JONAS RUSSI is the new Giant of TOR 330

The thirteenth edition of TOR 330 - Tor des Géants®, the toughest ultra trail race in the

World that runs along the Alte vie 1 and 2 of the Aosta Valley, ended with tears of joy for

Jonas Russi. The Swiss athlete completed the more than 330 km and 24,000m of elevation

gain with a time of 70 hours, 31 minutes and 36 seconds, ahead of the Italians Simone

Corsini, Andrea Macchi and Andrea Mattiato (Karpos team).

It is the first TOR victory for the 37-year-old, who this year already achieved excellent

placings at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail and Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. A victory strongly desired

by Russi, who last year had to settle for the second highest step on the podium.

In the women's field, the victory went to British athlete Sabrina Verjee in 80 hours, 19

minutes and 38 seconds. An impressive performance that earned her the fifth position in the

general classification and that led her to overthrow Silvia Ainhoa Trigueros Garrote, winner

of the three previous editions of the Tor des Géants®. The gap at the finish line between the

two champions was about 5 hours, which gave rise to spectacular duels and continuous

alternations at the head of the race. Sandrine Beranger was third on the women's podium

with a time of 89h40'04 ”.

This year's edition of the Tor des Géants® was characterized by twists and turns and

illustrious withdraws. First of all the local athlete Franco Collé, who had presented himself at

the starting line as the favourite after winning the TOR 2021, had to surrender on the first

day of the competition due to pain in a tendon that tormented him for several weeks. This

was followed by the withdraws of Peter Kienzl and Roman Ficek, who had engaged in a

splendid sporting battle with Russi.

The victory of the latter, however, is not limited to these unforeseen events that played in his

favor. From the start, the Swiss gave the impression of being able to dictate the pace of the

race and with a decisive and brisk pace he went to the next food station without ever looking

back.

A noteworthy element of the TOR X® event, completed by the 450, 130 and 30 km distance

races, of which Karpos is the main sponsor, was the sportsmanship of the participants. It

does not happen often that an athlete, who until recently was your opponent, decides to give

you advice on how to tackle the next trails. This is what happened in Champillon between

Franco Collé and Jonas Russi. A friendship that started last year on the trails of the Aosta

Valley, between two athletes competing for the final victory, and culminating in a gesture of

great respect and sharing. An atmosphere of celebration and mutual assistance that

characterized many sections of the race, in which over 900 runners from more than 60

nations took part. This is the spirit that makes Tor des Géants® unique.

Unfortunately, this 2022 edition had an early end due to adverse weather conditions with a

snowstorm that made Col de Malatrà impracticable. The athletes that were still involved in

the race had to stop, still however becoming finishers. One of the other races, the TOR30,

was canceled a few hours before the start. Karpos would have enjoyed the presence of

many strong athletes including Giuditta Turini, Tadei Pivk, Luca Farolfi and Alessandro Riva.

Once again the Tor revealed itself as a spectacular event, where the unexpected is just

around the corner and the only rule to always keep in mind are the conditions of the

mountains.