Andy Symonds in superb form in the French Alps

A breakdown of the 15 stages can be found below;

Stage 1
The opening stage consisted of a 10km trail run with 700m of elevation gain starting from downtown Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Andy placed 5th from 114 competitors in 46.58.

Stage 2 (Day 1)
A 5am start on Day 2 of the event saw the athletes tackle the mountaineering stage which featured 33.5km complete with 3100m of elevation on trail that constitutes part of the Mont Blanc Tour. Andy put in a magnificent effort on this stage leading his team into the finish in first place.

Stage 3 (Day 1)
The athletes barely had time to recover from the intensity of the previous stage when Leg 3 was about to commence. This was a 6km trail race with an overall descent of 350m run between two villages in the Beaufortain valley. Andy showed no signs of fatigue as he powered his way to 3rd place overall in 19.27. After the first full day of competition Andy’s Saab Salomon team were the event leaders.

Stage 4 (Day 2)
Stage 4 offered the athletes a welcome break from running with the first of two mountain bike sections taking place. However with a 48km physically demanding course awaiting complete with 2113m of ascent it was never going to be easy! The stage set of at 6am and after 4 hours of pedalling Andy’s team completed this stage in 2nd place.

Stage 5 (Day 2)
After a short break the race re-commenced at 1pm with Stage 5 which was a 32km ride between Flumet and Thônes complete with 1154m of climbing. Andy’s team finished this stage in 9th place.

Stage 6 (Day 2)
After 80km of mountain biking already the athletes completed Day 2 with a 10km trail race with 421m of climbing. Andy’s team retained the overall lead after the Day 2.

Stage 7, 8 and 9 (Day 3)
The opening three stages on Day 3 involved a 2km canyoning section in Magland canyon, South-East of Lake Annecy. This was followed by a 2.4km stage with an elevation gain of 590m where the competitors use ropes to assist this steep ascent. Stage 9 was the final rope section with the teams split into three lanes in a race against the clock up a near vertical ascent.

Stage 10 (Day 3)
The final stage on Day 3 was another trail race where the runners faced a 15km race with a massive 700m of climbing. Andy placed 8th overall in 1.13.02.

Stages 11, 12 and 13 (Day 4)
The penultimate day of competitions saw the event take to the water with three canoeing sections. To increase the difficulty the competitors faced the rapids of two of Savoie Mont Blanc’s finest white water rivers, the Arve and the Giffre. The canoe sections were 14km, 16km and 6km along very fast flowing water and this was always going to be the toughest test for Andy’s team. Despite flipping their canoe twice in the rapids they managed to stay in contention for the race lead.

Stage 14 (Day 4)
The 14th stage was held in Morzine and involved the teams competing against each other in a 2km relay with Andy’s team placing 3rd overall.

Stage 15 (Day 5)
The final stage was never going to be a soft option and this 15th leg of this epic event was a 46km race with an elevation gain of 3000m. Andy’s Saab Salomon team crossed the line in 4th position in 7hrs 5 mins and after leading the competition for three days finished 2nd overall behind the experienced French team.

Congratulations to Andy and the rest of his team on their magnificent performance. Further details, videos and photo’s can be found on the event website by clicking HERE.

Finally, Andy has decided not to attempt defending his Tour of Fife title this week as a somewhat deserved rest is in order after his adventure in the French Alps!