Tor des Géants, a journey between the competition, the celebrations and the mountains. By Linda Cottino

After the victory of local runner Franco Collé, followed by Nichademus Hollon (USA) and the Frenchmen Antoine Guillon and Christophe Le-Saux, France's Emilie Lecomte crossed the finishing line last night after 85 hours and 53 minutes, setting a new female track record. Italy's Lisa Barzani finished second in 94 hours and 43 minutes. While the finishing line will officially close on Saturday, runners continue to arrive at Courmayeur. The time has come to share some thoughts about this great tour of the Valle d'Aosta. The report and ideas of Linda Cottino.
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Tor des Géants 2014, a journey between the competition, the celebrations and the mountains.
Linda Cottino
"I felt sick, I even ran with a 40° fever, but the people kept telling me: come on Franco, you can do it, go on... So could I really give up? I had to continue, for them!" They are his compatriots, his folk from the Valle d'Aosta, and the meaning of the Tor could be summed up in this sentence that Collé exclaimed dazed, exhausted and excited below the finishing arch of the Tor des Géants 2014, after having negotiated 332,3 km and 24 thousand vertical metres, practically without ever having slept in 71 hours and 49 minutes. Well beyond the performance of the winner and the podium athletes or the top ten, it is in fact the entire region that hedges its bet on this race of giants, making it one of the standard-bearer events of its. territory.

For an entire week 2200 volunteers look after the 770 athletes who come 60 different countries and all 5 continents, manning the refreshment points, the life points, checkpoints, mountain passes, mountain huts; these our people from the Valle d'Aosta, from all its nooks and crannies who give the event its festive touch, easing that competitive tension that is increasingly permeating the hundreds of vertical races, skyraces, ultramarathons and endurance trails that are organised worldwide.

The last runners will bring things to a close on Saturday, the final day of the competition and for its entire duration the checkpoints and the territory is manned and monitored across 150km areas. This alpine world, usually silent and isolated, suddenly bursts into life with various forms of humanity. This dual personality of the Tor, in part a competition and in part a celebration, makes some "purists" turn up their noses; some complain about the lack of real top athletes: the likes of Kilian Jornet, so to speak. Others complain about the fact that the rules are not enforced, leaving a wide margin of uncertainty (and thereby keeping the best athletes at bay), but especially leaving ample room for "creativity" to those who are accompanied along long sections of the course, to those who sleep in camper vans or hotels rather than in the designated erst areas, or, indeed, to those who might be tempted to shorten the long journey.

Francesca Canepa's disqualification, after having made all the proper distinctions and removed the slander, is significant: she states there was no one at the manned checkpoint and therefore continued her run, while the director replied that it was the volunteers assigned to that registration post who reported that the athlete from Courmayeur had failed to register at the checkpoint. Faced with this problem, some people believe it would now be a good think for the first 50 runners to be equipped with a GPS device. In short, five years after its debut, the big Valle d'Aosta competition must clearly state its objectives and the direction it wishes to head in.

"The initial goal was to promote the region, and we have certainly achieved this" stated race director Alessandra Nicoletti, adding "in Google, Val d'Aosta appeared on page six, now we're on page 1! As to the competition rules, we've addressed them every year with new solutions and we're gradually solving them."

In any case, the competition is still a great celebration for the vast majority of runners who, for an entire week, embark on a true journey, for the body but also for the mind. Where, battling against fatigue, muscle ache, tiredness, nights out on the trails, the heat on the steepest slopes, the cold at altitude, food, blisters... they are looked after, encouraged, welcomed by the people of the valley. By them who are the real added value of this huge sports event which, at the end of the day, maintains an essential freedom: ensure that those who take part have fun.

by Linda Cottino

info: www.tordesgeants.it

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