On the subject of summer time path racing, there’s no better spectacle than the UTMB Mont-Blanc competition of races based mostly out of Chamonix, France. The 2023 TDS, an acronym for Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie, departed Courmayeur, Italy, simply after midnight on Tuesday, August 29, with some 1,650 runners lighting up the mountainous route again to Chamonix.
With a late summer time storm shifting in and bringing the snow line right down to underneath 2,000 meters, organizers rerouted elements of the course to accommodate the unhealthy climate that continued on all through the occasion. Within the 13 years protecting the competition, the iRunFar crew hasn’t seen the snow line come so low from a summer time storm. The usually 145-kilometer (90 miles) course was prolonged to 150 kilometers (93 miles) whereas nonetheless holding on to loads of climbing, and the additional distance mixed with the troublesome circumstances led to prolonged end instances.
2023 TDS Males’s Race
Christian Meier (Canada) began the race comparatively conservatively over the primary set of mountains and the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard earlier than pushing the tempo and beginning to decide off the boys in entrance of him. He took over the lead close to Le Pas D’Outray, 90 kilometers in, and by no means seemed again, slowly extending his lead over the remainder of the sector for the rest of the race. A former skilled bike owner, Meier has taken to ultrarunning with nice success, profitable the Path Andorra 50k earlier this yr. He ran to his TDS victory in 19:36:35.
Simen Wästlund of Sweden began out quick, main the race for the primary 90 kilometers, when Meier handed him within the excessive mountains. He made a valiant effort to stick with the Canadian and finally completed simply over 20 minutes behind in 19:57:41. The Swedish orienteer and ultrarunner lately positioned twenty second on the 2023 Path World Championships 80k.
The 2023 TDS males’s winner Christian Meier (proper), with second-place man Simen Wästlund. All pictures: UTMB
Rounding out the highest three was Yannik Noël. The Frenchman began conservatively, dropping all the way in which right down to tenth early on within the mountains. From there, he turned on the gasoline, slowly clawing spots again all through the remainder of the race, lastly shifting into third across the Col de Very, 112 kilometers in. He completed only a smidge over 20 minutes again from Wästlund in 20:18:02.
2023 TDS Males’s Outcomes
1 – Christian Meier (Canada) – 19:36:35
2 – Simen Wästlund (Sweden) – 19:57:41
3 – Yannik Noël (France) – 20:18:02
4 – Jean-Marie Thévenard (France) – 20:29:53
5 – Cristofer Clemente (Spain) – 20:43:52
6 – Guillaume Beauxis (France) – 21:02:19
7 – Nicolas Gourdon (France) – 21:02:22
8 – André Purschke (Denmark) – 21:16:33
9 – Paul Lenoir (France) – 21:38:41
10 – Jean-Marie Diverrez (France) – 21:44:34
Sage Canaday was the highest American finisher in twelfth with a time of twenty-two:06:21.
The 2023 TDS males’s podium (l-to-r): 2. Simen Wästlund, 1. Christian Meier, and three. Yannick Noël.
2023 TDS Ladies’s Race
It was a clear sweep of the ladies’s podium for France, with Maryline Nakache (France) placing on a masterclass on pacing to win the ladies’s race with a powerful time of 23:37:57, greater than half-hour forward of the subsequent girl. Beginning additional again early on within the mountains, the Frenchwoman bided her time, slowly however absolutely shifting up within the subject. By the tip, she’d moved previous each single different girl to complete the race in spectacular style. Nakache isn’t any stranger to success, profitable the Marathon des Sables earlier within the yr, in addition to taking second on the 2023 Lavaredo Extremely Path.
Fiona Porte (France) additionally ran a robust and regular race to complete second in 24:08:32. Porte got here off an already spectacular summer time season with wins on the 2023 Lavaredo Extremely Path, beating fellow Frenchwoman Nakache, and the MaXi-Race du lac d’Annecy 80k.
The 2023 TDS winner Maryline Nakache (proper) greets second-place girl Fiona Porte.
The ultimate Frenchwoman on the rostrum was Flavie Bruyneel with a time of 24:26:14. She additionally executed an distinctive race when it comes to pacing, sitting effectively again within the group through the early kilometers within the race and steadily shifting up, passing many as the space went on.
2023 TDS Ladies’s Outcomes
1 – Maryline Nakache (France) – 23:37:57
2 – Fiona Porte (France) – 24:08:32
3 – Flavie Bruyneel (France) – 24:26:14
4 – Paulina Krawczak (Poland) – 24:51:17
5 – Magali Mellon (France) – 25:12:47
6 – Emeline Oudet (France) – 25:26:01
7 – Ingrid Lid (Nederlands) – 26:22:23
8 – Maria Fernanda Monje (Columbia) – 27:20:37
9 – Christine Selman (U.S.) – 28:22:26
10 – Justine Rouveyrol (France) – 28:17:25
The 2023 TDS ladies’s podium (l-to-r): 2. Fiona Porte, 1. Maryline Nakache, and three. Flavie Bruyneel. Photograph: UTMB
