SKI MOUNTAINEERING: The opening day of the 2026 Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême was a success, with the 24km crossing from La Thuile to Valgrisenche.

The first day of the Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême, the iconic Aosta Valley race and final of La Grande Course, got underway under the banner of the Pierra Menta winners Xavier Gachet – William Bon Mardion in the men’s race. In the women’s event, pre-race predictions were confirmed by the super-favorite pair Axelle Mollaret – Alba De Silvestro.

The most technical ski mountaineering race in Italy lived up to its reputation by offering, on opening day, a demanding 24 km course (2,438 m ascent and 2,220 m of highly technical descent) featuring a passage at 3,486 m above sea level on Testa del Rutor. Adding to the epic nature of this high-altitude traverse across the Rutor Glacier were strong winds and extremely cold temperatures.

Making the most of their downhill skills, William Bon Mardion and Xavier Gachet crossed the finish line in 2h43’19”. Second place went to the French duo Samuel Equy – Anselme Damevin (2h44’28”), while Davide Magnini – Anton Palzer claimed third (2h44’01”). Also performing well were Alex Oberbacher – William Boffelli in fourth (2h47’01”) and Nadir Maguet – Federico Nicolini in fifth (2h51’21”).

In the women’s race, Axelle Mollaret and Alba De Silvestro immediately took the win with a finish time of 3h15’59”. Also on the podium were Giulia Compagnoni – Noemi Junod (3h22’05”) and Ilaria Veronese – Corinna Ghirardi (3h34’58”).

Thanks to favorable weather conditions, the course setters, coordinated by alpine guides Marco Camandona and Roger Bovard, were able to stage a route that captivated the 278 teams at the start, with departure from the slopes of La Thuile and finish in Valgrisenche, following the original 1933 route.

In the afternoon, attention shifted to the youth races, with the entire organizing team quickly moving to lower altitudes to set courses dedicated to tomorrow’s champions. Distances and elevation gains were more contained, but always in true TDR style. In the under-20 category, local athlete Davide Gadin took victory ahead of Nicola Rossi and Matteo Bonetti.

In the women’s field, Martina Scola won ahead of Gaia Calcini and Heidi Venturini. In the under-18 race, Tommaso Gabrielli prevailed over Niccolò Santoni and Alex Vavassori. In the corresponding women’s category, Marlies Sartori led home Charline Cartier-Moulin and Veronica Bandiera. Due to a course issue, the men’s under-16 race was canceled. In the women’s race, Sofia Cloe Vesco won ahead of Giulia Tomasoni and Elisa Framarin. In the under-14 category, Riccardo Lanfranchi finished ahead of Giovanni Marti and Edoardo Pellizzari. Cecilia Zhara Buda also performed well, winning ahead of Marina Campana and Giulia Tiraboschi. Among the youngest competitors (under-12), Ettore Capitani beat Matteo Pelegrini and Thomas Bombardieri, while in the women’s race Emma Lanfranchi took victory ahead of Ginevra Rossi.

With this first day of racing completed, the final stage is scheduled for tomorrow in Planaval (Arvier), where the modern Tour du Rutor was born.

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