June 17

TOR DES GEANTS 2020: Tor des Géants, Tor des Glaciers, Tot Dret and Passage au Malatrà cancelled for 2020. Organization will reimburse 50% and bib-number guaranteed.

Posted by adefrutos on June 17, 2020 in tor des geants, tor des geants 2019, trail running, trail running spain, Ultra Trail | Leave a comment

Tor des Géants is a 357k/D+25.300m ultra trail which takes place all over the Aosta Valley, Italy, in September, with its start and the finish at Courmayeur. The course must be completed in less than 150 hours, counting on over 43 refreshment points and among them 7 life bases, which allow full services to the runners, included a much needed place to sleep for the popular runner, while the elite get by on along three days hardly stoping for a nap at all.. The completion rate is about 60%.

In 2020 and due the COVID-19 outbreak the event will not be performed, the organization will refund 50% of costs and will give a bib-number guaranteed for 2020.

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TOR DES GEANTS 2020 CANCELLED

The races in the Aosta Valley will come back in 2021.

TOR DES GEANTS, TOR DES GLACIERS, TOT DRET AND PASSAGE AU MALATRA HAVE BEEN ALL CANCELLED IN 2020 due COVID-19 outbreak. President of VDA Trailers Alessandra Nicoletti announces the long-awaited decision on the toughest endurance trail in the world: “It is with great reluctance and regret that we must announce the TORX races scheduled to take place between 11 and 20 September 2020 – TOR450 – Tor des Glaciers, TOR330 – Tor des Géants®, TOR130 – Tot Dret, Tor30 – Passage au Malatrà – have had to be cancelled.”

The reason is closely linked to the spread of Covid-19. Since 30 January, the day the World Health Organisation declared the Covid 19 epidemic a ‘public health emergency of international concern’, the Italian government has rapidly adopted increasingly stringent measures, legal and regulatory, aimed at greatly restricting the movement of people within the country and preventing sporting and economic activities from taking place. VDA Trailers has delayed making this difficult decision until now in the vain hope that the future would become clearer and the situation would improve quicker, but there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the months ahead and a second wave of the pandemic has not been ruled out.

“As of today, stringent measures on organising sporting events are still in place – Nicoletti stresses – and it is impossible for us to guarantee the safety of every single runner and their associates, plus volunteers, tourists and the broader Valle d’Aosta community; tens of thousands of people who experience the TOR X races on the front line and in close contact, and are a vital part of the activities“.

TOR X is an international event. “There are 77 nations represented by registered athletes – continues Nicoletti – and each country is facing the pandemic, with differences in prevention and intervention standards, according to the states: again, it is impossible to know who, and how, will be granted access to our country in September, and, if necessary, return home after the competition.” So it is a painful decision that we only arrived at after long consideration and various attempts to find a loophole that would allow the race to go ahead. “We took immediate action on two fronts,” explains the president of VdA Trailers. “On the one hand we kept a constant check on how the situation was developing, took note of the changing instructions from the government and assessed the material impact these could have on the outstanding race calendar, and on the other we sought alternative solutions. We reflected, reviewed, compared and discussed, not just inside the organisation but also with regional bodies, sponsors and logistics experts. We held a continuous stream of meetings hoping to find a solution that would enable the TORX to go ahead in September.”

A number of suggestions were put forward, but unfortunately none of them was practical. “We considered introducing staggered starts, extending and separating the facilities at life bases and putting in additional support systems along the route, but this itself would have meant twice as many volunteers, drivers, fitters, rescue workers, IT technicians, guides, public safety workers, doctors, nurses and physiotherapists as usual out in the field“. And there was no guarantee that these people would even be available considering that the prime commitment of these essential players is to deal with the national health crisis. “Even assuming everyone was available, nobody and nothing could have guaranteed the absolute safety of every athlete and member of the public at the time of the event, and in this case after it. And safety has always been our fundamental concern in everything we do, more important than sport, amusement or cameraderie.”

Alle the informations about the refund have been communicated to each registered athlete. Every competitor of TOR330 – Tor des Géants® and TOR450 – Tor des Glaciers will receive the 2020 edition bag, which remains one of the most important symbols of the TOR. The drawing result is maintained for a selected edition of 2021/2022/2023, and can be switched to another runner. Further concessions for future registrations are under consideration.

Although we have had to downsize the complex organisational structure of VdA, including volunteer enthusiasts, staff and salaried employees, we’re not shutting the engine down completely, just keeping it ticking over and watching carefully for developments in the international situation over the summer and autumn and still working on the launch of the next TORX. “Let’s keep on walking and running in the mountains near home and in the Valle d’Aosta – the organisers conclude – the TOR may have slowed down, but it won’t stop. Ever.”

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