It’s UTMB week! With the 2024 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Orsières-Champex-Chamonix (OCC) just around the corner, excitement is building in the valley for a race featuring some of the fastest mountain running specialists. This 34-mile (55-kilometer) race is the shortest of the three flagship races the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc series, and takes runners from the Swiss mountain town of Orsières, and will traverse the Swiss and French alps to the finish line in Chamonix, France. This year’s course will reflect that which was previously used in 2022, removing some of the temporary changes implemented for the 2023 race. A new female champion will be crowned, with last year’s winner Toni McCann attempting CCC this year, while the men’s race will feature two defending champions in Francesco Puppi (2023) and Jonathan Albon (2022) facing off against a truly elite field. Let’s take a look at some of the contenders in both incredibly competitive races for this year’s edition:
Athletes to Watch: Women’s Race
With a comfortable win at the UTMB Martigny-Combe-Chamonix (MCC) last year, reigning World Champion (Short Trail) and European Off-Road Champion (Short Trail) Clementine Geoffray (FRA; Kiprun) will step up to toe the line at OCC. Given her recent success at this race distance, Clementine should absolutely contend for the podium.
Dani Moreno (USA; Adidas Terrex) had a tough race at OCC last year, having to withdraw early on with sickness. She’ll be planning to return to the form she had in 2022, where she finished third at this race. She’ll hope to translate her success of an early season victory at the Canyons by UTMB 50k, and a recent top five finish at the Broken Arrow 23k into a repeat top performance here.
Returning to OCC for the fourth time is Kiwi Caitlin Fielder (NZL; Salomon), and is looking to improve upon her previous results, having third and fourth in her two most recent races here. Last year, Caitlin showcased her downhill expertise by recording the fastest ever split by a female from La Flégère to the finish line, nearly a minute faster than the second fastest recorded time. Expect some blazing descents again this year!
Judith Wyder (CHE; Hoka) has set the sub-ultra distance scene on fire over the past two years, with podium finishes at the World Championships (Short Trail) in 2023 and European Off-Road Championship (Up and Down race) earlier this summer. With several key wins and podiums in between, Judith is a top contender for a race win in her debut at this race.
Having made history twice at UTMB races, as both the first female Chinese winner of CCC (2018) and first female Chinese podium finisher at OCC (2023), Miao Yao (CHN; Salomon) has had incredible success at a number of ultra and sub-ultra distances in her career. With back-to-back podiums at the Marathon du Mont Blanc this summer and last, Miao will use her familiarity of the local terrain to hopefully propel her to yet another podium at this year’s OCC.
Although Adeline Martin (FRA; Kiprun) may be a name that is new to fans of the sport, this masters athlete made the podium at the French Trail Championships (Long Trail) earlier this year, as well as the European Off-Road Championships (Short Trail). She’s dipped her toes into ultra distances as well, finishing second at the Grand Trail Des Templiers 80k last fall.
Debuting at the ultra-distance, Sara Alonso (ESP; Asics) has a distance racing pedigree to behold. A mainstay in the Golden Trail World Series over the past few years, with key wins at the Marathon du Mont Blanc and the Transgrancanaria Marathon, as well as the UTMB Experience Trail Courmayeur (ETC) last year, it’ll be interesting to see how well Sara’s skillset translates into a step up in distance.
Another athlete debuting at the ultra-distance at OCC is Theres Lebouef (CHE; Compressport). Recent podium results at the World Championships (Short Trail) in 2023 and Chianti Ultra Trail By UTMB earlier this year, as well as top ten finishes at the Marathon du Mont Blanc and Zegama-Aizkorri in 2024 highlight a level of proficiency in the mountains that’s certainly suited to repeat her past success at this race.
Despite a quiet year of racing, Allie McLaughlin (USA; Hoka) makes her third start at OCC and hopes to improve her execution from previous attempts. She finished in sixth in 2022, after front running the majority of the race and fell to 14th place in last year’s race. We’ll be keeping an eye on how Allie executes this year’s race, but she certainly has the raw talent to perform well here and grab a top spot.
Daniela Oemus (GER; Nike Trail) will hope third times a charm at OCC, as she’s progressively improved her timing and placement in her first two starts, finishing in fifth place last year. Daniela has had top ten results at World Championships (Short Trail) and the Marathon du Mont Blanc last year, and Zegama-Aizkorri earlier this year.
Honorable Mentions: Rosa Lara Feliu, Elisa Desco, Oihana Kortazar, Julia Font, Tabor Hemming, Camilla Magliano, Kim Schreiber, Sunmaya Budha, Louise Serban-Penhoat
Athletes to Watch: Men’s Race
Undoubtedly one of the most impressive mountain athletes of our time, with accolades spanning ski mountaineering and trail running, Remi Bonnet (CHE; Salomon) returns for his second crack at OCC, the first of which ended prematurely by DNF. With countless wins, podiums and top ten finishes across Europe’s and North America’s most competitive races, Remi is surely a favorite to contend at OCC again.
Jon Albon (GBR; The North Face), has never finished lower than second place in any of his three races at the UTMB Finals, which includes a victory at both OCC (2021, in the course record setting time) and CCC (2023). Jon raced his way to the second fastest debut ever at WSER earlier this summer, so it’ll be interesting to see how well he’s been able to recover since that historic effort.
Antonio Martinez Perez (ESP; Asics) has been an absolute weapon on this course in the past two years. After having a tough run in his first attempt in 2021 (which resulted in a DNF), Antonio has seemingly figured out this race, finishing second and third in the last two years. He’s also got the fastest closing splits recorded in race history from Argentière to the finish and La Flégère to the finish. He’ll be battling for the podium undoubtedly.
This year has been a banner year for Francesco Puppi (ITA; Nike Trail), who kicked off his season with record-setting performances at renowned Chuckanut 50k and Lake Sonoma 50-mile. At his debut at OCC last year, Francesco was awarded the race win following the eventual disqualification of the first-place finisher in last year’s OCC. Recording some of the fastest section splits on the course, especially in the closing legs, Francesco will be hoping to repeat that form again this year.
Benjamin Roubiol (FRA; Altra) is no stranger to UTMB week with two previous attempts at CCC and an another at TDS last year but has yet to find the success he’s had representing his country in trail running. As the reigning World Mountain and Trail Running Championship (Long Trail) and runner-up at this year’s European Off-Road Championships, he’ll be looking to replicate his national team success here at OCC.
Returning for his fourth consecutive race at OCC, Robbie Simpson (GBR; Adidas Terrex) has had multiple successes here, including two podium finishes. Robbie opened his seasons with a ripping time and win at the Chianti Ultra Trail By UTMB Marathon, and more recently won the Eiger Ultra-Trail by UTMB 37k, as well as finished just outside the top ten at Sierre-Zinal. As long as he’s in this race, he’ll always be in contention for a top spot.
Eli Hemming (USA; Adidas Terrex) opened his season with an unbeaten streak of racing, notching wins and course records at the Black Canyon 60k, Desert Rats by UTMB 21k and HOKA Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 50k. Despite limited experience racing at the ultra-distance outside of North America, Eli is undoubtedly one of the top athletes in the world, and it will be fun to watch him battle at the front of the pack here.
Exemplifying consistency at the highest level, Jeshurun Small (USA: Adidas Terrex) has shown up in a big way at some of the biggest European races over the past few years, including top five spots at OCC last year and Transvulcania Ultramarathon earlier this summer, and more recently, a win at the Eiger Ultra-Trail by UTMB 54k. We’ll expect him to run it back at OCC again this year.
Although Sylvain Cachard (FRA; Hoka) has historically raced predominantly in the vertical kilometer race and sky running scene, he’s showcased his top-end speed with back-to-back top ten finishes at Sierre-Zinal. He’ll bring his wheels and technical running skill to OCC, and should certainly be a serious consideration for a top spot.
Regular training partner of fellow Utahns and US Olympic team marathoners Connor Mantz and Clayton Young, Christian Allen (USA; Nike Trail) boasts a 2:15 marathon personal best himself. Christian has dominated short trail races both Stateside and in Europe, and will make his European ultramarathon distance debut at OCC. We’ll see his dominant uphill running talents on display, which should put him in contention for a top spot.
Honorable Mentions: Nick Handel, Darren Thomas, Aritz Egea, Martin Anthamatten, Tao Luo, Jan Maragrit Sol, Sammy Chelangat
The race starts at 8:15am local time in Orsières, Switzerland on Thursday August 29 (2:15am Eastern Daylight Time / 11:15pm Pacific Daylight Time, Wednesday August 28) and will be streamed live on the UTMB YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@UTMBMontBlanc
Make sure you get your Freetrail Fantasy picks in for all three of the UTMB World Series Finals (OCC, CCC, & UTMB). We will be picking 10-deep for the men’s and women’s competitions in each race.