Elites

Each new edition of the UTMB® Mont-Blanc is its own epic sporting event, complete with twists and turns, powerful emotions, flashes of brilliance, and no shortage of suspense. Which runners will be attempting to crush the courses this year? Here’s our overview of the favorites for 2021!

UTMB®

THE FAVOURITES - WOMEN

It is rumoured that the Englishwoman Beth Pascall is the athlete to follow this season, and her victory in the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run definitely confirms this. The title holder, Courtney Dauwalter, has been more discreet this season but has already shown the extent of her talent in 2019. If she is at the level she was two years ago, she is certainly one to watch. Americans Katie Schide and Kaytlyn Gerbin are also serious contenders for the victory, and their progression and desire to do well is undeniable. The French participants Audrey Tanguy and Camille Bruyas, the Swedish Mimmi Kokta and the Dutch Ragna Debats are also among the athletes to watch closely, given their experience and high-level performances.

THE FAVOURITES - MEN

Among the favourites for the men’s is American Jim Walmsley, the Frenchmen François D’Haene and Xavier Thévenard, as well as the Spaniard Pau Capell with 7 victories between them. Tim Tollefson, who finished 3rd in the UTMB® in 2016 and 2017 will be keen to perform well after two consecutive failures in 2018 and 2019. A potential ‘surprise’ favourite is the Russian Dimitry Mityaev and the Spaniard Pablo Villa, who have shown promise to deliver strong performances. That being said, nothing is set in stone in ultra-racing and the suspense remains.

TDS®

THE FAVOURITES - WOMEN

After a successful 2019 season (2nd in the 90km Mont Blanc Marathon and 1st in the Dolimiti Extreme Trail), the Italian Martina Valmassoi will be a key contestant in the upcoming TDS®. She should also be able to count on the Englishwoman Holly Page as a close contender, who is never far from winning when she starts a race. The American Rory Bosio will be making her comeback to the event after her second place in 2018. She knows the course and the event very well and has already finished 2nd in the TDS® in 2018. Russia’s Ekaterina Mityaeva and Nepalese star Mira Rai are also great champions capable of making a difference.

THE FAVOURITES - MEN

After his attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, British runner Thomas Evans will compete in the TDS®, which will be held in the Beaufortain for the second year. He should find in his wake an armada of Frenchmen including Benoit Girondel, Arthur Joyeux-Bouillon, Antoine Guillon and Martin Kern, all of which are strong contenders. They will also have to deal with the Spaniards who love ultra-running, are keen to perform well and train intensively. Others to watch out for are Borja Fernandez Fernandez, Clemente Cristofer Mora, Tofol Casterner Bernat and Marcos Ramos Gonzales.

In the women’s race, Ruth Croft seems to be untouchable this season after her victory in New Zealand, followed by the Ultra-Trail Australia and her second place in California last month. She will still have to deal with more than 20 elite athletes such as Megan McKenzie, Emily Schmitz and Yiou Wang. They may be looking to break the CCC® record, which is held by Chinese athlete Miao Yao in her outstanding performance of 11:57 in 2018. THE FAVOURITES - MEN

On the CCC® , Luis Alberto Hernando will defend his title against Stian Angermund, who will try his hand at the distance and who has already won the OCC in 2019, or the American Jared Hazen, who is among the best runners on the other side of the Atlantic and who trains with a certain Jim Walsmley. Among the French, Nicolas Martin, Thibaut Garrivier (2nd in the CCC in 2019) and Thibaut Baronian will be the three French favourites for victory. The Chinese Shen Jiasheng, second in the Ultra-Trail® World Tour in 2019, is returning to the race after his aborted attempt in 2019 and should also have a great card to play.

OCC

THE FAVOURITES - WOMEN

What an incredible entry this year! Perhaps one of the strongest in the history of the race. With no less than 39 top athletes entered in the Franco-Swiss race, the reigning world champion Frenchwoman Blandine L’Hirondelle will have her work cut out for her. She will be up against China’s Miao Yao, who is very fast and has already shown the full extent of her talent in 2018 on the CCC®. They will probably be challenged by the Spaniards Sheila Avilez Castano and Anna Comet, who always perform well in this type of race. The Americans also covet this race, with the presence of Anna Mae Flynn and Taylor Nowlin. However, watch out for the Norwegian Yngvild Kaspersen who will be coming to the event for the first time and who has a solid track record and a good pace. THE FAVOURITES - MEN

Here too, a dream line-up awaits the spectators with more than 130 elite runners registered for the event! An amount never reached before in 6 editions of the OCC. Among the favourites include the Vertical Kilometre specialist Rémi Bonnet (CH), the explosive Hayden Hawks (USA), the very efficient Elhousine Elazzaou (MO), the fast-improving Frenchman Thomas Cardin (FR), the Skyrunning specialists Jonathan Albon (UK), Ruy Ueda (JP) and Oriol Cardona Col (ES); the list of contenders for victory is incredible. With such a high calibre of participants, the record of the event, which is held by Stian Angermund could fall. See you at the end of August to find out.

MADE FOR OUTSIDE

THE ESCAPE COLLECTION