The rare sight of a battle between the last three UTMB winners in the men’s race had dominated many of the headlines in the build up to the 120km Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB but we were also treated to a top-class and thrilling women’s race in Tuscany on Saturday.
And it was Britain’s Fiona Pascall who came out on top after a see-saw battle until halfway with Finland’s Johanna Antila, with defending champion Azara Garcia De Los Salmones of Spain in third.
Pascall pulls clear
There were just 40 seconds between leading three women at Poggio after 24km, Fabiola Conti (ITA) leading the way from Abby Hall (USA) with Azara third.
But things would change markedly in the next part of the race as Pascall and Antila moved to the head of affairs.
They were locked together at the Gaiole in Chianti checkpoint after 74km but Antila started to struggle not long after and Pascall began to assert.
By Albola at just under the 100km mark, Pascall had an advantage of just over seven minutes, with Azara a further 10 minutes back.
And that would be how it stayed as conditions became muddier and more testing towards the finish – Pascall stopped the clock in 12:34:59.
It was her latest UTMB World Series success after victories last year at Wildstrubel and Mozart 100.
Antila was nearly 20 minutes back in second, with last year’s winner Azara rounding out the podium in third.
Golden Ticket reward
There was plenty at stake apart from the the race win and podium places – with three Golden Tickets for this year’s Western States up for grabs and the same number of spots for UTMB in 2026.
In the post-race interview on the live broadcast, Pascall talked through her race, saying: “I felt absolutely great for the first 60k and then the last 60k was hard.
“It was just way more technical than I thought it was going to be and I think it would have been even in dry conditions. That last section was relentless but it was awesome and such a cool course. Being up in the clouds was really cool too so the weather made it even more interesting.”
And when runner-up Antila was asked if she’d be accepting her Western States ticket, there wasn’t any hestitation: “Absolutely, I’m here for that Golden Ticket!”
Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB – Saturday 22nd March 2025
120KM RESULTS – WOMEN
- Fiona Pascall (GBR) – 12:34:59
- Johanna Antila (FIN) – 12:53:22
- Azara Garcia De Los Salmones (ESP) – 13:12:31
- Abby Hall (USA) – 13:31:25
- Stephanie Howe (USA) – 13:34:56
