“This rise is double-edged. If you are really good, you can hurt others. If it’s you who’s in trouble, she can really pick you up…”. In a few words, Hugo Lapalus, 5e of the general classification of the Tour de Ski, summed up the challenge facing the cross-country skiers for the last stage this Sunday: Alpe Cermis and its 3.6 km at 12% average.
A unique exercise during the winter that Maurice Manificat had tamed in 2017. “I liked Alpe Cermis, but a few times my legs were hard and it was an ordeal,” recalls the young retiree. “Some people fear it because they are not made for this type of effort. They know that they will have a hard time and that it will be more or less pleasant (laughs). There is also the apprehension of not having good legs even though you are “boxy” and there is nothing you can do about that. »
Cross-country skiers are used to leaving the stadiums to tackle mountain roads during the summer. Whether in the Vercors during an internship in Corrençon or around Font-Romeu, in the Pyrenees, another summer gathering place. “But then we have to add the steep slope! », insists the consultant for Eurosport. “In 28%, it’s safe who can!” But also a technical challenge. You have to stay fluid, supple, airy and in rhythm while it crushes you. Some have intrinsic qualities for that, like Hugo (Lapalus), Jules (Lapierre, winner in 2024) or Delphine (Claudel, winner in 2023), because every extra kilo plays a role. »
3.6 km where everything can change
Before starting this justice of the peace, the cross-country skiers will have 80 milestones in their legs since the start of the event on December 28 in Toblach. But all the efforts made can be shattered on the final 3.6 kilometers of the Tour de Ski. “A minute, a minute and a half, or even two minutes ahead of the general doesn’t mean anything! », specifies Manificat.
The climb is decisive, but be careful with its approach where placement is as important as at the entrance to the Trouée d’Arenberg on Paris-Roubaix. “It’s a narrow descent where it’s difficult to be two abreast. Even if you have to keep your strength, you have to be well placed because the best ones shift quite quickly and a meter of delay quickly becomes insurmountable. This is Alpe Cermis.
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