Kilian Jornet equals the record of victories by winning for the fourth time
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The king is back. Eleven years after his last success and four years after his last appearance in the event, Kilian Jornet crossed the finish line of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in first position on Saturday August 27, under the cheers from the large crowd massed in Chamonix that he pierced like the yellow jersey of the Tour de France in the famous climb of Alpe-d’Huez.
Winner in 19 hours, 49 minutes and 30 seconds, five minutes and twenty seconds ahead of Frenchman Mathieu Blanchard, second, and forty-five minutes and five seconds over Briton Thomas Evans, third, he offers himself a new record of the event. Above all, he won a fourth success on the UTMB (after 2008, 2009 and 2011), equaling the tricolor title holder François D’Haene – absent this year to prepare for the Diagonale des Fous, on October 20 in Reunion – at the record the number of wins.
🟥 #UTMB | 🥇 @kilianj | Breaking 20 19:50:30 New Record // New Record And a fourth win! // And a fourth vi… https://t.co/iegi1WeRws
At the end of the 171 kilometers of race and the 10,000 meters of elevation gain through three countries (France, Italy and Switzerland), he established his domination above all on the Ultra-Trail. A discipline that the Spaniard has helped to develop in the world thanks to its popularity beyond the borders of his sport. He had also burst onto the scene in 2008, winning the UTMB on his first participation, at only 20 years old, and one hour ahead of the Nepalese Dawa Sherpa, the first winner of the event. in 2003.
It was at the end of February 2022 that Kilian Jornet announced his return to the most famous Ultra-Trail race. The 34-year-old Catalan had not been seen on the Haute-Savoie paths since his abandonment in 2018, handicapped by an allergic reaction to a bee sting.
Uncertain a few hours before departure
But last Wednesday, in the evening, “the Ultra-terrestrial” seemed overtaken by bad luck. On Instagram, he announced his positive control for Covid-19 following an antigen test. Doubt hovered over his participation as he missed the pre-race press conference on Thursday.
Finally, the doubt had been removed only a few hours before the departure of the 19e edition, Friday at 6 p.m. “Management was a bit specialhe slipped on arrival. Yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I was going to start or not. I knew that my state of health was a little on the limit, it was necessary to manage that. The management was to try to run at a constant speed, not to accelerate too much so as not to reach a too high cardiac threshold. »
If the community of UTMB followers could breathe a sigh of relief, we were still going to watch kilometer after kilometer, refueling after refueling, the state of form and health of the favorite.
He quickly showed that he was to be reckoned with, thanks to his experience of racing and long distances. Facing him, Jim Walmsley looked like a challenger with long teeth. The 32-year-old runner wanted to overcome the American curse (no men’s victory in history) but above all his own (two retirements and no podium). For this, the American left his native Arizona to settle in the alpine resort of Arêches-Beaufort with the sole objective: victory over the UTMB.
Kilian Jornet however did not panic when Jim Walmsley set a strong pace from the start of the race. He did not panic any more when the latter, after having joined him for the first time, took off again during the night to lead with nearly a seven-minute lead at Champex-Lac, at kilometer 125. Better still, he clung on as his body was in agony, close to breaking.
“I thought about giving up”
“During the descent after La Fouly, Jim (Walmsley) went off like crazy, he replayed once the line was crossed. I tried to follow him for a minute. I saw that I couldn’t. Mathieu Blanchard was just behind. I said to myself, “he will come in like a plane”. When he passed me, I was in a hole. I was not well. I even thought about giving up. I had the whole system hurting me. Mathieu remotivated me, he made me want to continue. »
Mathieu Blanchard, second when he only started the Ultra-Trail in 2017 and already third last year, confirms with a smile: “I caught up with him before Champex-Lac, around kilometer 120. He was really going very slowly. I said to myself: “He’s dead, he’s not advancing at all”. He was so tough, I apologized, “Sorry Kilian”. It bothered me to pass him, I wished him good luck, I thought he was going to stop. I started to accelerate and he hung up. We got motivated, we gon’ go Jim hunting (Walmsley). »
Disturbed by stomach problems, the American saw Kilian Jornet and Mathieu Blanchard swoop down on him due to an eight-minute long pitstop at Champex-Lac. Struggling since Saturday morning, he couldn’t keep up with the pace when the other two overtook him. Jim Walmsley finally finished fourth more than an hour and twenty minutes behind the winner.
After the Vallorcine refueling stop, around 130e kilometer, Kilian Jornet attacked Mathieu Blanchard for the first time before unclinging him definitively on the climb to the Tête aux Vents, in the last hours of the race.
By ensuring the descent, the Spaniard was able to celebrate his return to the top step of the podium in the streets of Chamonix. After his victories in Zegama (Spain), at the end of May, then on the Hardrock 100 (100 miles, approximately 160 kilometers), in Colorado (United States), at the end of July, he signs a new success of reference in the world of sport. ‘Ultra Trail. To affirm, once again, his status as the undisputed master of the discipline. The revenge, next year, is already long overdue.
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