Eli Hemming claimed a hard-fought victory in the 57km OCC race (Orsières-Champex-Chamonix) on Thursday at the UTMB World Series Finals, becoming the first American male to win the event.
Remarkably it was the former pro triathlete’s first-ever appearance at the UTMB showpiece, though he was second at least year’s Mont-Blanc Marathon, and he made what proved a race-winning move at the midway mark on the climb to the highest point at Col de Balme.
His lead stretched out to nearly 10 minutes at one point but a late wobble in the searing temperatures added some drama as Italy’s Francesco Puppi closed the gap significantly.
But Hemming recovered well and crossed the line in Chamonix in five hours, 11 minutes and 48 seconds.
Puppi was second at +2:58, with Spain’s Antonio Martinez Perez completing the podium a further three minutes back.
Allen sets the early pace
The race started at 8.15am local time and it didn’t take long for the temperatures to climb into the 20s, the hot weather kit having already been activated for the week.
It was Hemming’s fellow American Christian Allen who set the early pace, reaching the first checkpoint at Champex-Lac in 38:06, with a 34 seconds buffer over the rest who were led by Rémi Bonnet (SUI).
At this point Hemming was at +42s, with Puppi ninth at +1:23 in what was a relatively closely-packed top 10.
By the third aid station after 24km at Trient, Allen had stretched out his lead as he reached it in 1:58:48, with Hemming now up to second in a time of 2:01:05.
Decisive move
But it was then that the complexion really changed on the big climb up to the Col de Balme at 2,203 metres.
For not only did Hemming move into the lead but he had opened up a significant 6m30s gap to Martinez Perez (SPA).
Bonnet was by now struggling and it was Puppi who was moving in the opposite direction as he started to cut through the field.
Up front though Hemming now nearly had 10 minutes on the rest and by the Argentière checkpoint, with just 12km remaining, it was still close to nine minutes.
But it was from this point on the final climb to La Flégère that he came close to hitting the wall as he was bent double and trying to just power walk it.
Puppi was now his closest challenger too and had halved the gap and everything looked like it could be in the balance.
But Hemming took his time to recover well and the cushion proved enough as he was finally able to relax a little getting into Chamonix for a famous win in what was a record time on this course.
‘Walls started closing in’
Speaking afterwards he admitted there had been some moments of concern.
He explained: “I was trying to pace it well and I knew that if I had a good gap at Argentière then unless I blow up – which I did a little bit – then I could hold on.
“I’d heard I had nearly 10 minutes but on the last climb to La Flégère I was very much overheated and the walls started closing in a little bit.
“So I thought I’d take a little time to try and cool down and then I was just trying to keep moving – and I just made it to the top.”
Hemming switched from triathlon to trail running just three years ago after a career which saw him net 15 podium finishes and seven wins, the latest of which came in the 2019 Tiszaujvaros ITU Triathlon World Cup.
UTMB OCC results – Elite Men
Thursday 29 August 2024, 57km
- Eli Hemming (USA) – 5:11:48
- Francesco Puppi (ITA) – 5:14:46
- Antonio Martinez Perez (SPA) – 5:17:56
- Juwei Zi (CHN) – 5:22:17
- Aritz Egea Caceres (SPA) – 5:27:07
