Overview
- The race opened with a snowy prologue on Jan. 10 in Avoriaz and the first stage on Jan. 11 sent teams through Montriond before returning to the resort.
- Spanning roughly 380 km over 12 stages from Avoriaz to Villard-de-Lans, the event features demanding profiles that can include around 2,000 meters of climb in a single day.
- An on-site team of 12 veterinarians led by Caroline Didier conducts pre- and post-stage checks, verifies electronic IDs, and can withdraw dogs or penalize teams to protect welfare.
- Organizers monitor snow and terrain in real time and say stages may be shortened or canceled if conditions or rockfall risk compromise safety.
- Media counts of entrants differ, with reports ranging from about 30 mushers to around 50 representing more than 500 dogs, as shorter-format Trophy teams continue Monday toward La Chapelle-d’Abondance.