Courtney Dauwalter‘s late pivot to Tuscany from snow-hit Tenerife paid off in spectacular style as the ultrarunning GOAT swooped late to overhaul Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen for the women’s title in the feature 120km Chianti Castles race – and finish 10th overall.
Weather warnings – which proved spot-on as Tenerife was battered by wind, rain and snow – forced the cancellation of American great Dauwalter’s planned event in the Canary Islands but she was involved in a great battle around the Chianti vineyards with Kaspersen and Rachel Entrekin (USA).
And in the men’s race there was also a three-way tussle before France’s Thomas Cardin pulled away in the second half of the race to see off Andreas Reiterer (ITA) and 2024 UTMB hero Vincent Bouillard (FRA).
There was an added bonus as Golden Tickets at Western States would be offered to the two top finishers in both races.
Here’s how things played out…
Women’s race
The Tenerife Bluetrail’s loss was Chianti’s gain as Dauwalter kicked off her 2026 campaign in the queen race in Tuscany.
A return to the Cocodona 250 in May for some unfinished business after a rare DNF there last year is the primary early-season target for the trail running great.
And she was up against last year’s Cocodona winner Entrekin here as well as Kaspersen and the three of them were still locked together at the Tenuta Perano checkpoint 87km in.
Approaching the 100km mark at Castello di Albola, Kaspersen just moved a fraction clear and at Villa San Michele with 15km remaining she was two minutes ahead of Entrekin who in turn had a minute on Dauwalter.
Rising British star Gemma Hillier-Moses, winner of the 73km event here last year and stepping up to 120km for the first time, was running well too in fourth, 20 minutes back.
But it all changed in the closing stages as Dauwalter moved to the front of the race when it mattered, crossing the line in 11 hours, 31 minutes and 55 seconds.
That was just under two minutes ahead of Kaspersen who in turn had nearly five minutes to spare on Entrekin, with Hillier-Moses a fine fourth.
Men’s race
As dawn broke following the 4am start local time a lead group of seven pulled away and that was gradually whittled down to three.
And it was the debutant at this distance, Cardin, who proved strongest in the last third.
At the Castello di Albola checkpoint after 97km he had opened up an advantage of seven minutes on Reiterer and Bouillard who were running together.
Cardin was looking super relaxed too as he smiled his way to the finish in the number one bib, dipping under the 10 hours mark as he stopped the clock in 9:58:38.
Reiterer and Bouillard were nearly eight minutes back and had a great fight for second, with the Italian crossing the line 36 seconds in front.
Chianti Castles by UTMB 2026 results
WOMEN
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Finish Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Courtney Dauwalter | USA | 11:31:55 |
| 2 | Yngvild Kaspersen | NOR | 11:33:34 |
| 3 | Rachel Entrekin | USA | 11:38:13 |
| 4 | Gemma Hillier-Moses | GBR | 12:04:30 |
| 5 | Lauren Puretz | USA | 12:25:13 |
MEN
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Finish Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Cardin | FRA | 09:58:38 |
| 2 | Andreas Reiterer | ITA | 10:06:16 |
| 3 | Vincent Bouillard | FRA | 10:06:52 |
| 4 | Tobias Geiser | ITA | 10:21:35 |
| 5 | Baptiste Coatantiec | FRA | 10:49:17 |
