Tour du Rutor 2016: Michele Boscacci - Matteo Eydallin and Laetitia Roux - Axelle Mollaret win 18th edition

A fourth victory for Matteo Eydallin, a first for Michele Boscacci who, today at Planaval, officially won the Overall World Cup and took the top podium spot of the Tour du Rutor just like his father did fifteen years ago. In the women’s event, the legendary French duo Laetitia Roux – Axelle Mollaret left their adversaries under no illusion whatsoever with an astounding hattrick of victories on Friday, Saturday and Sunday that gave a serious indication of the strength of these two champions.

This afternoon crowds of spectators gathered at Arvier for the award’s ceremony to witness the two Courmayeur military squad athletes lift up the Tour du Rutor trophy, while Brusson Henri Grosjacques and Nadir Giovanetto were awarded the Memorial Remo Brédy as best Valle d’Aosta team. Fresh speedsters Alexis Sevennec and Didier Blanc won the “Free Ride La Sportiva” trophy for having clocked up the fastest time down the descents on all three stages of the Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême.

The 18th edition of the most Extrême Italian ski mountaineering competition came to an end beneath some light drizzle that despite the hugely reduced visibility failed to dampen the spirits of the countless spectators. Race chief Marco Camandona and his staff opted to put the competitor’s safety first and therefore shortened the original line of course in order to avoid the glacier and excessive risks after two extenuating days of competition. As a result, the leaders controlled each other without taking excessive risks.

MEN'S COMPETITION
After a morning without any major upsets, the first to cross the finishing line were the Frenchmen William Bon Mardion – Xavier Gachet in 1h33’33”, followed by Switzerland’s Remi – Bonnet – Martin Anthamatten (1h33’39”), and then the winners of this 18th edition, the Italians Michele Boscacci – Matteo Eydallin (1h33’58”). Boscacci and Eydallin clocked up a total time of 6h51’50”, 3’40” minutes faster than the Swissmen, while Bon Mardion – Gachet trailed by 5’28”.

WOMEN’S COMPETITION:
Axelle Mollaret and Laetitia Roux, always and forever alone. The two Frenchwomen were crowned the queens of the TdR 2016 with a total time of 8h43’17”. Jennifer Fiechter - Séverine Pont Combe took silver in 8h56’23”, ahead of Elena Nicolini - Laura Besseghini who took bronze after 9h08’57”.

POST COMPETITON COMMENTS
Michele Boscacci:"I'm happy and excited. I won an important competition my father won 15 years ago. I'm happy because racing with Matteo Eydallin taught me a lot. He's a great champion, and during these three days he made me realis how important it is to wisely manage the classic three-day competition. We tried to attack on days one and two, while today we tried to control the competition without taking too many risks. Today is an important day for me. I won the TdR and also I won other precious points for the overall World Cup."

Laetitia Roux: "I'm happy with this success. My first with Axelle, my first with a French athlete. The weather made the race even harder, perhaps that's why I'm so satisfied."

Marco Camandona (Head of the Organising Committee): "After several editions marked by brilliant sunshien, this year the weather put a spanner in the works as best it could. But, as everyone knows, it's in difficult conditions that you notice how well an organising committee works and now that it's all over, I can say we worked superbly. We've just endured three days of early wakeups after sleepless nights, thinking and rethinking about safe solutions to ensure the competition would run smoothly. Thanks to loads of hard work we managed to pull off a TdR I'd define as epic. In the end, the biggestsatisfaction was seeing the competitors who, at the finish line, tried to hug and thank me. It's time to take stock and say thanks. I'd like to say a big, heartfelt thank youto the sponsors and institutions that always support us, but especially to my team. They are the heart and sould of event. It is they who, once again, helped me run a great Tour du Rutor"