12 March 2025

PIERRA MENTA 2025 It will be a fiercely contested edition, at least in the men's race

It will be a fiercely contested edition, at least in the men's race

Pierra Menta day one, the first stage of the “Tour de France” of ski mountaineering, ends with victories for Mathéo Jacquemoud – Samuel Equi and Lorna Bonnel - Axelle Mollaret. On a morning marked by rain at the start and snowfall at higher altitudes, the 218 teams from 16 different nations tackled a technical 17 km course with 2,300 meters of elevation gain spread over four climbs. At the top of the second and fourth ascents, there were two foot sections to be tackled with crampons on and skis in the backpack.

Right from the start, it was clear that at least three teams would be fighting for the title in this 39th edition of the transalpine classic, which also serves as the first stage of the 2025 La Grande Course. On the first climbs, Mathéo Jacquemoud – Samuel Equi had to battle against world champions William Bon Mardion – Xavier Gachet and the new Franco-Italian duo Anselme Damevin – Nadir Maguet. Their head-to-head duel continued until the final moments. At the finish line in La Planay, the day's winners crossed in 2h09’19”, just 5 seconds ahead of local favorites Bon Mardion – Gachet. Damevin – Maguet followed with a gap of 2’42”.

In the French Beaufortain mountains, there were only two women dominating the race. As expected, local hero Axelle Mollaret, racing alongside the experienced Lorna Bonnel, immediately took the lead and won the first of four stages in 2h44’25”. The second-place team, Laurie Renoton – Marie Pollet Villard, made a comeback to finish 13’42” behind. On the third step of the podium were two versatile champions: American Katy Shide, racing alongside Venetian athlete Martina Valmassoi (1st and 9th at the UTMB World Final 2024, respectively). Their finish time was 3h03’06”, 18’41”behind the day's winners.

Just enough time to recover, and tomorrow it will already be time to pin on the race bib again and take on the second stage of Pierra, which promises to be grueling… Stay Tuned!