US runner Jim Walmsley has won the OCC race at the UTMB finals after what turned out to be an epic battle on the 61k course.
The US runner was originally in the starting lineup for the 100-mile World Series event on Saturday, but changed to the 55k distance last week, with speculation that he is still being plagued by a knee issue that saw him drop out of this year's Western States. The switch threw a wrench in predictions for the top finishers, with a question mark over whether the race would still be an Italian showdown between Cristian Minoggio and Luca Del Pero or another Walmsley washout.
Stormy weather added even more excitement, as the route and start time were changed at the last minute to avoid more exposed sections in Chalet des Grands and La Flegere and add a couple of kilometers to the distance.
The runners set off after a two-hour delay at 10:15am local time in wet conditions and about 30 minutes later, Walmsley was part of an early breakaway during the first climb along with Sweden's Petter Engdahl and Switzerland's Sam Hendry.
On the climb up to Col de Balme at 38k, Minoggio started to claw things back, moving into third place, but Walmsley held the lead on the descent. It was at the Argentiere aid station with 10k to go that he explains things went a little pear-shaped.
Despite appearances, the day has turned out to be hotter than expected, and Walmsley says he lost precious time hunting for hydration at the aid station.
“There was no water there, so it was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting to fill up one bottle before the climb."
While he was searching through bottles of sparking water and coke, Minoggio seized his opportunity.
“He just blew right past me," says Walmsley, who started to feel worried when the Italian was already 20 seconds ahead of him by the time he left the aid station.
“I think we played around a bit too much earlier.”
This is the first time the two runners have ever raced each other, and the Italian proved a worthy opponent to the UTMB and Western States record holder. The gap had widened to one minute with 8k to go, but Walmsley dug in and kept Minoggio in his sights.
With only around 1k to go, Walmsley made his move and surged past Minoggio, tapping him on the shoulder as he went. The pair proceeded to treat us to a sprint finish, reaching speeds of up to 21.3k per hour at one point, with Walmsley landing in Chamonix in five hours and 34 seconds and Minoggio arriving just 20 seconds later where the pair shared a hug.
“Sorry I was running past a lot of high fives, but I was definitely running scared all the way to the line," says Walmsley, who looked overjoyed at the finish as he confirmed his €13,000 ($15,000) cash prize.
His win marks the second year in a row a US runner has taken first in the race, with Eli Hemming winning last year, and served as a good training race for the World Championships next month.
This was Minoggio's first time racing in the UTMB World Series Finals, but he's stood on over a dozen middle-distance podiums over the last year. Poland's Andrzej Witek joined the pair on the podium, coming in around three minutes behind them after a tight battle with Engdahl and Kristian Jones.
This year's OCC course took the runners over 3,487m of vertical gain between Orsières and Chamonix.
Women's OCC results
The women's race was no less exciting, with a deep field of podium contenders in the mix. The participants started out the race running as a tighter pack, with about seven runners taking the lead.
Switzerland's Judith Wyder and Spain's Sara Alonso got stuck behind a train for a couple of minutes, which proved long enough to make a difference in the outcome of their race.
By the 22k mark, defending champion Miao Yao (China) and Kenya's Joyline Chepngeno had moved into the lead, and we saw the runners looking for water on the course after missing the fountain in Martigny.
The pair slugged it out till the last couple of kilometers, where Chepngeno left Yao behind. The Kenyan's win looked like a sure thing until we saw her stop for stomach issues just shy of the finish, but she managed to hold it together, coming in first in 5:34:03.
“It was very hard for me, but I tried my best. I was having a lot of pain,” says Chepngeno, who is fresh off beating Katie Schide for first palce at this year's Sierre-Zinal sky race.
Despite taking second this year, Yao came in 20 minutes ahead of her 2024 time and says she knows she ran better than last year.
Wyder managed to overcome her public transportation difficulties to scoop up third place, despite finding the altered course more challenging.
“This course definitely suits me less than the other one, it’s less technical, it’s more runnable,” says Wyder, who managed to come in 20 minutes faster than last year and along with Walmsley makes two Hoka-sponsored runners on this year's podium.
“I knew on the downhill I had to put my all into one pot and just go for it.”
You can view the full results of this year's OCC race here.
How to watch the UTMB finals
The UTMB finals take place over August 25 - 31 with the 100-mile finale starting on Friday, August 29. Once again, we'll be reporting live from the finish line in Chamonix, and you can follow all the action live at live.utmb.world in seven languages – French, English, Spanish, Chinese, German, Italian and Thai – with equal coverage of men's and women's race leaders.
