THE BIG RACE – 3 runners Relay

Brief description of the 3 relay races:

• 1^st relay: La Mure – La Mine Image = 14 km and 600 m of elevation gain
• 2^nd relay: La Mine Image – Les Signaraux = 23 km and 1 500 m of elevation gain
• 3^rd relay: Les Signaraux – Treffort = 27 km and 1 000 m of elevation gain

La Grande Course 3-person relay: a legendary course, shared by three

For this 16th edition, the organisers offer a course close to last year’s. You rediscover the cultural and natural wonders of the local heritage. These ingredients sparked great enthusiasm in previous editions.

How the 3-person relay works

You run the Grande Course as a 3-runner relay. So, each teammate covers a third of the course and shares the adventure with the team. The relay handovers take place at La Mine Image, then at Les Signaraux.

Leg 1: from La Mure to La Mine Image

The race starts in La Mure, capital of the Matheysine plateau. Then the first runner heads onto the slopes of the Sénépi at sunrise. The runner then has the chance to discover La Pierre Plantée. Next, the runner descends to La Mine Image, the underground mining museum. There, the first runner hands over.

Leg 2: from La Mine Image to Les Signaraux

After that, the second runner heads towards La Pierre Percée, one of the 7 wonders of the Dauphiné. Then the runner climbs the slopes of the Connex. Next, the runner descends to the village of Monteynard to discover its viewpoint.

Then the runner reaches the Grand Balcon of the historic railway of the Petit Train de La Mure. From there, the view is breathtaking. The lake and the EDF dam lie below, all the way to the Vercors range! Finally, the runner tackles the climb to the Signaraux community ski resort and its famous ski lift. There, the second runner hands over.

Leg 3: from Les Signaraux to Treffort

The last runner climbs to the Sénépi mountain pasture. At the top, the TPM’s Everest, the runner joins the Maratrail course. There, the shepherd, his family and his team welcome the runner at the pasture chalet!

From there, the runner descends to Mayres-Savel. Then the runner crosses the 2 Himalayan footbridges, the Drac then the Ébron. So, the runner passes from the Matheysine to the Trièves.

Finally, the runner enjoys superb panoramas of the lake on the slopes of Côte Rouge. Then the final descent leads to the Treffort water sports centre, where the finish line awaits.

TRAIL RACE

You can find all the details of the route of the Big Race by clicking to the link below:

The natural spaces we are working on and the people who are taking care of those lands and territories, which you will be crossing for the race, are factors we do not control 100%. Therefore, we sometimes have to make changes to our different routes, which can slightly modify the distance and/or the altitude difference. This distance and altitude difference is therefore given as an indication.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

TIME AND DEPARTURE	5:00 am in La Mure on Sunday, July 11, 2027
ARRIVAL	Treffort Beach (Nautical Base)
DISTANCE	64 km – 1st relay (La Mure – La Mine Image): 14 km and 600 m d+ – 2nd relay (La Mine Image – Les Signaraux): 18 km and 1 200 m d+ – 3rd relay (Les Signaraux – Treffort): 27 km and 1 000 m d+
ALTITUDE	3 000 m elevation gain
REFRESHMENT STATION	– km 14 (La Mine Image) – km 21 (Monteynard) – km 32 (Les Signaraux) – km 43 (Alpage Sénépi) – km 48 (Mayres Savel village) – km 53 (Villarnet) – water point only – km 55 (Passerelle de l’Ébron) – Arrival We remind you that we will not give you glasses on refreshment stations (during the race and at the finish line). You need to have your personal glass.
FINISH LINE CLOSURE	– At the refreshment station of Mine Image (km 14) at 6:30 am – At the refreshment station of Monteynard (km 21) at 7:45 am – At the refreshment station of Signaraux (km 32) at 10:00 am – At the refreshment station of Mayres Savel village (km 48) at 1:20 pm – At the water point of Villarnet (km 53) at 2:25 pm – At the Arrival at 3:30 pm
COLLECTION BIBS	– Friday 9 July: in Treffort (Nautical base) from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm – Saturday 10 July: in Treffort (Nautical base) from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm – Sunday 11 July: in La Mure city council from 4:00 am to 4:45 am
REGISTRATION FEES	– 105€ for the first 5 teams – 135€ for the next 5 teams – 159€ on the remaining teams
AGE REQUIRMENT	To be born in 2007 or before
PRIZE GIVING CEREMONY	In Treffort (Nautical base) at 1:30 pm
EQUIPMENT	– Mandatory equipment: personnal cul + 1,5L tank of water + food supply + survival blanket + whistle + waterproof jacket + fully charged cellphone + head torch + hat – Recommended equipment: long stockings (tights) – Tolerated equipment: Telescopic poles (must be folded at the departure)
SHUTTLE	There is no shuttle planned from the organization to bring the participants to the relay points (La Mine Image and the Signaraux). The runners have to be autonomous to get to their respective relay meeting.
LABELS	The relays of La Grande Course are part of several labels: – ITRA: The relays of La Grande Course will allow you to obtain 0 ITRA points. – UTMB Qualifier: Each relay is part of the UTMB Qualifier 20 km category.