Why Sierre-Zinal means so much to Rémi Bonnet: ‘I need to find a way to break the jinx’

Sierre-Zinal this weekend provides a mouthwatering showdown in both the men’s and women’s races and in the former two of the big favourites will be Patrick Kipngeno and Rémi Bonnet.

The Kenyan and Swiss superstars have already shone bright in 2024 – Kipngeno is the only person to win two races in the Golden Trail World Series this season (Kobe Trail and Four Sisters Mountain) while Bonnet returned to action in style when just losing out in an epic battle with Elhousine Elazzaoui at the Marathon du Mont-Blanc.

‘I think he’s stronger’

Since then Bonnet, also a legend in ski mountaineering, has won the Restonica Trail by UTMB and he’s looking forward to locking horns with Kipngeno having missed the first three GTWS events of 2024.

Speaking to the GTWS’ Mickaël Mussard about Kipngeno, he said: “He’s had some great races at the beginning of the season, but it’s hard to gauge exactly how strong he is.

“Is it him who has improved, or were the others just a bit off their form in the first two races? It’s tough to judge; we’ll have to see in the first head-to-heads. I think he’s stronger, especially since he was hampered by a knee injury last year, but we’ll see.”

‘Zinal is my number one goal’

Of his own form, it’s clear that Saturday’s race means a huge amount to Bonnet.

He explained: “I checked most of my goals last year and won the overall title, which is the most important thing in the end.”

But one title he’s still missing is Sierre-Zinal: “Yes, always Sierre-Zinal. Every year I say I want to win it, and every year I mess it up. I need to find a way to break the jinx and arrive with less pressure. I will prepare well for it; it will clearly be the goal of my season, but I’m also trying to take a step back.

“Zinal is my number one goal, and then the overall Golden Trail Series title.”

Bonnet has been on the GTWS journey from the very beginning since winning at Zegama in 2018.

And he added: “It’s true that I feel like I’ve seen it all, and if I win Sierre-Zinal, I will have won everything. When you’re at that point, it’s hard to find the motivation to go for another year, after five years of doing the same thing.

“But I hope new races will appear. If there are races I still want to win, I’ll go for it again!”