrians! We also had a car, driven by my boyfriend, so that the videographer could shoot as he liked. It was all the more practical as my boyfriend knows the region well and could give him some nice spots to film or take photos.”
“To plan the day, we set the alarm very early, at around 4am! I eat a lot of breakfast, but at the same time I’m not hungry because it’s 4 o’clock… As I know it’s going to be a long day, I push myself a bit. We set off from Chianale, in Italy, and I began to head towards the start of the climb up the Col Agnel, when my friend’s car gave out, turbo dead [laughs]! It was the only thing that could go wrong. Luckily his parents were there, as they were able to lend us their car. I thought it was going to be a really bad start!”
“In the end, I set off at 6:30 in the dark, as a classic! It was really beautiful and a side I’d never done before, being more used to the French side of the col. I expected to take 1 hour 45 minutes, but it took me 1 hour 30 minutes to climb the Col Agnel and its 1,000 metres of ascent. So I arrived at the summit at 8 o’clock, where it was freezing cold, feeling like -10°C! The next day, it snowed up there and they closed the road, so I was lucky [laughs]. I got changed and then we headed back down to the foot of the Col d’Izoard, just long enough to eat and drink in the car.”
“I took sweets because I was on a downward slope”
“For the Col d’Izoard, on skateboard, I took 1 hour 45 minutes when I was expecting 2 hours 15 minutes or even 2 hours 30 minutes. Of course, I’d planned ahead because you never know how fit you’re going to be. As far as Arvieux, I was on my own, then Thomas Chambellant went to put the truck down at La Casse Déserte and came back down on his bike to accompany me.”
“Generally speaking, the boys stopped often and I never felt like I was on my own. I always saw other people and that was good for me psychologically. At the top of the Izoard, with its 1,200 metre drop, it was really early – 11 o’clock! We took a few shots, particularly in front of the signpost, I changed again and then we had to find somewhere to eat.”
“I had lots of ideas in my head, but nothing was open at the time! We finally found a restaurant serving pasta. We were able to take our time and I set off again in the afternoon at around 1.00 pm / 1.30 pm to climb the Col du Galibier, via the Lautaret. Up to this point, I wore push skis with wheels that were a little faster than normal.”
“From the Pont de l’Alpe, which is about halfway up the Lautaret, I felt that it was starting to get tough. That was the first time all day! I took some sweets because I was on the downhill slope [laughs]. It even started to rain – it was typical mountain weather, very uncertain. It just alternated between rain and sunshine all the way to the top.”
6h33 on skis and wheels for 60 km and 3,364 metres of ascent
“I reached the summit of the Col du Lautaret from Briançon in 2h05. I took my last break there, which was quite long, and I told myself that the finish to the Col du Galibier was going to be difficult. I refuelled well and set off again on my skateboard for a cool finish! It was really tough. I didn’t have the energy to go as fast as I had earlier in the day. I went at my own pace, more calmly. I didn’t look so much at the time because the goal was quite simply to get to the top. Some of my friends came along and it was so cool! They were cheering me on every 500 metres, I thought I was in a race when in fact I was going two miles an hour [laughs]. It was great fun.”
“I did the finish in sprint mode, it was so cool to be able to do that! The total time for the day was 6h33 on skis and wheels for 60 kilometres and 3,364 metres of ascent. I was so happy to be able to finish the day and cross the line at the summit of the Galibier.”
“When you’ve been thinking about it for months and you actually do it, you’re really happy you did it, especially as I was the first, but I was really disappointed because I didn’t have any plans… I organised it all on my own, took all the necessary steps to make it happen and now it’s over. I was even a bit sad and I was thinking about my next projects! I thought of a thousand other things and, finally, I calmed down, took a breather, changed my clothes and stuck an Atomic logo on the Galibier sign [laughs].”
More than positive results
“In the evening, we went to a restaurant in Briançon with a bunch of friends. We had drinks and pizzas, but we didn’t stay out late because I was so tired. I fell asleep in the restaurant when it was 10.30pm… At first, I wasn’t hungry at all. My body didn’t really understand what was happening to it.”
“To sum up, I realised that I was well prepared! I was surprised to be able to link the first two cols together so well – I clearly wasn’t expecting that. It shows that my summer preparation has worked and that I’m capable of doing very long rides with a lot of difference in altitude. It also confirms the accuracy of my nutrition protocols and my ability to adapt.”
All the figures for Léonie Besson’s day
- Col Agnel: 10 km, 1h30, 1,000 m ascent
- Col d’Izoard: 14 km, 1h45, 1,026 m ascent
- Col du Lautaret: 28 km, 2h06, 820 m ascent
- Col du Galibier: 8 km, 1h10, 560 m ascent
- Total: 60 km, 6h33, 3,364 m ascent
- Climbing three Alpine passes in one day on ski-wheels: Léonie Besson sets herself a huge challenge
- Léonie Besson tells Nordic Magazine in a moving account of her failed winter: “I feel like I’m swimming in thin air and never getting anywhere”.
