Tor des Géants

Tor des Géants

Tor des Géants runners with the Gran Paradiso in background
Event	Race
Sport	Trail running
Nation	Italy
Region	Aosta Valley
Participant	700 from all over the world (660 before)
Date	yearly, from 13 to 20 September (2015)
Length	about 330km (205mi)
Winner	Franco Collé (2014)
Site	Official site

Tor des Géants (meaning Tour of Giants in Valdôtain patois) 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 (205mi) 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 (31mi). Because of its difficulty, many athletes do not complete the trail. The completion rate is about 60%. Around 1,200 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 to 700 (660 before) 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 2013 edition was marked by the death of the Chinese runner, Yang Yuan. During a descent, he fell and he hit his head on rocks. There is a monument at the site of the accident. The cairn has inscribed a poem written by Yang Yuan.

Path

The trail is a tour of Aosta Valley following the two "High Routes" of the region, the No.2 or French: Haute route n°2) for the first half of the race and the No.1 (Italian: Alta Via n.1code: it is deprecated or French: 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 (985ft) and the highest is 3,300 m (10800ft). The total elevation gain is about 24,000 m (78700ft).

Hall of Fame

Male 2010

#	Runner	Category	Time
1	Ulrich Gross	Sen	80h27'23"
2	Salvador Calvo Redondo	Vet 2	86h47'54"
3	Guillaume Millet	Vet 1	87h17'37"

Female 2010

#	Runner	Category	Time
1	Annemarie Gross	Vet 1	91h19'13"
2	Julia Boettger	Sen	100h03'51"
3	Corinne Favre	Sen	114h40'37"

Male 2011

#	Runner	Category	Time
1	Henri-Jules Gabioud	Sen 1	79h58'26"
2	Christophe Le Saux	Sen 2	84h09'46"
3	Pablo Criado Toca	Sen 2	89h43'07"

Female 2011

#	Runner	Category	Time
1	Annemarie Gross	Vet 1	91h28'31"
2	Patrizia Pensa	Vet 1	102h25'42"
3	Giuliana Arrigoni	Vet 1	102h26'05"

Male 2012

#	Runner	Actual time	Recalculated time
1	Oscar Perez	75h56'31	75h56'31"
2	Grégoire Millet	78h50'03"	78h50'03"
3	Christophe Le Saux	80h14'14"	80h14'14"

Female 2012

#	Runner	Actual time	Recalculated time
1	Francesca Canepa	99h13'56"	85h33'56"
2	Sonia Glarey	104h45'54"	96h59'54"
3	Patrizia Pensa	106h00'15"	97h06'15"

Male 2013

#	Runner	Overall place	Time
1	Iker Karrera	1	70h04'15"
2	Oscar Perez	2	70h29'41"
3	Franco Collé	3	72h05'23"

Female 2013

#	Runner	Overall place	Time
1	Francesca Canepa	15	88h12'17"
2	Nerea Martinez Urruzola	20	91h01'42"
3	Emanuela Scilla Tonetti	25	94h45'59"

Male 2014

#	Runner	Overall place	Time
1	Franco Collé	1	71h49'10"
2	Hollon Nickademus	2	76h29'38"
3	Guillon Antoine	3	79h02'29"

Female 2014

#	Runner	Overall place	Time
1	Émilie Lecomte	9	85h53'14"
2	Lisa Borzani	22	94h43'46"
3	Denise Zimmermann	32	98h27'16"

Photos

• Rifugio coda - tor geants.jpg

  Indications at Coda refuge.

• Rifugio Sella - Tor des Geants.JPG

  Tor des Géants at refuge Victor Sella.

• La Thuile-Rifugio Deffeyes.jpg

  The "Tête du Rutor" see from Albert Deffeyes refuge.

• Finestra di Champorcher.JPG

  The "Fenêtre de Champorcher", after the first 115 km.