Tor des Géants


Tor des Géants is an endurance trail race which takes place in Aosta Valley, Italy, in September.

Description

It provides prizes for all participants who complete the run before the cutoff. The start and the finish are in Courmayeur. The total length of the race is 330 km which must be completed in less than 150 hours. There are 43 refreshment points at which the runners can eat, sleep and, if needed, obtain medical care. There are also 7 life bases, which are bigger than refreshment points. They are placed about every 50 km. Because of its difficulty, many athletes do not complete the trail. The completion rate is about 60%. Around 2000 volunteers are used to organize the race. Due to the difference between the highest point and the lowest point, weather can be an additional obstacle. As they travel, the competitors can encounter sun, rain, wind, and even snow. The number of participants is limited because of the complexity of managing people over the 330 km trek. For the 2015 edition there have been 2291 pre-registrations. For 2016 it will be conducted under ITRA regulations, the governing body for trail races in the Mont Blanc and Alpine region.
The first inaugural edition was in 2010.
The 2012 edition was interrupted on the fourth night and stopped on the fifth day at En Bosses. About 70 runners completed the whole course.
The 2013 edition was marked by the death of the Chinese runner, Yang Yuan. He fell and he hit his head on rocks during the first rainy night of the race. There is a monument at the site of the accident. The cairn has inscribed a poem written by Yang Yuan.
The 2015 edition was interrupted on the third night due to severe weather and stopped on the fourth night, because Col Malatra got covered by ice. Only six runners completed the whole distance.
In 2016 local authorities organized a competing race 4K VDA. The suspected reasons were concerns for runner's safety and the costs. The race started and ended in Cogne and went clockwise.
Since the 2017 edition has been introduced a geolocation service via GPS system. Through the Tor des Géants website, for each athlete are shown: time of pass at specific points along the path, overall ranking, median speed, distance and elevation gain traveled. There is also a map that shows the athletes live position.

Path

The trail is a tour of Aosta Valley following the two "High Routes" of the region, the Alta Via n.2 or Haute route n°2 for the first half of the race, and the Alta Via n.1 or Haute route n°1 for the second half of the race. During the tour, the runners cross 34 municipalities, 25 mountain passes over 2000 metres, 30 alpine lakes and 2 natural parks. The minimum altitude is 300 m and the highest is 3,300 m. The total elevation gain is about 24,000 m.

Hall of Fame


#RunnerCategoryTime
1 Ulrich GrossSen80h27'23"
2 Salvador Calvo RedondoVet 286h47'54"
3 Guillaume MilletVet 187h17'37"



#RunnerCategoryTime
1 Annemarie GrossVet 191h19'13"
2 Julia BoettgerSen100h03'51"
3 Corinne FavreSen114h40'37"



#RunnerCategoryTime
1 Henri-Jules GabioudSen 179h58'26"
2 Christophe Le SauxSen 284h09'46"
3 Pablo Criado TocaSen 289h43'07"



#RunnerCategoryTime
1 Annemarie GrossVet 191h28'31"
2 Patrizia PensaVet 1102h25'42"
3 Giuliana ArrigoniVet 1102h26'05"



#RunnerActual timeRecalculated time
1 Oscar Perez75h56'3175h56'31"
2 Grégoire Millet78h50'03"78h50'03"
3 Christophe Le Saux80h14'14"80h14'14"



#RunnerActual timeRecalculated time
1 Francesca Canepa99h13'56"85h33'56"
2 Sonia Glarey104h45'54"96h59'54"
3 Patrizia Pensa106h00'15"97h06'15"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Iker Karrera170h04'15"
2 Oscar Perez270h29'41"
3 Franco Collé372h05'23"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Francesca Canepa1588h12'17"
2 Nerea Martinez Urruzola2091h01'42"
3 Emanuela Scilla Tonetti2594h45'59"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Franco Collé171h49'10"
2 Hollon Nickademus276h29'38"
3 Guillon Antoine379h02'29"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Émilie Lecomte985h53'14"
2 Lisa Borzani2294h43'46"
3 Denise Zimmermann3298h27'16"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Patrick Bohard180h20'35"
2 Gianluca Galeati280h44'34"
3 Christophe Le Saux381h19'25"



#RunnerOverall placeTimeArrive base
1 Denise Zimmermann979h12'35"Ollomont Out
2 Lisa Borzani2280h16'24"Ollomont Out
3 Marina Plavan3285h55'00"Ollomont In



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Oliviero Bosatelli175h10'22"
2 Oscar Perez Lopez281h14'50"
3 Pablo Criado Toca383h40'10"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Lisa Borzani791h09'44"
2 Stephanie Case1498h15'27"
3 Maria Semerjian19100h18'42"



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Javier Dominguez-Ledo167h52'
2 Oliviero Bosatelli269h16'
3 Andrea Macchi374h51'



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Lisa Borzani1189h40'
2 Silvia Trigueros-Garrote2397h43'
3 Marina Plavan46106h29'



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Franco Colle174h03'
2 Galen Reynolds274h40'
3 Peter Kienzl377h31'



#RunnerOverall placeTime
1 Silvia Trigueros-Garrote1287h50'
2 Emanuela-Scilla Tonetti2595h54'
2 Jamie Aarons2595h54'

Photos