Races
TDS
Courmayeur at midnight. Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie. Nine thousand meters of climbing in thirty fewer kilometers than UTMB. The Beaufortain decides who finishes.
- Start4,011 ft
- High8,244 ft
- Low2,369 ft
- Finish3,396 ft
Terrain
The cruxPasseur de Pralognan (2,552 m) and Col Chavannes (2,580 m)
Course DNA
The Course
Italy to France through the Aosta Valley, Tarentaise, and Beaufortain. Starts in Courmayeur on Monday night. Lac Combal and Petit Saint-Bernard come fast. Bourg Saint-Maurice sits low at km 50. Then Cormet de Roselend and the long grind into Beaufort at km 92, the only drop-bag before Chamonix. Col Chavannes at 2,580 meters crosses in the dark above the Vallee des Glaciers. Passeur de Pralognan is the technical crux: steep, exposed, often bottlenecked on fixed lines. Les Contamines and Les Houches are the last major towns. Chamonix finish on Wednesday evening.
The Work
Nearly UTMB vert in a shorter course. Sixty-five meters of gain per kilometer. Train steep sustained climbs and long descents on tired legs. Eccentric quad work after back-to-back cols. Night hiking with poles on technical terrain. The Passeur and Beaufort sections reward athletes who can power-hike for hours without blowing up on the next descent.
Kit
Full UTMB mandatory kit. Windproof layer for cols above 2,400 meters. Headlamp with spare batteries for two nights minimum. Soft flask capacity for long sections between Bourg Saint-Maurice and Beaufort. Poles are not optional on the Passeur.
Race Day
Do not treat the opening valley miles as free speed. Save the legs for Cormet de Roselend and the Beaufort approach. Beaufort at km 92 is the crew hub. Dry socks. Hot food. Check the clock to Le Signal and Les Contamines. The Passeur hits when sleep debt is real. Stay patient in queues. The descent to Chamonix is long and leg-heavy after Bellevue.
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