The 2026 UTMB Mont-Blanc festival delivered incredible drama on the trails, and the prestigious CCC (Courmayeur–Champex–Chamonix) provided some of the most tactical racing of the week. Facing a muddy, moody course and a late thunderstorm-induced alteration that bypassed the traditional final ascent to La Flégère (lengthening the route to roughly 107.8km with 6,198 meters of climbing), the world’s best ultra-runners had to rewrite their race strategies on the fly.
When the dust settled in Chamonix, Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen and Italy’s Cristian Minoggio emerged as the champions of a grueling day.
Kaspersen’s Patience Pays Off in Historic Women’s Battle
The women’s race unfolded as an absolute masterclass in pacing. For the first half of the race, former champions Toni McCann and Miao Yao locked into an intense, unrelenting duel at the front, swapping leads over Grand Col Ferret and trading blows through Switzerland. At one point, McCann was even briefly held up by a passing train at a railway crossing, adding an extra layer of chaos to an already unpredictable day.
While McCann and Yao exhausted themselves fighting each other at the front—with Kaspersen sitting outside the top 10 and roughly 20 minutes off the lead early on—the Norwegian quietly went to work.
By Vallorcine, Kaspersen had clawed her way into third place, trailing the leaders by just over four minutes. As McCann finally shook off Yao with roughly 15km remaining, Kaspersen unleashed a devastating late-race surge. Sweeping past both runners in the final 10km, she powered clear into Chamonix to cross the finish line in 12:01:14.
The victory made history: Kaspersen became the first woman to win the CCC twice. McCann crossed five minutes later to take second in 12:06:14, while Yao completed a podium consisting entirely of former CCC champions, taking third in 12:15:41.
Minoggio Controls the Men’s Field from the Front
The men’s race followed a distinctly different script, defined by an aggressive, sustained push from Italy’s Cristian Minoggio during the second half.
After a tight opening phase that saw early pressure from runners like Hans Troyer and Eli Hemming, Minoggio made his decisive move on the punishing climb toward Trient. Utilizing his poles to expertly navigate the steep, muddy ascent, the Italian opened up a gap and never looked back, leading for the final 40 kilometers of the race.
Minoggio crossed the finish line in 10:21:48, securing sweet redemption after his heartbreaking 20-second runner-up finish at the OCC the previous year. Portugal’s Miguel Arsénio delivered a phenomenal second-half progression to secure second in 10:27:25, while America’s Hans Troyer held strong to round out the podium in 10:33:29.
