UTMB Responds to Chamonix’s Mayor

Mile & Stone has the quote from Isabelle Viseux Poletti:

“Fundamentally, there is nothing new. These are issues we have been working on for many years and they are the subject of a number of meetings with the town hall. In terms of form, I would say that it is not in our values to resolve our issues through the press; the method surprised us somewhat.”

She continues responding to the mayor’s various various points:

Reducing the brand expo? “We have been discussing this since April. There is indeed a small area that we will not occupy this year, but it is not a radical change.” The lack of interest from Chamonix residents in the event? “There are people who reject it and criticize it, that was already the case ten years ago, but there are also many people who are very happy. After the article, we received a lot of messages from Chamonix residents who do not identify with these comments, including from some local business owners.” Measures to bring fewer people, including a rotation or limitation system?”We are on public roads, so we do not have the power to ban people. On the other hand, we try to raise awareness and explain that it is possible to follow the races without necessarily coming in person, particularly through our live broadcasts, and we will continue doing so.”
 
Reducing the number of races, particularly at night? “There has been no new race in the Chamonix valley since 2016 and the creation of the MCC. As for night races, we are talking about ultra formats, which by definition are also run at night. But the question is not whether races take place at night or not, it is knowing where there is an objective and real disturbance; depending on that, we will make the necessary adjustments. But once again, none of this can be reduced to absolute truths.” Have the two parties spoken since the mayor’s interview? “It will happen soon, but not yet,” replies the UTMB director.

This is all pretty much in line with what I expected. UTMB is framing this in two ways: a saber rattling by a new boss in town eager to make an impression as well as them internally already working on addressing anything that is worth addressing.

Again, the biggest area of recent growth, which it’s also something somewhat outside their power is the explosion of various activation efforts by brands. And if you think back at when UTMB first made the announcement against ambush marketing you realize how long they’ve been aware of this issue.

Though as a fan I cannot wait to see what ACG has planned for this August.