La Montee du Nid d'Aigle (© La Montee du Nid d'Aigle)
La Montee du Nid d'Aigle forms part of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup for the first time on Saturday (17), with the event playing host to some of the top mountain runners in the world.
The location of Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains has to be one of the best for mountain sports. Located next to the Italian and Swiss borders, the Haute-Savoie region is an absolute magnet for mountain runners and skiers.
La Montee du Nid d'Aigle was actually one of the first mountain races in France and as such, it’s a must-do race for French runners. It’s also really important to the community in Saint-Gervais, with 200 volunteers helping out every year. It’s an integral part of the identity of Saint-Gervais and the local people embrace it, like all the best races.
Some of the athletes competing in the classic mountain race, which is 19.5km and uphill-only with 2000m of ascent, have featured in the World Cup already this year.
In the women’s race Kenya’s Lucy Murigi, the former world champion, returns to action after her third place at last weekend’s Grossglockner Berglauf. Finland’s Susanna Saapunki will also be looking to build on her success at Grossglockner, where she finished fourth. Czech Republic’s Lucie Marsanova, fifth at the first World Cup race in 2021, Tatra Race Run, will also be toeing the line, alongside 10th-placed Timea Merenyi of Hungary.
Elise Poncet of France, who finished second in the 2019 World Championships, will certainly be one to watch and she’s joined by many impressive fellow French athletes on home turf. Christel Dewalle is a 10-time French VK champion, so should do well in an uphill-only race. Fresh from a second place at the Mont Blanc Marathon a couple of weeks ago, Anais Sabrie could also challenge, as could Julia Combe, who was third in the Mont Blanc Cross.
In the men’s race Italy’s Henri Aymonod will be looking to capitalise on his World Cup results so far this year – a third place at Tatra and a 10th place at Grossglockner. His compatriot Francesco Puppi, second placed in the World Long Distance Championships in 2019, recently finished fifth in a very competitive Mont Blanc Marathon. Petro Mamu of Eritrea will always be a threat, having finished on the podium in most of the big races, including Sierre-Zinal and Smarna Gora. Sandor Szabo, sixth in the 2019 World Cup, is always a tough competitor, as he proved at Tatra, where he also finished sixth and Grossglockner, where he was 13th. Xavier Chevrier of Italy will also be one to watch.
But they will face serious competition from the French athletes. Alexandre Fine was fifth in the 2019 World Championships (classic distance) and Simon Paccard is fresh from a third place at the Mont Blanc Cross. Julien Rancon, Julien Michelon and young athletes like Remi Lonchampt and Theo Dancer will be exciting to watch.
Will records fall this year? The women’s record, incredibly, has stood since 2006 when Isabelle Guillot set the current mark of 2:06:06. The current men’s record of 1:47:49 was set by Manu Meyssat in 2017.
The race route begins at Parc Thermal, Le Fayet and initially follows the river towards St Gervais, and then to La Villette, climbing gradually. From there it heads away from the road and into the trees and begins to climb more steeply and it continues to climb relentlessly all the way up to the finish at Refuge du Nid d’Aigle at 2394m.
The race has a commitment to limiting its environmental impact and the measures taken include using local sponsors and partners to support the local area and reduce the need for transporting goods; using reusable flags and banners; no plastic bottles or cups; no paper flyers or posters and all race registration is online-only; using the tram instead of a helicopter to transport equipment to the mountaintop finish; encouraging runners to travel by train and providing free shuttles from the station to the race village; and carbon accounting to calculate emissions.
Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics
