UTMB OCC 2026 results: Gregory denies Lang in GREATEST EVER finish

American Lauren Gregory and Scotland’s Naomi Lang fought out the most thrilling finish in UTMB history, with Gregory crossing the line just three seconds ahead after 61km to take the women’s OCC title after over six hours of racing.

It was the longest ever race for both of them and it all came down to a sprint finish in what was the first of the three big UTMB World Series Finals.

Gregory only moved to the front with 1km remaining but Lang refused to let her go clear to set up the frantic finale, with Sara Alonso (ESP) only a minute further back in third.

It was all in stark contrast to the men’s race which saw a dominant victory for reigning short-trail world champion Frédéric Tranchand of France.

He was the first French winner of this race for 10 years and it came on home turf as he has recently moved to the Chamonix area.

The ’50K final’ took runners from Orsières in Switzerland to the iconic finish line in Chamonix, with the 2026 edition actually covering 61.4km as well as packing in around 3,500 metres of climbing.

It brought together the world’s best and here’s how the races played out…

Men’s race – One-way traffic

The race looked to have three clear favourites in terms of UTMB Index rankings, with Rémi Bonnet (SUI) just leading the way ahead of last year’s CCC hero Francesco Puppi (ITA) and Tranchand.

And in the early stages it went with the formbook as Bonnet led the way as he was first to the top of the first climb at Champex-Lac.

But soon afterwards things changed dramatically as Tranchand moved to the head of affairs as Bonnet dropped back and would soon exit the race.

It was one-way traffic after that as Tranchand went further and further clear and at the Trient checkpoint after 24km he had opened up a five-minute lead on Andreu Blanes Reig (ESP) and Maximilien Drion (BEL).

By the Col de Balme, just before the highest point of the race and past the halfway mark, Tranchand had extended his advantage to exactly eight minutes over Nashon Kiplimo (KEN) in second and Sylvain Cachard (FRA) third.

The shots from the drone on what was a new part of the course this year were spectacular – as was Tranchand’s pace and form as he looked completely in control.

And that was underlined as he headed unthreatened all the way to Chamonix, though Kiplimo did close the gap impressively on the final climb but was still four-and-a-half minutes back on the line.

Frédéric Tranchand wins UTMB OCC 2026 — Frédéric Tranchand wins OCC 2026 [Photo credit: UTMB]

That’s a huge margin for this race in which the gaps are usually very small – Jim Walmsley won by just 20 seconds last year for example.

Rounding out the podium was Spain’s Miguel Benitez and the top 10 was also hit by some five-minute penalties for unintentional cutting of the course but the top three were unaffected.

Women’s race – Down to the wire!

In stark contrast to the men’s race, the women’s battle was close throughout – and an absolute thriller at the finish.

In the early stages Lang, Alonso and Judith Wyder (SUI) were all in close proximity and though Wyder would drop back, her place in third was taken by Gregory.

That pattern continued to the Col de Balme – despite a fall for Lang – and then on the final climb to Télécabine Vallorcine there was little more than 200 metres between Lang and Alonso, with the Spaniard seemingly going the better.

But Lang just kept her at bay – by Argentière there were 47 seconds between them, with Gregory only a minute further back.

It was even closer at the final checkpoint at La Joux, with Alonso now just 24 seconds back – and Gregory a further 1:04 adrift in third.

But rather than Alonso catching Lang it was instead Gregory who powered past the Spaniard and into second with 3km remaining.

And just a couple of minutes later, Gregory bridged up to Lang and two of the best descenders in the business were flying down the long downhill towards Chamonix.

Both were unflinching and the gap remained about 10 metres as they reached the bridge 1km from the finish.

It was soon after that Gregory jumped ahead but even then there was still drama to come as Lang battled on brilliantly and just a few metres separated them on the line after an ultrarunning epic.