Jim Walmsley, first American to win the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, on the finish line, in Chamonix, September 2, 2023. JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
Twenty years that the Americans have been waiting to see one of their compatriots win the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). An incongruity, almost an affront, when the discipline was born in the United States, about fifty years ago, from the jokes of an eccentric rider, who, for lack of a mount, set off on foot in a race 100 mile (160.9 kilometer) horseback ride…
Jim Walmsley’s victory on Saturday September 2 in Chamonix – followed a few hours later by that of his compatriot Courtney Dauwalter – is the result of self-sacrifice worthy of the prestige of the Chamonix event. The 33-year-old former soldier had been waiting for him since 2017, the year of his first participation in the UTMB, the “world summit of trail running”, which consists of going around the highest alpine massif by long-distance hiking trails, i.e. 171 km for 10,000 meters of elevation gain, via France, Italy and Switzerland.
During this 2017 edition, which many have called the “race of the century”, in particular because of his presence and his staggering times (he is in particular the world record holder for the 50 miles), the native of Phoenix, Arizona, made its ambitions clear. He had led the race for a dozen hours with insolent ease. Then had ended up letting go, betrayed like many others by his stomach – digestive problems are the first cause of abandonment in most ultra-trails.
After letting the Savoyard François D’Haene slip away to his third victory, he settled for a fifth place, far from his hopes. The disappointment was even more bitter the following year since his second participation ended in retirement, a scenario that repeated itself in 2021. And in 2022, the story of 2017 was almost identically repeated, with a fourth place.
“This victory is very emotional”
The men’s prize list of the race remained devoid of any American surname, despite the long list of contenders, which made the experts say that the very brittle profile of the UTMB was not compatible with the qualities and habits acquired in the sierras. California or Colorado. To finally register his name there, Jim Walmsley therefore came to settle in 2022 with arms, luggage and wife in Arêches-Beaufort (Savoie), not far from Mont-Blanc, to acquire a more mountainous footing and benefit from the advice aware of the quadruple winner of the UTMB, his friend and neighbor François D’Haene.
Read the portrait: Article reserved for our Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc subscribers: Jim Walmsley’s walk
Two seasons on the slopes of Beaufortain and two winters on cross-country skis gave him the key. And, in his fifth participation, the former specialist in the 3,000 m steeplechase ended up winning in 19 hours and 37 minutes this title to which he devoted most of his career.
“I had a lot of difficult moments during the course, I thought about giving up (…) It’s a lot of emotion this victory and I hope it’s the first of a long series “he said, with tears in his eyes, on arrival, which he says he joined in a state « abominable ».
“I am very happy for Jim, welcomes François D’Haene, who has been sidelined by injury this season. He was able to adapt, find solutions to the problems he encountered during previous editions. Today, he managed to use all this experience to achieve a very nice ultra. I would have loved to share this victory with him. »
Second place went to Zach Miller, another American, born in Kenya and winner in 2015 of the Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC), one of the little sisters of the flagship event. Germain Grangier, who completes the podium, is ahead of three other Frenchmen: Mathieu Blanchard, Ludovic Pommeret and Thibaut Garrivier.
Tour de France tunes at La Forclaz
On the women’s side, the UTMB, on the other hand, did not resist the Americans for long, since Krissy Moehl imposed herself from the first edition, in 2003. The emerging and often misunderstood discipline did not then arouse the enthusiasm that she knows today. The Colorado pioneer was not entitled to the triumph reserved this year for her compatriot Courtney Dauwalter, 38, who won the event for the third time, in 23 hours and 29 minutes, finishing in 23rd place overall, in the face of certain male favourites.
Courtney Dauwalter, on her arrival in Chamonix, September 2, 2023. JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
The peaceful mountain pasture of La Forclaz, located in the middle of the mountains, at the 140th kilometer of the race, has probably never known such turmoil. « Courtney on t’aime, Courtney on t’adore. A Chamonix, on t’aimera plus encore ! », howl in chorus several hundred admirers gathered there since early morning. Fog horns, cowbells, vuvuzelas, hunting horns and other chainsaw concerts…
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When the American appears at the end of the mountain pasture, the volume suddenly goes up a notch. A motley and laughing cohort worthy of the Tour de France follows in his footsteps for a few tens of meters. Many wear masks bearing her likeness, disguises are omnipresent, but the most visible is the tube of toothpaste, a nod to the dazzling whiteness of the smile she still wears after seventeen hours of effort and which she takes meticulous care to maintain by brushing her teeth at the aid stations – the gels which she swallows with clockwork regularity to avoid hypoglycemia are corrosive to the enamel.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers The UTMB, world ultra-trail summit, celebrates its 20th anniversary against the backdrop of environmental controversy
This unprecedented ovation, she does not owe it only to her smile. A true ultra prodigy, Courtney Dauwalter won her third victory of the season at the UTMB after the Western States – the former equestrian race which paved the way for the discipline – at the end of June, in California, and the Hardrock, three weeks later, in Colorado, two events of an equivalent distance and in a comparable format for the second. No one had ever achieved this grand slam of the ultra, consisting of covering half a thousand kilometers in two months, embellished with 26,000 meters of elevation.
« She is hypercharismatic, she achieves a historic hat-trick… Everyone loves Courtney for her simplicity, her way of running and training by feeling, without a coach or a plan. He’s really a very endearing person.”, says Robin Schmitt, leader of the Knees in the gif, a group of mocking runners, who have been distilling their devastating humor on social networks for ten years. They are also the initiators of this “Forclaz for Courtney”, an unprecedented triumph in the memory of an ultra-trailer, and a sign that the stars of a now mature discipline still do not take themselves really seriously, despite their professionalization.
2023-09-02 18:28:52
#total #triumph #Americans
