Located at 1500m of altitude, on the sunny plateau of Aussois, 29 mushers took the start of the 9th stage of La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc presented by Tomojo. The teams of the Limited and Open categories but also of the Aésio Trophy, which started today, will evolve in the sumptuous landscapes of the Haute Maurienne Vanoise from Aussois.
The stage of the day was 27 kilometers long with a positive difference in altitude of 950 meters. From the start, the mushers had to climb an alpine portion before taking a forest road. The course led the teams to the Monolith of Sardières, passing by the Nordic site of Aussois Val Cenis Sardières as well as the cross of Aussois, finishing with a beautiful descent to the finish.
In the Open category, the French Rémy Coste widens the gap and seems to be untouchable. The German Heinrich Winter did not give up and finished only 4’33 later than his rival. The German Sylvia Ulrich finishes the course in 1:17:10 and is ranked third of the stage. In the Limited category, no change, the female podium remains the same. Aurélie Delattre won this stage in 1:18:23 ahead of the French Cindy Duport and Elsa Borgey who finished respectively at 11’13” and 16’20” from the first place of the podium.
Finally, on the first stage of the Aesio Trophy, it is the French Marion Joly who finishes this stage in first position with a time of 1:50:05. In second place, the French François Richard realized a time of 1:53:54. The Frenchman, Richard Perron, finished 3rd in 1:54:33.
The “Best Nordic Region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes” chasuble was awarded to Romain Da Fonseca in the Open category and to Grégory Coffre in the Limited category. The “Wamine Dog Care” prize was won by Cédric Bellaud for having done an exemplary race with his dogs. He took care of them and made it a priority to have fun with them so that they would finish in top shape.
Tuesday, January 18 will be held the first part of the mythical stage of the Polar Base presented by EDF, it is also the 2nd stage of the Aésio Trophy.
