TDS

Course

The course climbs 9500 m+. With 66 m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 41% of the distance is uphill, 41% downhill and 18% flat. The longest climb runs 9.1 km at an average 12.7% grade (1146 m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.5 km at 13.9% (1179 m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 40.1% over 0.4 km. The steepest descent drops at 44.1% over 0.6 km. Surface: 69% trail, 14% road, 10% technical, and 5% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 240.6 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Arête du Mont Favre (2442 m), 11.9 km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Tête du Lac de Roselette (2114 m) and Bellevue (1801 m).

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 29.4 km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 77 of 100), with 44% of the load in the first half: 6 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Control on the marked descents until km 73, target pace until km 118, free after that. Short descents not listed: target pace.
• #4 · 11.9–14.8 km · 449 m D−, -15.9% · 90% of the race ahead → control
• #2 · 20.2–28.8 km · 845 m D−, -9.8% · 80% of the race ahead → control
• #1 · 35.6–47.5 km · 1389 m D−, -11.6% · 68% of the race ahead → control
• #5 · 67.3–71.6 km · 692 m D−, -15.8% · 51% of the race ahead → control
• #3 · 82.1–90.3 km · 1449 m D−, -17.6% · 39% of the race ahead → target pace
• #6 · 110.6–116.3 km · 889 m D−, -15.6% · 21% of the race ahead → target pace
• 133.4–137.7 km · 781 m D−, -18.0% · 6% of the race ahead → even, let go at the end
• Plus 2 more notable descents not listed: target pace.

Weather

Historically on race day, start temperatures range from 9°C to 17°C, around 4°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 44%. Heavy rain of 10.0 mm or more falls on about 9% of days around this date.