Cross-country skiing | Trail: Matis Leray finishes the TDS in 19 hours 41 minutes 58 seconds
A few days after Suzette Christin, who completed the L’Echappée Belle trail last weekend in the Belledonne massif after almost 24 hours of running, it was another cross-country runner from TNE Coste – Fromageries Marcel Petite who was involved in quite an adventure.
A year after finishing the UTMB in thirty-second place, Matis Leray from Beaufort has been competing in the TDS of the UTMB since last night. Although it’s not the ultimate race, it’s still 152.2 km long and has a 9,000 metre climb.
Beautiful, technical, wild and demanding – there’s no shortage of words to describe the TDS, which links the Val d’Aoste to Savoie, exploring the villages of the Tour du Mont-Blanc and the surrounding mountains,” writes the organisers on their website. As well as its traditional start in Courmayeur, the TDS will take you to discover the Beaufortain! You’ll pass through some of the massif’s must-see spots, such as the Pas d’Outray, with its breathtaking views of the Pierra Menta and the Grand Mont, legendary ski-mountaineering landmarks, as well as Hauteluce, with its typical hamlets and breathtaking views of Mont-Blanc”.
The first two, Antoine Charvolin and Gautier Airiau, are former Nordic racers.
On his home ground, Matis Leray rode a great race. In the top 10 at each of the checkpoints, he gained positions from La Gittaz onwards at km 73. After that, he climbed steadily up the rankings until he was fifth in the final from Le Signal and Les Contamines-Montjoie.
Taking advantage of Beñat Marmissolle‘s withdrawal, he moved up to fourth place on the descent of the Col de Tricot, the summit of which lies 20km from the finish. He then passed the Bellevue and Les Houches checkpoints in this classification, finishing in Chamonix in fourth place after 19 hours 41 min 58 of racing.
The winner, Antoine Charvolin, a former cross-country skier from the Chamrousse club (Isère), completed the course in 18 hours 22 minutes 17 seconds to win… ahead of Gautier Airiau, a former Nordic combined skier in the French team who has taken part in World Cup races. Airiau completed the 152.2km TDS in 18 hours 28 minutes 4 seconds.
> The TDS rankings by clicking HERE
- Matis Leray finishes an incredible thirty-second in his first Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
- “I suffered enormously during the last 50 kilometres”: Matis Leray recounts his first successful UTMB experience
- Trail: Matis Leray magnificent second in the X-Traversée
- What have they become? Gautier Airiau
- After 23 hours 10 minutes and 47 seconds of effort, Suzette Christin completed the 96km L’Echappée Belle race and won the U23 category.
- “I kind of feel that once you’ve done that, nothing is impossible”: Suzette Christin tells Nordic Magazine about her Echappée Belle, a 96km trail completed in less than 24 hours.
