What if this 20th edition of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) finally turned in favor of an American runner? Tim Tollefson, Zach Miller, Dylan Bowman and so many others have always had their teeth broken on the biggest trail-running event in the world. But this Friday (departure at 6 p.m.) in Chamonix, Jim Walmsley presents himself as the number one favorite of this legendary race of 171 km and 10,000 m of elevation gain. And this because of the common absence of the two gluttons of the event, Kilian Jornet and François D’Haene (injured), who shared three of the four editions in which the atypical trail runner (and former founder) of Arizona. But also because he made the surprising choice, in the spring of 2022, to come and settle in Arêches-Beaufort (Savoie).
“Living in France was a family project with my wife Jess [Jessica Brazeau, elle aussi traileuse], but it is of course the UTMB which inspired this, explains Jim Walmsley. We both love French culture and the incredible possibilities in outdoors that this enriching experience allows. The 33-year-old runner, who finished 5th in the UTMB in 2017, before giving up in 2018 and 2021, perceived the first beneficial effects of this move during the 2022 edition, concluded in 4th place (in 9:12 p.m.). “For the first time, I felt close enough to be able to detach myself to win,” said the person concerned. If Kilian Jornet and Mathieu Blanchard had fought a hell of a final battle to reach Chamonix, Jim Walmsley had led the race for more than 120 km before collapsing on Saturday morning.
It follows the ski mountaineering recipe dear to Jornet and D’Haene
Can living 100% in the Alps for a full year this time allow him to follow his dream? “The UTMB course is right next to my house now,” he appreciates. Even if I only carried out one real test on site at the last moment, having a nice playground in the Beaufortain not far from there suits me very well. Landing from Flagstaf (Arizona) without a trainer last year, Jim Walmsley initially hoped a lot to train with François D’Haene (four-time winner in Chamonix), but the latter’s long injury changed the situation.
Elite runner and coach within the Sidas-Matryx team, Simon Gosselin (27), who also lives in Arêches-Beaufort, has become the regular training partner of the Hoka star. “Jim made a strong and really interesting choice to come and lead a simple life in our mountains,” notes Rémi Bonnet’s trainer. Last January, he was even the teammate of the triple winner of the Western States, for the first ski mountaineering event of his life. Because yes, inspired by François D’Haene and above all Kilian Jornet, who have always spent their winters on skis, our athlete from Arizona tried the adventure of La Belle Etoile, a formidable pair race with two stages of 2,500 m of elevation gain at 7 Laux (Isère).
“He was able to tame the hostile side of the mountain”
A great first concluded in 15th place (in 7h19). “He ended up well drained and I laughed at myself sometimes thinking that I could have, if I had wanted to, let Jim Walmsley go uphill in a sport, which is not common,” smiles Simon Gosselin. More than this anecdotal ranking in ski mountaineering, the American has perhaps forged, in view of the UTMB, an unfailing resistance on this occasion. “He lived in Phoenix for a long time so as much as the heat is a strength for him, he fears the cold nights, in which he leaves a lot of juice, deciphers Simon Gosselin. There, he was able to tame the hostile side of the mountain. This hostility which has played so many tricks on him since 2017 on the UTMB, to the point of pushing him to prepare almost obsessively for this 20th edition of the event, as he confided to 20 minutes.
The UTMB is the world pinnacle of 100-mile mountain races. I’m trying to reach the top of this sport, and that naturally goes through the UTMB. It’s a race I’ve always wanted to do. So I try to build my season around the biggest ultra event in the world. I haven’t yet given my best here as I have done in other races. This is what frustrates me the most: I want to achieve the best sporting performance of my career in Chamonix. »
Even if the facts implacably prove the contrary, whether in a solo breakaway in 2017 or during a high-flying duel with François D’Haene in 2021 (he had arrived cooked in Courmayeur), Jim Walmsley refutes the thesis of the frantic and unsustainable start of the race for 171 km. “My pace has always been the same since 2017,” he says. I try in any case not to repeat the same errors from one edition to another. I feel confident with this pace and I’ve mostly had nutrition issues on the cold nights here. This is what has always prevented me from pushing as far as I would have liked to Chamonix. »
“More ready and more relaxed this year”
By the way, does the French future of Jim Walmsley depend on his place on arrival in Chamonix on Saturday? “No, the initial plan was to live a year and a half thoroughly in France with Jess, he reveals. There, we will share our time more with the United States because we miss our friends and our family. But in the long term, settling in France permanently remains an option because I fell in love with this country. And regardless of the result on the UTMB, we are satisfied to have made this choice. Still, don’t you put even greater pressure on yourself when you dedicate your entire season to a race, to the point of changing country/life to prepare for it? “Of course I feel the pressure,” he admits. But that’s fine with me, it’s the case on all races, no more here than on the Western States for example. I aim for victory every time I go to an ultra-trail race. Living in France all this time makes me feel more prepared and relaxed this year. »
His famous compatriot Courtney Dauwalter, victorious in 2019 and 2021 in Chamonix, believes in his consecration: “Jim has great potential and I will never rule him out of the possible winners of the UTMB”. And this despite this curse that seems to strike American men’s trail running in the Alps? “No, a curse is like a voodoo phenomenon for something that we could not explain, slips Jim Walmsley. Until then, that’s how it is, that’s all. And then it’s not yet as long as the scarcity of French riders on the Tour de France so it’s not that serious. Will Jim’s walk in interview be confirmed on the trails of Mont-Blanc, this Friday and Saturday?