SKI MOUNTAINEERING: THE DUO DAVIDE MAGNINI (ITA) / ANTON PALZER (GER) WINS THE MILLET TOUR DU RUTOR EXTRÊME 2026.

On the final day, Davide Magnini and Anton Palzer won both the last stage and the Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême. In the women’s race, Axelle Mollaret and Alba De Silvestro dominated. With their victory at Transcavallo and 4th place on the snow of Valgrisenche, Sonia Brussoz – Marcela Vasinova and William Boffelli – Alex Oberbacher secured the La Grande Course 2026 circuit title.
This morning, the decisive stage of Italy’s most extreme ski mountaineering race featured a 21 km course in alpine terrain with 2,500 m of elevation gain, starting and finishing in Planaval, in the municipality of Arvier (1,554 m a.s.l.). The loop designed around Château-Blanc took the 278 teams to the summit at 3,422 m a.s.l., after passing the alpine pastures of Orfeuille (1,982 m a.s.l.) and Plan-Petet (2,282 m a.s.l.).

UPSETS AND CONFIRMATIONS IN THE MEN’S RACE:

As the saying goes, “a race isn’t over until it’s over,” and the final stage of the Millet Tour du Rutor Extrême delivered a real twist in the men’s competition. Hampered by a broken ski, overall leaders William Bon Mardion – Xavier Gachet were attacked by Davide Magnini – Anton Palzer and the other French team Anselme Damevin – Samuel Equy. Racing aggressively, the versatile athlete from Trentino and the former German pro cyclist managed to win both the stage and the overall race with a final time of 5h17’24”.
Also on the TDR ’26 podium were the long-distance world champions William Bon Mardion – Xavier Gachet (5h18’18”) and the French duo Samuel Equy – Anselme Damevin (5h18’23”). Fourth place overall allowed the solid pair William Boffelli – Alex Oberbacher to win La Grande Course, the most prestigious ski mountaineering circuit in Europe. Fifth place went to local athletes Didier and Jacques Chanoine.

NO SURPRISES IN THE WOMEN’S RACE

Axelle Mollaret and Alba De Silvestro also dominated the second stage, winning the TDR with a finish time of 6h02’50”. Joining them on the podium were Giulia Compagnoni – Noemi Junod (6h43’10”) and Ilaria Veronese – Corinna Ghirardi (7h13’34”). Fourth place and overall circuit victory went to Sonia Brussoz – Marcela Vasinova. Completing the top five were Séverine Girard – Emilie Farquet.

AROUND ONE HUNDRED ATHLETES IN THE YOUTH RACE:

Alongside the senior race, the youth competition also took place, featuring dedicated courses and lower elevation gains, but still in true TDR style. Among the U20 men, local athlete Davide Gadin won ahead of Federico Pacchiarini and Nicola Rossi. In the women’s U20 category, Martina Scola confirmed her victory ahead of Gaia Calcini and Heidi Venturini.

In the U18 race, Tommaso Gabrielli prevailed over Alex Vavassori and Niccolò Santoni. In the corresponding women’s category, Marlies Sartori led Charline Cartier-Moulin and Veronica Bandiera on the podium. Among U16 men, Marco Previsdomini took the win ahead of Cyril Fonteyraud Ponteyraud and Damiano Migliorati. In the women’s race, Sofia Cloe Vesco confirmed her lead over Giulia Tomasoni and Elisa Framarin.

In the U14 category, the podiums were confirmed with Riccardo Lanfranchi, Giovanni Marti and Edoardo Pellizzari in the men’s race; and Cecilia Zhara Buda victorious over Marina Campana and Giulia Tiraboschi in the women’s race. Among the youngest, the U12 category, Ettore Capitani beat Matteo Pelegrini and Thomas Bombardieri. In the women’s race, Emma Lanfranchi claimed victory over Ginevra Rossi.

IT COULDN’T HAVE GONE BETTER

Marco Camandona, head of the organizing committee:
“It was a stellar edition. Not only because the participation numbers matched the record set in 2018, but also because of the performances. After two days of highly technical racing in the mountains, with over 5,000 meters of elevation gain, the leading teams finished with extremely narrow gaps. This says a lot about the athletic level of these champions. Behind the scenes, everything went perfectly. The weather allowed us to complete both the historic 1933 traverse and the classic Planaval route, but we had backup plans ready in case of bad weather. We couldn’t have asked for more: 278 teams at the start, many young athletes, and also the side event ‘Team 85’, which is starting to attract significant participation. Now let’s enjoy this success—starting tomorrow, we’ll begin thinking about the 23rd edition. See you on the last weekend of March 2028.”

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