Toni McCann powered to an impressive victory in the 101km CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix) to follow up her win at OCC last year.
The South African was in unchartered territory at the distance – nearly double that of OCC 12 months ago – but handled it with relative ease.
She had an absorbing battle with Poland’s Martyna Mlynarczyk for the first two thirds of the race but pulled clear after that to bely any worries about the step up in trip.
And the formlines could hardly be stronger. Twelve months ago McCann overcame Katie Schide, who has since won Western States, and China’s Miao Yao, the OCC winner on Thursday, to take the women’s title.
Could the good vibes continue to her coach Tom Evans? The Brit is bidding for glory in the showpiece UTMB which you can follow here.
How the race panned out
There were less than two minutes between first five women at the first checkpoint.
At that point it was Jazmine Lowther and McCann running together up front, with just 10 seconds back to Mlynarczyk in third, closely followed by Hau Ha Thi and Heather Jackson in fourth and fifth.
McCann had said beforehand she was intending to push on the runnable section between the first checkpoint and Arnouvaz (at 26km) and she was good to her word as she moved into the lead.
But from that point onward for the next few hours it was nip and tuck between herself and Mlynarczyk.
At some aid stations their paths virtually crossed but it was at La Giète, two thirds of the way in, where McCann really started to pull clear.
There were no late dramas and McCann crossed the line in 11:57:59 for a clear-cut win. Does UTMB itself beckon in 2025?
She joins Blandine L’Hirondel and Ruth Croft as winners of both OCC and CCC and that duo are currently bidding to add UTMB to complete the set.
Mlynarczyk kept on superbly for second, just over 13 minutes back. And Rosanna Buchauer completed the podium in third.
UTMB CCC results – Elite Women
Friday 30 August 2024, 101km
- Toni McCann (RSA) – 11:57:59
- Martyna Mlynarczyk (POL) – 12:11:12
- Rosanna Buchauer (GER) – 12:16:55
- Hau Ha Thi (VNM) – 12:36:15
- Heather Jackson (USA) – 12:50:55
