This year's CCC race at the UTMB finals had one of the most competitive starting lineups of the week, with some elite runners choosing the shorter 100k distance over the 100-mile finals in order to be fresh for the World Championships in Spain next month. That meant the elite field was possibly even deeper than usual, but in the end, it was two Hoka-sponsored athletes who secured the top spots.
The forecast was for heavy rain during the race, which takes runners from Courmayeur, Italy, to Chamonix in France via Champex-Lac, Switzerland. However, while the 100-mile and OCC races suffered from stormy conditions, the CCC runners ended up experiencing some of the best weather of the week, and the skies were mostly clear for Friday's race, which dealt some of the fastest times ever.
Franceso Puppi's streak continues
In the men's race, Francesco Puppi's winning streak continued, with the Italian taking his place at the front from the word go. After winning this year's Canyons by UTMB 100k, Puppi was a favorite to win along with Eli Hemming (US), who had moved up in distance after winning last year's OCC. The pair quickly moved to the front of the race as the runners left Courmayeur, forming a big pack of more than a dozen runners that included American runners David Sinclair and Drew Holmen.
The group stayed mostly intact through the first half of the race, but at the halfway mark in Champex-Lac, Hemming started to lose time while Puppi moved ahead, alongside Sinclair.
By La Giete, at mile marker 41 (65k), Puppi had secured a five-minute lead over Sinclair, and American Jeshurun Small briefly found himself in third place. Jeshurun soon fell back, however, and the reshuffling continued for the remainder of the race with the exception of Puppi, who broke clear away and stayed out in front all the way back to Chamonix.
Puppi won in 10 hours, six minutes, and two seconds, the second-fastest finish ever behind Petter Engdahl, who set the record of 9:53 in 2022. It was Puppi's second time running the 100k distance.
Sinclair came in second in 10:13:42 and Holmen rounded out the podium arriving just minutes later in 10:16:15. Hemming ultimately just missed out on the top 10, placing 11th overall, while last year's winner Hayden Hawks moved up to the 100-mile race this year, despite an injury that kept him out of Western States, but DNFd after just 31 miles (50k).
Women sprint to the finish
The women's race started out looking like it might fulfill expectations, with the last three defending champions back for another shot at the podium. Last year's winner Toni McCann (South Africa) was near the front from the start, along with Norway's Yngvild Kaspersen (2023 champion), and France's Blandine L’Hirondel, who won in 2022 winner with the course record.
Kaspersen took the lead over the first climb, but soon dropped back due to an ankle injury, which ultimately saw her dropping from the race.
L’Hirondel and McCann stayed at the front and were joined by Poland's Martyna Młynarczyk, who took second in last year's race, and Spain's Anna Tarasova. However, at the 40k mark, McCann suffered a bad fall, which saw her limping into the aid station, clearly distressed. She withdrew from the race at La Giete, leaving Młynarczyk, L’Hirondel, and Tarasova to battle it out.
With only four miles (6km) to the finish, the race became heated, with Nordskar surging past Młynarczyk and L’Hirondel dropping back. In a sprint finish, however, Młynarczyk proved she had the goods, coming into Chamonix in 11 hours, 41 minutes, and 55 seconds. Nordskar arrived less than 20 seconds later and Tarasova came in less than two minutes after her. L’Hirondel settled for fourth place nearly 10 minutes later.
The win automatically enters Młynarczyk in next year's Western States, if she wants to race again and try to redeem herself after this year's DNF.
