Ski Mountaineering World Cup 2024/25, at Courchevel first medals and Olympic points for Milano Cortina 2026

The 2024/2025 Ski Mountaineering World Cup officially begun last weekend with the first stage in Courchevel, France. This is an extremely important season, as athletes are hunting for points to qualify for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics where ski mountaineering - unfortunately only with the men's and women's sprint races and the mixed relay - will make its historic Olympic debut.

SPRINT
After dominating the qualifications, quarterfinals, and semifinals, French athlete Emily Harrop triumphed in the Sprint race, finishing nearly 8 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Marianne Fatton. Harrop’s compatriot Margot Ravinel secured 3rd place, followed by Italy’s Giulia Murada in 4th, Germany’s Tatjana Paller in 5th, and another French athlete, Célia Perillat-Pessey, rounding out the final in 6th. In the men's event, spectators were treated to an intense showdown in an all-European final, mirroring the women’s race. Cardona Coll clinched a hard-fought victory in a tight sprint against Switzerland’s Arno Lietha. France’s Thibault Anselmet, the only local athlete in the final, secured 3rd place, finishing 2.09 seconds behind the leader. He was followed by Switzerland’s Jon Kistler and two Spanish athletes, Iñigo Martinez De Albornoz Marqués and Ot Ferrer Martinez.

VERTICAL
The Vertical race was held on Sunday morning on a well-known segment of 3.2 kilometers with 520 meters of elevation. Records were at stake – and the men’s record fell! Despite not feeling at her best, Axelle Gachet Mollaret claimed victory with a time of 25:30. She was closely followed by compatriot Emily Harrop (25:42.9) and Austria’s Sarah Dreier (25:57.5). Rounding out the top five were Italy’s Alba De Silvestro (26:16.4) and Spain’s Malek Osa Ansa (26:42.1). Axelle Gachet Mollaret remains the current record holder with a time of 23:41, set in 2022. In the men's race, Switzerland’s Rémi Bonnet delivered an extraordinary performance, dominating the competition with a time of 19:47.9 and breaking his previous record by nearly a minute (former record: 20:30). His compatriot Aurélien Gay secured second place with a time of 21:38.2, followed closely by France’s Xavier Gachet (21:45.7). Completing the top five were France’s Jay Paul (21:46.6) and Belgium’s Maximilien Drion (21:46.7).