Stage 1 – Megève, presented by Royal Canin

Sunshine, beautiful snow and magical scenery this Sunday morning for the first stage presented by Royal Canin of La Grande Odyssée VVF. The hamlet of Cote 2000, above Megève, welcomed the mushers for the start and finish of this great dog sled race through the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region.

Today’s 25km loop, with its 800m vertical drop, took the teams around the altiport, over the adjacent false flats and through the frost-white forest.

At the end of a very snowy course, Frenchwoman Elsa Borgey won in 1 hour 09 minutes and 40 seconds ahead of her compatriot Cindy Duport and Spaniard Itoitz Armendariz. In the Nordic category (husky dog), the indomitable Jean Combazard reminded his rivals from the outset that he would be a tough opponent in this race once again this year, taking the Suzuki-sponsored leader’s chasuble in 1 h 20 and 17 seconds ahead of Italy’s Mattéo Fossati, who was taking part in La Grande Odyssée-VVF for the first time. The musher from Seine-Marne will be competing in his 18th edition of this legendary race.

The competitors in the Haute-Savoie Trophy, who only run the first three stages of the 12-stage event, took the same route and it was Frenchman Eric Grosbois who won in 1 hour 18 minutes and 10 seconds ahead of his compatriots Valentin Rouvier and Cyril Kaluszynski. All the participants enjoyed the route, along which a large crowd turned out to cheer them on. At the end of the prize-giving ceremony, the 9 mushers on the podium received a 20-kilo bag of Royal Canin croquettes and a basket of Haute-Savoie specialities.

The day ended with the Odyssée pour Tous with Crédit Mutuel, a 7km race reserved for 4 young people with mental disabilities. They are supervised by the Handimush association founded by Solenne Dornier and Jocelyne Vétyzou, two educators who have been running this project for five years with the support of the Animation Grand Nord association. The Handimushers, very comfortable on their sled pulled by 4 dogs, were very proud to have completed the trail without a hitch.

See you tomorrow, Monday 13 January at La Chapelle d’Abondance for the second stage of La Grande Odyssée VVF and the final stage of the Haute-Savoie Trophy.

Find out all about tomorrow’s stage! Good deals, accessibility, accommodation, race locations, GPS tracking, entertainment program, media coverage… everything you need to plan your visit to one of the stages, or to follow the race remotely, by clicking here.