France’s Sébastien Raichon took advantage of Eugeni Roselló Solé’s unfortunate late exit to win the Montane Winter Spine Race, which is dubbed ‘Britain’s most brutal’ ultramarathon, on what was his debut.
The gruelling 268-mile slog from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm on the English / Scottish border certainly lived up to that billing this year as big name after big name exited the race early in what were incredibly testing conditions.
But Roselló Solé seemed oblivious to the snow, ice and then extremely wet underfoot conditions as he surged more than 20 miles clear of his rivals by the third day, having started at 8am on Sunday.
However things would unravel for the Spaniard on Wednesday and shortly after 9pm that day organisers announced: “After experiencing extreme exhaustion and suffering from the extremely cold weather Eugeni has taken the brave decision to withdraw from the race.”
All the while Raichon had been getting closer – though he was still 10 miles adrift at that point – and he kept going to claim a famous victory, crossing the finish line just before 8am on Thursday in a time of 95 hours, 43 minutes and 52 seconds.
James White (GBR) would later – much later – cross the line in second in 101hrs 52mins while James Hargreaves (GBR) rounded out the men’s podium in third.
Attritional battle
Roselló Solé had appeared in complete charge for most of the race but many experts refused to get carried away given his agonising misses in previous years – in 2019 for example he was just three miles from the finish when he stopped and he’s failed to complete in 11 of his 12 attempts since winning in 2013.
And even before then, this year’s race had been notable for it’s high attrition race.
American John Kelly, a previous winner and the FKT (fastest known time) holder for the Pennine Way was the pre-race favourite but he retired inside the first 24 hours along with several other notable names.
James Nobles was in the mix in the chasing pack well into the third day but he too would make an unfortunate exit, with the race’s media team explaining “he was showing signs of hypothermia and shortness of breath” before being looked after and cared for by the support teams.
Nobles’ namesake and fellow Brit James Leavesley had also been going well but didn’t make it past Greenhead more than 72 hours into the race.
All of which underlined the scale of the challenge but Raichon, who has a string of high-profile ultramarathon victories to his name, was equal to it.
‘Hare and the Tortoise’
Race organisers posted: “Sebastien ran a patient race, taking his time at the checkpoints and meticulously managing his kit. A newcomer to the Pennine Way, he learned as those more experienced dropped around him and put it all together with an excellent final push from CP 5.5 at Byrness.
“At the finish line he referenced the parable of the Hare and the Tortoise, citing a more measured approach to get himself over the line.
“With big results in Europe, particularly his recent Tour Des Glaciers win, we knew he’d be a formidable competitor, but this week he’s really shown his class as an athlete, adapting to unfamiliar ground and storming to victory here in the early hours of Thursday morning.”
Montane Winter Spine Race results
Sunday 11 January – Thursday 15 January 2026, 268 miles
MEN
- Sébastien Raichon (FRA) – 95:43:52
- James White (GBR) – 101:52:13
- James Hargreaves (GBR) – 105:20:53
