It’s hard to find a better Jura ambassador than Xavier Thévenard. The 33-year-old runner is thus even more excited at the idea of describing his recent pickings of raspberries and mushrooms, or even his lynx camera traps, in his heart massif, than to project himself on a possible fourth historic coronation on the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (departure at 6 p.m. Friday).
After his successes in 2013, 2015 and 2018, he is a record holder, with Kilian Jornet (absent this year) and François D’Haene, from the world summit of ultra (171 km, 10,000 m of elevation gain). The member of the On team, who has been 100% dedicated to his discipline since 2019, after having been a sports educator in kayak, mountain biking and climbing, as well as a cross-country ski instructor and graduate in carpentry and carpentry, gave an interview all in humility to 20 minutes.
You may know this event by heart, after having won the UTMB three times, as well as the CCC (101 km), the TDS (119 km) and the OCC (55 km), don’t you feel to arrive on this edition in total blur?
There were ups and downs in my preparation. It was not easy, but we have to put things into perspective and deal with Covid-19 and Lyme disease in my case. I was lucky enough to detect this quite early. I saw that something was wrong with my racing sensations. So I did a thorough analysis which revealed in September 2020 that I was in contact with Borrelia. I had the treatments to eradicate this bacteria. I may have a little less ability today but I’m already enjoying myself again, that’s the main thing. Anyway, on an ultra, you never know what sauce you’re going to eat. The goal is to reduce uncertainties.
Are there not too many in this case, after more than a year of struggle, notably marked by your “fear of staying there” with the Covid-19?
The problem is, I started my treatment for Lyme with antibiotics recommended by the doctors. And while I felt much better at the end of October, I’m out of luck: my grandmother died of Covid-19. At his funeral, it was double the penalty because I think we all caught him there, my brother, my parents… Because of my antibiotic treatment for Lyme, I took a lot of money, it was really tough. But I did all the scans and stress tests possible on the heart and lungs. The doctors reassured me that I could continue to train quietly.
In view of your retirement on June 25 at Lavaredo (120 km) after only 33 km, have you not thought of a white season, for example by fearing to suffer from a long Covid-19?
No, because the chest tightness and the low energy like I had at Lavaredo is typical of Lyme related problems. Without even talking about competition, I can’t see myself going a year without sport, it’s part of my life. I want to exert myself, to discover places and for me, it was not at all possible to sit idly by.
What objective can you set for this UTMB in view of these conditions?
At no time before a UTMB, could I tell myself that I was coming to win. It never crossed my mind to give myself such a goal before an ultra. I’m already going to fight against myself, do the best I can and then we’ll see the result, that’s how I work.
Kilian Jornet is not here this year, but just like François D’Haene, you can make history in the event that your fourth success in the queen ultra event …
This fourth victory is not an obsession at all and I do not even consider it for a moment. Each time I do a fairly correct result, I surprise myself, I tell myself that I am doing quite a bit on this format.
We are still beyond “roughly correct” when we look at your course in Chamonix …
Yes ok, but I find it difficult to project myself on this aspect of winning, of competition, of adversity. I really feel like an average runner who prepares as well as possible and tries to surpass himself. I manage to be pretty good on ultra formats but that’s all, it has nothing to do with a Kilian Jornet who has a lot of races to his credit.
You announced last year that you no longer wanted to fly out of “ecological conviction”. Don’t you sometimes regret these statements, which inevitably limit your prospects for success?
No, and when I see the new report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it confirms my decision even more. You have to know how to make radical choices. The competition and the performances are all well and good, but if tomorrow we no longer have the means to run because there are fires and floods everywhere… Expanding one’s track record is not what I’m looking for in the ultra. My pleasure is surpassing oneself, doing something beautiful that you have inside you and being able to tell stories behind. But I don’t care if I have lots of wins. Today, I am well aware that being able to make a living from your passion is still cool and it opens up a lot of doors for me. But if it has to stop tomorrow, as long as I can go for a run in the morning, it’s tip top, I’m not asking for more.
Wasn’t having to draw the line on possible “off” projects in places you could dream of on the other side of the world not been difficult?
Not even, because I don’t like wasting my time in a plane or a car. I was lucky enough to go sometimes to the United States and Japan for races. Every time, I tell myself that we are too good at home [autour de la station des Plans d’Hotonnes] and I am too happy to return to the Jura. My in-laws have never flown in their lives, and that doesn’t mean they’re unhappy. There are still so many paths to discover around the house. So no, I have no regrets about this decision. Above all, we should review our consumer society on a large scale.
Trail running is a discipline focused on the preservation of the planet. Did your strong position lead to exchanges between the main riders of the circuit?
I did not come as a lesson giver or to create a controversy. I admit that I did not expect it to make so much fuss. It is only my personal choice compared to my convictions. Everyone does as they want with their constraints and life obligations. I’m lucky that I don’t have to go halfway around the world to run. The UTMB which is the most famous race and the one the partners want me to run is less than 2 hours from the house so this is an amazing opportunity. The partners follow me thoroughly on my position. If it made people aware of certain things a little, so much the better. Amateur runners thanked me before the start of the race.
The main thing for you is to be able to continue setting lynx camera traps in your Jura, right?
(Smile) Since I was a kid, I have lived in a natural environment and I am very attached to flora and fauna. The lynx is an emblematic animal of the Jura and my brother Jean-Marie, who is also doing the UTMB this season, is passionate about it and he has some photo traps in the area. So I often take advantage of it as well. It’s like a game, you have to spot where the lynx frequently passes, in order to understand its environment. I go into the woods when I have quiet times and I happen to lay down and wait over and over again. Seeing a lynx in a video from our trap is already cool. But I can tell you that watching one in real life is thrilling, it gets crazy emotions.