‘I decided to be my biggest fan’ – Victorious Valmassoi on Transvulcania by UTMB 2023

Italian ultrarunner Martina Valmassoi has spoken about the change in mindset which led to her Transvulcania by UTMB 2023 Ultramaratón win in the UTMB World Series. 

Valmassoi had trailed Polish runner Edyta Lewandowska for most of the race but staged a stunning descent from the peak at El Roque de Los Muchachos to race to victory in the 72km race. 

A shift in thinking

Martina Valmassoi won last year’s UTMB TDS and has a plethora of Italian titles to her name across varied distances, including La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail at UltraDolomites and the Gran Trail Orobie. 

Now she can add Transvulcania by UTMB to her list of accomplishments, with her 09:09:13 run giving her victory by a margin of more than 12 minutes. 

Yet despite her success, Valmassoi was not shy about admitting she has not always been supportive of herself. 

“Most times I’m my worst enemy,” she shared on her Instagram after her Tranasvulcania win, “I ask a lot to myself and I end up unsatisfied if I fail.” 

“Today I decided I was gonna be my biggest fan instead. 

“I believed in myself from the start and I never stopped giving my real best until the end. 

“Believe in yourself, it can be your biggest strength.”

UTMB calling? 

Valmassoi was 2022 UTMB TDS winner, a 145km race with 9176m of elevation at the showpiece Ultra-trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) running festival. 

But with her victory at Transvulcania by UTMB securing her a spot at the UTMB World Series Finals- a title made only more impressive by the fact she entered the Canary Islands race off the back of injury- could we see the Italian attempt to take on the UTMB CCC or even the main UTMB race itself? 

“I have bigger plans for the second part of the season and I can’t wait to do all the work,” Valmassoi said on Instagram before her victory- could that be UTMB?