Nearly 2,800 runners left this afternoon, at 6:00 p.m., from the Triangle Amitié square in Chamonix to complete a 170-kilometre itinerary around Mont-Blanc, between France, Italy and Switzerland. The good news of the day has been the confirmation of the departure of Kilian Jornet, who on Wednesday announced that his participation was not clear because a few days ago he had tested positive for covid, although he had no symptoms of the disease. Along with Jornet, cheered by an enthusiastic public, the North American Jim Walmsley, the also Catalan Pau Capell, the Dutch Ragna Debats and the Cantabrian Azara García de los Salmones, among other favorites, have started the race.
Pau Capell continues to pursue his challenge of getting below 20 hours, 19 minutes less than the time achieved in 2019, although he considers that finishing in less than 21 is already a good result. Wamsley has settled down for a season in the Alps to thoroughly prepare for this test that has always resisted US runners, not the runners who have won it on several occasions. This is the case of Rory Bosio and Courtney Dauwalter, winner in 2019 and 2021, the year in which she was seventh in the general classification with a time of 22h30m55s.
The seven events that make up the UTMB bring together 12,200 participants, most of whom are fans of this sport who give their all to complete the adventure of a lifetime. The former are expected to cross the finish line at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday; the latter will arrive practically crawling but happily around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, after spending two nights going up and down hills.
The act of starting, in addition to a bath of crowds, has been a great advertisement for Chamonix and the UTMB brand, which organizes races around the world, in which politicians have not been lacking.
