“I still had a bit of a complicated year. » François D’Haene excels as much in euphemisms as on mountain trails. Because if he is going to participate in his sixth Diagonale des Fous (165 km and 10,000 m of elevation gain), this Thursday (7 p.m.) in Reunion, it is his first race in fifteen months. The fault lies in a series of major physical glitches, starting from the 2022 edition of… the Diagonale des Fous, which he had to give up at the last moment, due to a stress fracture in his left heel post-Hardrock 100.
So here is the greatest French ultra-trail runner in history back with a race bib, where he symbolically completed his first ultra in 2009 (fifth in 23:34), and where he then won four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018). “I clearly missed setting off on such a long adventure again, without knowing what sauce I was going to get eaten with. This is what makes me vibrate,” slipped the Savoyard on Monday in a live on Instagram from Reunion. Let’s recap these fifteen months of struggle, starting from his breathtaking duel with Kilian Jornet on the Hardrock 100, in July 2022, won by the Spanish “ultra-terrestrial”, with only 15 minutes in advance.
A fracture of the malleolus during a paraglider landing
Hampered by pain in his left heel during this legendary race in Colorado, François D’Haene opted for a break until September 2022. Before realizing, two weeks before the Diagonale des Fous, that he was not brought back to 100% of this stress fracture. Worse, when he gently resumed his sporting activities in November 2022, he fractured his ankle (at the level of the malleolus) in a paragliding landing, as he had done dozens of times in Beaufortain. Operation, installation of a plate and eight screws, the Savoyard begins a long crossing of the desert in earnest.
“The winter was complicated for him, who had always had full seasons until then,” says Christophe Malardé, his trainer since 2010. Convalescence is necessarily frustrating, especially when you live in Beaufortain and you don’t can’t go skiing. But he got over this spleen quite quickly anyway, taking care of himself as if he were preparing for an ultra-trail. » After spending eight hours a day at the European Sports Rehabilitation Center (CERS) in Capbreton, François D’Haene (37) finally sees the end of the tunnel this summer. And this even if his first outings around Arêches-Beaufort remain painful.
“The medical green light freed him in the head”
“His rehabilitation was so intensive that he injured his left heel again,” sighs Jean-Michel Faure-Vincent, his manager at Team Salomon. We were heading towards a completely blank 2023 season. Then in August and September, he was able to resort to the mountains. The medical green light on September 27 was an essential step. It freed him in the head. » No more being a spectator like on the last Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), when we saw him refueling his American friend Jim Walmsley, winner for the first time in Chamonix. “On the one hand, it was great for him to help his friend win. But on the other hand, it was frustrating not to be able to put on a bib after having won this race four times,” notes Jean-Michel Faure-Vincent. Precisely, how does the record holder for the number of coronations on the UTMB and on the Diagonale des Fous perceive a return to a major ultra after such truncated preparation?
“This is the first time since his arrival at Salomon thirteen years ago that he has not presented himself for a race at 100% of his means and with ideal preparation,” summarizes Jean-Michel Faure-Vincent. But he accepts that, he is turning his back after having had a year of physical concerns in his head. This return to Reunion Island is really important for François because without this Diagonale des Fous, his resumption race could only have taken place in April 2024. There, it will allow him to relaunch in preparation for the 2024 season.” Christophe Malardé completes, about the state of mind of the one who organized the Ultra Spirit race for the second time, last month in Beaufortain.
He’s not in revenge mode, he’s just realizing how valuable it is for him to be able to compete in such a race. He always arrived with the status of huge favorite here. There, the expectations will be different, he comes to get back into the game and see if his body holds up. He is smart enough to know if he should follow the lead of the race. He has always been more focused on himself than on the competition. »
“He’s going to be missing his chest”
It is therefore unimaginable to see him fight until Friday evening for the final victory with his compatriots Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz (winner of the Hardrock 2023) and Germain Grangier (third in the UTMB 2023), or even with the Swiss Jean-Philippe Tschumi (second in Diag 2022)? “I have less pressure, fewer victory objectives,” said François D’Haene on Monday in Reunion. Maybe I’ll leave more carefully than usual, and we’ll see how I can get back up afterwards. The important thing for me will be to see this adventure through to the end. » Because when you haven’t done more than seven hours of consecutive racing for over a year, it’s obviously difficult to plan for such a colossal challenge of around twenty hours of effort.
“He knows his body by heart and his increase in racing volumes has been impressive in recent weeks,” notes Christophe Malardé. Except that usually, he arrives having participated in two other ultras during the year. There, it will lack the trunk, there is an unknown factor about its ability to last more than 20 hours. » An unknown that François D’Haene did everything to limit, in terms of fuel to 180 km and 15,000 m of D + per week between the end of August and the beginning of September. Signs of an intact passion, while his endless unavailability on the circuit began to raise fears of a sporting retirement.
“This long ordeal gave him back his appetite”
“It is rather if there had not been this blank year that we could have been close to the end of our career,” believes Jean-Michel Faure-Vincent. François could have considered stopping at the peak of his sporting mastery, at almost 38 years old. But there, this question does not arise. He obviously doesn’t want to go out the back door. This long ordeal gave him back his appetite. » A prospect that makes one salivate, as the former physiotherapist and then winegrower missed the ultra-trail. He will only have one operation left to remove the plate/screw from his ankle, following the Diagonale des Fous (less than a month of convalescence behind), before closing this difficult chapter in his history.
“The mountains will always remain his universe, even when he is no longer a high-level athlete,” predicts Christophe Malardé. It wouldn’t surprise me that much to see him still having fun putting on a bib ten years from now. He is a professional athlete but trail running is definitely his passion. » Finally, how will those around him experience these 165 km return trip between Saint-Pierre and Saint-Denis? “I’m a little stressed, especially since so many things can happen in Reunion, between the climate and the state of the roads,” admits Jean-Michel Faure-Vincent. I told him to finish with dignity this time on the path of the English. Not like in 2016, when he ended up going backwards because he was suffering from cramps. » Well, worthy or not, François D’Haene had won the event despite everything that year.