La Grande Odyssée, the world's most demanding stage sled dog race, generates excitement every year! At the finish in Villard-de-Lans, the celebrated mushers of Coste Racedog and their four-legged athletes claimed victory on the final stage and finished 1st in the overall standings. Led by Rémy Coste in the Open category and by Aurélie Delattre in the Limited category, Coste Racedog recently joined the Cimalp athletes team.
French brand Cimalp is the official partner of Coste Racedog, now seven-time winner of La Grande Odyssée, including the 2023 edition held in January. This event marked the start of the exciting collaboration between Cimalp, an outdoor equipment expert since 1964, and Coste Racedog — the team of mushers, handlers and canine athletes.
Cimalp x Coste Racedog: a sporting and human adventure with real drive!
For the 2023 sporting season, Cimalp is equipping the 2 professional mushers of Coste Racedog and their 4 handlers, who now have access to high-performance, protective technical equipment, designed for extreme cold and outdoor sporting activities in extreme conditions.
Aurélie Delattre and Rémy Coste will be able to approach their new season of training in Sweden and European and international competitions with confidence: "The comfort and technical performance of the clothing help us stay warm during the long descents typical of La Grande Odyssée, and also to be more efficient when helping the dogs on the climbs."
As for the Drôme-based SME, which is currently experiencing a meteoric rise in the outdoor market, its mission is to connect people with nature and the mountains, encourage self-surpassing, and protect practitioners, athletes and adventurers. "We want to offer the athletes of the Team Cimalp the right comfort and the best conditions to perform in their daily training and in competitions," explains Florian Olivier, Cimalp team manager.
A victorious team of mushers
Coste Racedog, who have won La Grande Odyssée seven times (2016, 2018, and every year since 2019), put in a particularly outstanding performance at the 2023 edition. Despite the challenging weather conditions this year, Aurélie Delattre, Rémy Coste and their dog team stayed at the front over 400 km and 12,000 metres of cumulative positive elevation gain across the Alps. They faced 65 international mushers and their 600 canine athletes, and finished 1st in the overall standings in their respective categories.
Having set off from Megève in the snow, they arrived in Villard-de-Lans under beautiful sunshine. The new athletes of Team Cimalp received tremendous support and encouragement from both the public and the media throughout the 2023 edition.
A well-deserved victory! And Coste Racedog promises more great adventures in 2023 with Cimalp by their side.
Photo credits: Cyrille Quintard | Romain Tissot | Benoit Diacre | LGO | jane.design
