2022 UTMB runner-up Mathieu Blanchard, who holds each Canadian and French citizenship, has gained the Diagonale des Fous–a steep, technical 100-mile race on Reunion Island, off the east coast of Africa, in 23 hours, 25 minutes and two seconds. This was Blanchard’s first look on the race, which began Thursday night.
Jean-Philippe Tschumi of Switzerland (who was third final yr) took the second spot on the rostrum, crossing the road a bit greater than half an hour behind Blanchard, in 24:05:32. Ben Dhiman of the U.S. was third, in 24:42:53.
Le Diagonale des Fous (Diagonal of Fools) caps a set of 5 races often called Le Grand Raid de la Réunion, which welcomed 2,000 rivals to its forbidding slopes this yr; the race options greater than 10,000m of elevation acquire, together with and heat temperatures. It’s a race two-time Quebec Mega Path champion Kelsey Hogan described as “brutally difficult” in a function about her expertise on the 2022 race revealed in Canadian Operating’s 2023 path particular subject.
The course crosses the island from south to north (therefore “diagonale”), whereas runners climb endlessly; the race begins at 9 p.m., so the primary eight hours are spent navigating by headlamp.
Nearly 3,000 runners from 35 international locations are competing this yr, together with 13 Canadians.
Blanchard, who has podiumed twice at UTMB (he completed second to Kilian Jornet in 2022) and who completed fourth final yr, was much less profitable at this yr’s race on Sept. 1, dropping out partway alongside. In 2022, Courtney Dauwalter grew to become solely the second athlete ever to win each the Grand Raid and Colorado’s Hardrock 100 in the identical yr; in 2023, France’s Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz grew to become the third. (Dunand-Pallaz returned this yr however dropped out of the race after 14 hours.) France’s François D’Haene has gained the Grand Raid 4 occasions.
Blanchard spent seven years dwelling in Quebec, and have become a Canadian citizen in early 2022.
On the time of publication, no ladies had but completed the race.
For full outcomes of this yr’s Grand Raid de la Réunion, click on right here.
