21 April 2016

la-grande-course-jeunes-ends-on-a-real-high

On the run-up to the grand finale with the legendary Patrouille des Glaciers, a high-mountain dash from Zermatt to Verbier with 53km and 4000m uphill, today the spotlight was all on the 62 pairs of young athletes in the PdG youth categories. Three separate courses with different levels of elevation gain according to category: 800 for the Juniors, 600 for the B Cadets and 500 for the Scholars.

The first to cross the finishing line were the Italian pair, Henri Aymonod – Enrico Loss who after leading all the way nearly lost out on the final downhill stretch. They won the day with a time of 1h07’46” – and it was Aymonod’s second victory in the Junior category in two editions of the Patrouille Jeunes. Second place overall went to Marc Jenny – Simon Remy with a time of 1h17’20” while Christina Kjetill – Daina Milan came in third. In the girls’ race, the winners were Joelle Mayoraz – Géraldine Membrez in 2h02’02”. Second Céline Gauye – Julie Bovier, and third Mathilde Rossier – Sandrine Florey.

For the cadet race, there were two separate courses: A and B. The A-course elevation gain was the same as for the juniors, while the B course had a gain of 600m. The winners over the more demanding course were Léo Besson – Aurélien Gay and Valentine Moret – Margaux Bapst. On the 600m course, the winners were the girls’ team composed of Valentine Gallaz – Caroline Ulrich. The first of the boys’ teams was the duo composed of Lévy Loye – Pierre Anold who arrived second.

There was also well-deserved applause for the teams in the scholar category, with victory going to the Martin Bérnard – Matis duo. Now that the youth races are over, the tension is rising for the final stage of La Grande Course, with the first pairs of athletes setting off tomorrow evening at 10 p.m. and the best teams due to reach the centre of Verbier late on Saturday morning.