Stage 5 : right in front of the Mont Blanc :: La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc

This stage of 57 km has given us what is the essence of La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc : a high-level competition in a breathtaking scenery. This stage was particularly marked by frequent changes of pace especially over the crests of the pass of Very which "offered" a serie of steep ups and downs,right in front of the highest mountain in Europe, the majestic Mont Blanc. If Radek Havrda took again the lead and is a tone above its direct competitors, the fight behind him is still very tight, with three mushers who have already occupied the second place in a stage. And therein lies the main challenge of the competition today. Each of Luque, Gonda and Pontier has taken the best on the others at least one time. Today the Spanish realized a great stage by taking 7 minutes on the slovak and 11 on the French. We will probably wait until the last stage to determine the final podium of the 8th edition of La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc. The suspense is not over and that'sperfect.

In the Trophée Grande Odyssée, Rémy Coste has posted an impressive time. He quickly caught up with all the mushers who left before him and quickly dug the hole on Marc Tercier. He took back 14 minutes of the 18 lost the day before. In this stage with no problems unlike in the first, Coste, who is running his first ever race, has worked a lot behind the dogs, using a technique never seen before on La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc. Although it is not uncommon for several years to see the mushers using a ski pole, Rémy Coste uses two of them during climbs, leaning on his sled (See photos of Stage 5). One technique that seems to be working. Tonight they are three to be able to win the first Trophée Grande Odyssée. Marc Tercier keeps the lead but his advance over Coste has skrinked . François Pagnoux, third, retain its chances too. The winner will be announced tomorrow at the end of this last stage of theTrophée Grande Odyssée 2012 which will also be the sixth for the mushers of La Grand Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc.

Photos Thibaut Branquart