Cross-country skiing: 96 km and over 7,000 m of ascent in 23 hours 10 minutes 47 seconds for Suzette Christin
Suzette Christin from Savoie usually expresses herself on cross-country skis. A long-distance specialist who joined the ranks of TNE Coste – Fromageries Marcel Petite in the spring, Christin set herself a new challenge last weekend: to take part in the 96km L’Echappée Belle trail in the Belledonne massif.
Twelfth in the women’s race after 23 hours 10 minutes 47 seconds, the 21-year-old French cross-country skier from CS La Féclaz even won the U23 category. A few days after her performance, Suzette Christin tells Nordic Magazine about it.
“The first 60 kilometres were pure pleasure”.
“First of all, it’s a trail that’s been part of my imagination for a very long time! My uncle and my father did it several times and I grew up in the Belledonne, in a village that was involved in the race. I really like long efforts, which is what you find in Ski Classics, and L’Echappée Belle is a trail on a human scale that’s really festive and family-friendly! I’d been wanting to do it for several years, and I was really curious to see the effort… So I signed up and took the start. It was fun to start in aerobics, knowing that it was already too fast!
“It was a happy cocktail of rocks, great scenery, a substantial physical effort and a human experience. I met so many people! My aunt was my carer and my whole family helped and supported me enormously, especially emotionally.
“The first 60 kilometres were pure pleasure. I love the mountains, and I spent 60 kilometres scrambling up and down between rocks or watching a fantastic sunrise at an altitude of 2,700 metres at the top of the Col de la Valloire. There was the bib effect, which made the effort seem easy. In fact, it was just a great ride in the mountains that made me see things that were just too beautiful!
“I’ve been through everything, from elation to great distress”.
“After 60 kilometres, unfortunately, real life caught up with me a bit [laughs]. I had a really big slump on a pass before the feed station at Val Pelouse. It was really tough! I’d done most of the positive ascent, which isn’t very difficult for me, so I was in the last 40 km of the descent. It was very hard and long… The descents were endless and I kept telling myself to go one stone at a time! Despite everything, I didn’t really doubt that I’d be able to finish, but the lack of sleep hit me hard.
“That’s when family support really helped me. I even did one section with my 12-year-old cousin and the last with my sister! It was great fun. They allowed me to go very far in the pain and to go much further than I could have imagined, by going deeper into the feeling of empty energy that I had. It was an extraordinary moment of sharing! I went through every state, from elation to great distress. I just loved it. I have a feeling that once I’ve done that, nothing is impossible.
“After 30 km, I saw that it was clearly within my grasp and that became my objective and my reason for not stopping for too long at the feed stations”.
“My main objective before the start was to finish the race without an injury that would prevent me from cross-country skiing this winter. My aunt needed a forecast and I realised that it was possible to do it in less than 24 hours. After 30 km, I realised that it was clearly possible and that became my goal and my reason for not stopping for too long at the refreshment points.
“I won’t be racing in the Challenge Vincent Vittoz this weekend, that would just be reckless! Instead, I’m going to try and recover as quickly as possible so that I can get back into training. L’Echappée Belle has to be more of a strength than a problem in my preparation for long-distance cross-country skiing. After all, I’ve pushed my limits further than I could ever have imagined and I want that to help me in cross-country skiing!
