Tor des Geants, one of the true giants of mountain racing, kicks off on the 11th September until 18th September in Italy. It is a 336km race with 24,000m of ascent. It kicks off in Courmayeur which has just hosted some of the UTMB races.
It will run along the Alta Via 1 and Alta Via 2 of the Valle d’Aosta and the finishing line is back in Courmayeur. Along the route there will be a number of rest, rescue and refreshment points, as well as seven larger bases that will divide the route up into seven sectors:
- Courmayeur – Valgrisenche 50 km 4747 D+
- Valgrisenche – Cogne 58 km 5082 D+
- Cogne – Donnas 45 km 2698 D+
- Donnas – Gressoney St Jean 54 km 6086 D+
- Gressoney St Jean – Valtournenche 33 km 3187 D+
- Valtournenche – Ollomont 48 km 4904 D+
- Ollomont – Courmayeur 50 km 4210 D+
It goes without saying that it is going to provide some stunning landscapes – if you have time to get your head up and look at them! The route at the foot of the region’s Four-Thousanders is particularly beautiful.
Last year’s men’s winner was Frenchman, Patrick Bohard (51) with a great time of 80 hours and 20 minutes, in very hostile weather conditions. Patrick began running just eight years ago at the age of 43!
For the women, it was Denise Zimmermann from Switzerland.
Other runners to watch for this edition include: Lisa Burzani, Dan Doherty, Christophe Le Saux, Gianluca Galeati, Lino Wataru….
For more information go here.
