The ambiance was relaxed  at the musher meeting held prior to the stage 7. Everybody was trying to give the best joke. The Stage 5 problems were clearly forgotten. Especially as the mushers were still all smile at the arrival of the stage, delighted by the trail quality and the markings.

After showing some signs of weakness in the last stages of les Portes du Soleil part, Bily seems to be back to full strength. By winning his second stage in the race, he shows that his preparation has been really accurate. He might have received a bunch of good advices from his fellow Radek.

Another rookie does an impressive race and stands as a top contender for the podium and maybe more. Milos Gonda is only 15 minutes behind Radek. This gap could seem wide but the first failure of Radek could cost him this first place.

This 7th stage has been also the occasion of a great performance of the frenchies. Daniel Juillaguet has made his best standing since the beginning of the race by grabbing the 5th place, right in front of jean-Phillipe Pontier. If the czecho-slovakian trio makes mutiple great runs, Pontier seems to be the one who could trouble their plans. Especially as the 8th stage seems to be the one who would fits him the best.

Jean-Philippe has never stopped saying that his team was starting to click on the 25th kilometer, meaning that he needs longer stages to really give his best. And the next stage will be one of that kind. The teams will first leave Val Cenis Lanslebourg for a 50 kilometers that will lead them to the Mont Cenis pass. There, they'll have to settle their dogs for a bivouac at 2000m altitude with no outside help allowed. Then, the next morning, they'll leave for a 80 kilometers run with the same dogs (drop a dog is allowed but no addition).  On such a stage, the stronger teams will rise. After this one, we may not know who will win the race but we'll know who won't.

This 8th stage will be a key time in the race. The long-distance teams of Jean-Philippe Pontier, Ketil Reitan and Jo Are Brennodden are awaited. They may be playing their best card to trouble the czechoslovak plans.