Morzine vs Chamonix for the Annecy 2018 bid

It seems the French Olympic committee is considering ditching Morzine/Avoriaz from the official Annecy 2018 winter olympic bid as the ski station is considered to be 'too far' from Annecy.

As you can imagine, this news has caused a certain amount of consternation amongst the powers that be in Morzine, with claims that if Morzine is to go, so should Chamonix as it's pretty much the same distance and time from Annecy.

So, President of the Annecy 2018 association, Jean-Christophe Bernaz, took the bull by the horns and asked a court baliff to accompany him on a little test drive to prove that Morzine/Avoriaz is a viable option to host alpine skiing events for the 2018 games.

The basis for the route was using Michelin routefinder to plot the journey from Annecy train station to Chamonix train station and from Annecy train station to Morzine tourist office. The official stats were 95km to Chamonix and 1hr09 of driving time, compared with 86km and a drive time of 1hr18.

The two then actually drove the route leaving at the same time from Annecy station. The Annecy to Chamonix trip was 95,7km done in 1h07 and the Morzine run clocked up 85,5km in 1h12.

The pair then drew the conclusion that they were talking just a hand of minutes' difference and that clearly Morzine was as viable as Chamonix, so if Chamonix was still in the line up, so Morzine should be.

The association has vowed to support the Chablais region and we think this discussion could be a long one!

Source : Dauphine Libere