With the unknown until the last hour of whether he could be on the starting line after having tested positive covid a couple of weeks before and with the physical load of having completed two competitions at the highest level in less than two months such as Hardrock and Sierre Zinal, Kilian Jornet has won the Mont-Blanc Ultra Trail for the fourth time (UTMB).
And he does it by destroying one of those marks that represent a before and after in the world of mountain racing: drop from 20 hours in the most important and media test of ‘trail running’ worldwide.
To give us an idea of its importance: running in less than 20 hours the 170 kilometers that surround Mont-Blanc would be, on an emotional level in mountain races, what it means to drop the two hours in a test of asphalt marathon
Finally, Jornet has crossed the finish line located in the bucolic French town of Chamonix in 19 hours, 49 minutes and 34 seconds and he is the first male athlete who manages to drop below 20 hours. The previous record.
The feat was forged after a very tough battle from the start of the test against one of the great favorites, the American Jim Walsmleywho led the race until he suffered a physical decline on the climb to La Giette, and a very strong Mathieu Blanchard who has been fighting with the Catalan until the exit of the supply in Vallorcine, just over 18 kilometers from the Chamonix finish line.
In the first part of the race, the Sant Boi de Llobregat runner, Pau Capell, he was also in the battle alongside the British Thomas Evnas and the American Zach Miller. Capell didn’t quite find himself in the middle of the race and ended up quitting when he was in eighth position.
With this result, Jornet equals the absolute record of victories of Francois D’Haenewith four total victories in the UTMB’s reigning race, with 170 kilometers of distance and 10,000 meters of positive elevation gain.
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