Start of the woman's Vert RaceVertical race today, which equals to 950 vertical meters of suffering, for Jane at least. I gave this one a miss to rest a little more for the 3000m long race tomorrow.
The race was going to be held just out of Champery and be only 750m, but due to a lack of snow they moved it over the boarder into France, in the same location as the famous "Montée du Linga" or The Patrick Blanc Race. It was named after Patrick (one of the most outstanding racers ever) after he won the race multiple times and set the record of 36'10" in 2006. In last nights race briefing it was joked that if you break the record the race will bear your name, not every one in the room took this as a joke.........
The lady's started 40mins before the guys and I watch Jane make a good start to the race before cutting the huge life lines with Oriol from skimo.org and made my way to the finishing line.
The Italian ladies continued to dominated and easily took 1st and 2nd. Jane said the steep start hurt a good bit, but once on the flats she got a rhythm and managed to pass a few people. She finished 28th out of 45 and in 53'28". Not bad for 950m vert (Duncan, Gary hope your training). The winning time was about 43'30"!
The Italian ladies continued to dominated and easily took 1st and 2nd. Jane said the steep start hurt a good bit, but once on the flats she got a rhythm and managed to pass a few people. She finished 28th out of 45 and in 53'28". Not bad for 950m vert (Duncan, Gary hope your training). The winning time was about 43'30"!
Jane at the start of the Vert race
The men s race, like all the races was fierce, with 5 guys all in contention. In the end it was the unstoppable force that is Frenchmen Florent Perrie. Florent crushed the record, finishing in 35'04". It was very impressive to watch. The first 5 men all broke Patrick Blanc's record!
Florent "I just crusted Patrick Blanc's record" PerrierClick HERE for results.
9 comments:
How many 'NOT XP500' on podiums ?
Except Francesca and Roberta ...
Not 100%, but I think out of the seniors and epoirs on the podium all the racers apart from the Italians were on XPs.
Hey Grant, did you race in this last one?
Yes, Jane and I both raced in the "long". Just recovering (and skiing) today, so will have the report up soon!
Thanks for checking in.
Your blog has been awesome Grant. I'm totally gutted we weren't there for the event but even more excited about NZ winter 08! Did Duncan tell you we are running the Routeburn in May as part of our pre-season build-up?
Kath
Hi Kath, yeah you guys would have loved it! Was pretty fun. The Routeburn, nice! That will be very good pre season training. When is it?
Congratulations Grant and Jane! I'm waiting for a post with conclusions about your experience in the WCH.
Now I see I didn't talked with Jane, of how she felt and his experience in these competitions. Could be next time (hope in NZ) I can talk with you both.
Oriol
Oriol!
Wow, I didn't realized that SkiMoNZ had such esteemed visitors! I will really have to pick my game up.
Jane is going to post a small report on her take of the SMWC and I really need to do a summary also.
We did have a great time and it was nice to finally meet Josep and yourself.
Yes, hope to see you in NZ, you'll have to bring your video camera for the NZ races.
Hey Jane,
Thanks. I included it as I thought you deserved huge recognition for amazing sportsmanship and great attitude. please stay in touch. Email is my full name @ hotmail.com
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