LEDAERS CONFIRM THEIR GREAT FORM

For the second day at La Chapelle d’Abondance, which brings the sequence in the heart of Haute Savoie to a close, this 3rd stage, which started at 3pm, went very quickly. The teams competing in La Grande Odyssée VVF enjoyed some very good driving.

Frenchwoman Elsa Borgey consolidated her position as leader in the overall rankings. She won the stage in 49 minutes 54 seconds ahead of her Spanish rival Iker Ozkoidi Garcia, who crossed the line 2 minutes 1 second behind her. Frenchwoman Cindy Duport, who finished with one of her dogs in the sled, was slightly behind her two rivals, completing the 25km in 54 mins 35 secs. The overall classification therefore remains unchanged at the end of this Haute-Savoyarde stage.

In the Nordic category, it was a similar story, with the leaders consolidating their positions. French leader Jean Combazard, in fine form, took victory in 1h 01mn 09s. He extended his lead over his Italian rival, Matteo Fossati, who covered the distance in 1h 06 mn 42s. Cecile Durand also gave up a little time, completing the trail in this beautiful valley of Abondance in 1h 07mn 09s.

At the start, Elsa Borgey wore not only the leader’s jersey sponsored by Suzuki, but also the Dog Care of the Day jersey sponsored by Royal Canin, for having followed the veterinary team’s advice to change her diet to compensate for the ‘loss’ of appetite of one of her bitches in heat.
In the morning, as on the previous day, vets from the French Anti-Doping Association came to check 4 dogs taken at random from the packs. Blood and urine samples were taken and sent to the national anti-doping laboratory. Admittedly, these tests will not affect the course of the race, as the results will not be known for another month. However, any positive results would obviously have an impact on the overall rankings.

Look out for the fourth stage of La Grande Odyssée VVF tomorrow, Wednesday 15 January, starting in La Toussuire and finishing in Le Corbier.

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