The Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc has just been granted official status as an Iditarod qualifying race.
To be at the Iditarod starting line, the world's greatest long-distance race, mushers have to complete 500 miles of qualifying races. In other words, to have participated in and finished a qualifying race of 200 miles and another of 300 miles.
In granting this race status for the 200 mile qualification, Iditarod is acknowledging the great professionalism of the Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc organizers as well as the real difficulty of the race. This recent news confirms the place that the Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc has assumed in the world of major international sled dog races.
The Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc, the world's most difficult long-distance stage race, is today member of the very elite club of the planet's four greatest races.
Since its founding in 2005, every year 20 of the world's best mushers meet at the Grande Odyssée. With their Alaskan and Siberian huskies, they race 900 km across Savoie and Haute Savoie with a total ascent of over 25,000 m.
The starting signal will be given in Avoriaz on Saturday, 8th January for a prologue of 70 km in the pedestrians-only resort.