Kilian Jornet’s eagerly-awaited return to UTMB will see the trail-running legend face a spectacular men’s field in Chamonix later this month.
The four-time winner will go up against two of the men who succeeded him as UTMB champions – Jim Walmsley and Vincent Bouillard – as well as a host of other leading contenders over the iconic 174km course around Mont Blanc.
There is one very significant absentee, however, with defending champion Tom Evans confirming that he will not return to defend the title he won in memorable fashion 12 months ago.
The British star revealed on Thursday that he will instead be in Chamonix as a spectator following his DNF at Hardrock 100 last month.
But even without Evans, this year’s men’s UTMB looks absolutely stacked.
Jornet back at UTMB
Jornet’s return to the race for the first time in four years had already been confirmed and is undoubtedly one of the biggest storylines of UTMB week.
The Spaniard has an extraordinary history at the event, winning for the first time as a 20-year-old in 2008 before successfully defending his title a year later.
He added a third victory in 2011 and then, after more than a decade without a UTMB win, returned in spectacular style in 2022 to claim title number four.
Jornet hasn’t raced UTMB since that victory, but he will now be back on the start line and attempting to add another chapter to an already remarkable career.
And he certainly won’t have things all his own way.
Three UTMB champions collide
Jim Walmsley returns to the race three years on from making history as the first American man to win UTMB.
Walmsley’s 2023 breakthrough came after several previous attempts to conquer the race and he underlined his ability on the trails around Chamonix last year with a dominant victory over the shorter OCC course.
Then there is the man who succeeded him as UTMB champion.
France’s Vincent Bouillard was the breakthrough star of the 2024 race when he produced a stunning performance to take victory.
But any suggestion that his UTMB success was a one-off has since been emphatically dispelled.
Bouillard arrives in Chamonix having produced another huge 100-mile performance at Western States earlier this summer, taking victory and setting a new course record in the process.
It means the start line will feature the winners of UTMB in 2022, 2023 and 2024 – Jornet, Walmsley and Bouillard respectively – while 2025 champion Evans watches from the sidelines.
Who else could challenge?
And the quality goes far beyond those three former winners.
Ben Dhiman returns after finishing runner-up to Evans at UTMB last year and is among the highest-ranked runners in the field with a UTMB Index of 946.
American Caleb Olson has the same Index rating, while Germany’s Hannes Namberger and Britain’s Jonathan Albon are other major names with the credentials to challenge at the front.
Albon’s presence also gives British fans a significant contender to follow in the absence of Evans.
China’s Jiasheng Shen will meanwhile attempt to build on an impressive eighth place at UTMB in 2025.
Three Chinese athletes ultimately finished inside the men’s top 10 last year and another strong Asian challenge is expected this time around.
With Jornet returning, Walmsley looking for a second victory and Western States record-breaker Bouillard attempting to add another major 100-mile title to his rapidly-growing CV, the absence of Evans certainly hasn’t prevented UTMB from assembling the most compelling men’s field of the season.
