SPANIARD IKER OZKOIDI GARCIA WINS THE 21ST EDITION OF LA GRANDE ODYSSEE VVF

For the 11th and final stage of La Grande Odyssée VVF presented by Flexadin, in Villard de Lans, the rain unfortunately invited itself to the Nordic area of the Haut-Vercors, known as the Bois Barbu. Given the state of the snow, which had been soaked by heavy rain throughout the morning, the race directors decided to shorten the stage to 14km, with 440m of ascent, and above all, that it would not count towards the final classification.

Just before the start, Nathalie Faure, vice-president for the mountains for the Isère department, in the presence of Annabel Kam, president of the race, awarded the Fair Play prize to Alexandre Camberlein, musher and finalist of La Grande Odyssée VVF, for his good behaviour on the course.

La Grande Odyssée VVF crowned the superb performance of Iker Ozkoidi Garcia who, for his 4th participation, finally won the grail after three second places. He covered the 11 stages in 13 hours, 46 minutes and 22 seconds, ahead of France’s Elsa Borgey by 15 minutes and 52 seconds. The victory also went to his dog Goku, who was awarded the gold harness: ‘my best dog and one of my top dogs’, he explained. Cindy Duport completed the podium in 14 h 53 minutes and 56 seconds and was awarded the Best Dog Care with Royal Canin for good behaviour with her dogs, while her young handleuse Coline received the Handleur prize.

In the Nordic category, Jean Combazard was crowned winner for the 9th time of this unique alpine event, which he loves because it is his 18th participation. He completed the 11 stages in 16 hours 43 minutes and 39 seconds, while his runner-up, Italy’s Mattéo Fossati, was almost 2 hours 30 minutes behind (19 hours 19 minutes and 27 seconds), while the french Cécile Durand rider completed the podium in 19 hours 49 minutes and 12 seconds.

In the Trophée Crédit Mutuel, Norway’s Sissel Wolf Molmen won in 1 h 46 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of France’s Julien Chatelain and Boris Hannoteaux.
At the end of this fine 21st edition, the mushers praised the event, which benefited from good snow conditions. ‘For the first time, I found this race magnificent, well organised, the trails super, varied with exceptional snow. I really enjoyed it and I’d like to come back’, said Cécile Durand, who is determined “to train better”. The organisers were of the same opinion: ‘This was one of the best editions ever, with exceptional snow conditions that enabled us to complete almost all the stages initially planned,’ enthused Thibaut Branquart, the race director, who also emphasised that on the sporting front, ‘the battle for the podium really livened up the race. It was a fine victory for Spaniard Iker Ozkoidi Garcia’.

For her part, Annabel Kam emphasised that ‘this 21st edition marks much more than an anniversary: it’s the celebration of 20 years of human and sporting adventure in the heart of the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region. The conditions were ripe for success, thanks to the unfailing commitment of the entire La Grande Odyssée VVF family, the regions we have crossed and our partners’. Keen to express her gratitude to all her teams, the president ‘looks forward to seeing everyone next year to continue this great story’ and undertook to unveil ‘a new race programme designed for the next three years’.

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