It’s UTMB time!
Some 2,500 hopefuls will begin their circuit of Mont Blanc from Chamonix, France, at 5:45 p.m. local time (CEST) on Friday, August 29, 2025. They will have until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday to make it back to Chamonix, but the fastest runners will need less than half that. In this article, we detail who will most likely be the fastest men taking on the big loop.
Once again, it’s probably safe to say that no trail ultramarathon men’s field will be as deep as the UTMB field. The top 10 is more or less on par with recent years, but I can’t say it’s more competitive than the top 10 in the Long Trail race at the Trail World Championships in late September.
For me, the men’s field at this year’s UTMB feels a lot like the women’s field at this year’s Western States 100: wide open. In reality, that’s almost always the case at a race as deep as UTMB. Still, amongst the very top men’s talent this year, there’s an “if” or a “but” qualifying every top contender. Can Jonathan Albon convert his previous ultra success to his longest ultra yet? Is four-time UTMB champ François D’Haene finally back up to full form again? Will Tom Evans finally win on the biggest stage of trail ultramarathons? Has Hayden Hawks had enough healthy time this summer to compete for the win? Can Germain Grangier once again find some odd-year magic? Can Ludovic Pommeret surprise us and Father Time yet again?
For those who are new here, UTMB roughly follows the iconic Tour de Mont Blanc trail — a 174-kilometer (108 miles) loop covering 9,900 meters (32,480 feet) of elevation gain and taking in three countries — France, Italy, and Switzerland. Many see it as the pinnacle event in trail running, a bucket list race for recreational ultrarunners, and the ultimate showdown for elites.
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Tune in to our UTMB live race coverage starting at 5:45 p.m. CEST (9:45 a.m. MDT in the U.S.) on Friday, August 29, right here on iRunFar. Stay tuned!
Also, be sure to check out our preview of the 2025 UTMB women’s race.
The top four men from the 2024 UTMB (left to right): 2. Baptiste Chassagne, 1. Vincent Bouillard, 3. Joaquin Lopez, and 4. Hannes Namberger. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
2025 UTMB Men’s Favorites for the Win
There’s a very short list of people who can best Jonathan Albon, a British athlete living in Norway, at ultras between five and eight hours. Shorter than that, and some speedsters can best him. Longer than that, he’s very strong, but a few folks can outlast him. Over the past few years, he was second at CCC in 2022 before winning in 2023, first at the 2023 Les Templiers 80k, sixth at the 2024 Western States 100, second at this year’s Transgrancanaria, and first at the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100k in May. UTMB promises to be his longest ultra to date, as he’s not raced longer than his 14:57 at Western States in 2024.
Jonathan Albon winning the 2021 OCC. Photo: UTMB/Laurent Salino
I honestly can’t believe I’m not putting a four-time UTMB champion at the head of this list without another recent past champion in the race, but here we have France’s François D’Haene. Indeed, D’Haene has won the race in 2012 (shortened), 2014, 2017, and, most recently, in 2021. He’s just not been the same runner since he suffered a major injury a few years back. He’s run two competitive events since the start of 2024, taking fifth at the surprisingly deep Trail 100 Andorra 110k last year and DNFing the Hardrock 100 a month later. This year, he set the Nolans 14 record in July and has seemingly been training very well since then.
Francois D’Haene winning the 2021 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Although the U.K.’s Tom Evans has DNFed at UTMB the past two years, he was third in 2022 and won CCC back in 2018. A pair of less competitive wins so far this year are less informative than his third place at Transvulcania and second place at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, both in the first half of 2024. Clearly, Evans has what it takes to run his way onto the podium of the world’s most competitive trail ultramarathons, but can he win on the biggest stage?
Tom Evans celebrating with the crowd after taking third at the 2022 UITMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
While Hayden Hawks of the U.S. hasn’t won a major 100 miler yet, he’s been close by taking second at the 2022 and third at the 2024 Western States 100, with a blazing time of 14:24 at last year’s race. Last year, he also won CCC, suggesting he’s capable of tackling UTMB’s terrain. Hawks did start off the year with a win at the Tarawera 50k in February, but he lost a good chunk of his season to surgery and rehabilitation, although he’s been training solidly of late.
Hayden Hawks lets out a yell in celebration on his way to win the 2024 CCC. Photo: iRunFar/Kirsten Kortebein
Could France’s Germain Grangier continue with his steadily improving odd-year finishes at UTMB, where he took ninth in 2019, fifth in 2021, and third in 2023, to go along with DNFs in 2022 and 2024? A win would be a big step up for him, as he tends to be more of a solid top-five finisher at the biggest trail ultramarathons, including a fifth at the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail (MIUT) and a third at the Hardrock 100 so far this year.
Germain Grangier finishing third at the 2023 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Initially, I had Ludovic Pommeret leading off the next section, as I honestly don’t think he can win UTMB at this point, but Ludo, prove me wrong! Now age 50, the Frenchman won the Hardrock 100 the past two years (2024 and 2025), setting an overall course record with his 2024 win. More relevant to this preview, Pommeret was fifth at UTMB the past two years, and he was fourth at the race in 2021, having skipped the 2022 edition to win TDS. His last win at a large, competitive 100 miler was at the 2021 Diagonale des Fous. All this is to say, we should largely expect a great race out of Pommeret, but a win would be something pretty special.
Ludovic Pommeret finishing fifth at the 2024 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Other Top Men at the 2025 UTMB
Based in the French Pyrenees, U.S. runner Ben Dhiman comes into UTMB having won the 2025 Lavaredo Ultra Trail after winning MIUT a year earlier. He’s not faired well at UTMB, having DNFed the past two years. That along with him not having previously podiumed at the race is the only thing that kept me from moving Dhiman up a section. In recent years, he’s also been third at the 2023 Les Templiers 80k, second at the 2024 Trail 100 Andorra 100k, third at the 2024 Diagonale des Fous, and second at the 2024 SaintéLyon.
France’s Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz does have a podium finish at UTMB having taken second in 2021, before DNFing in 2022 and 2024. He has won top level 100 milers, with wins at both the Hardrock 100 and Diagonale des Fous in 2023.
Aurélian Dunnand-Pallaz taking second at the 2021 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Over the past year, Jean-Philippe Tschumi of Switzerland was second at last year’s Diagonale des Fous, as well as fourth at MIUT and third the Mont-Blanc 90k so far this year. That’s to go with a pair of third-place finishes at MIUT in 2021 and 2022, and a second-place finish at Diagonale des Fous in 2022 and third there in 2023. At the UTMB Mont Blanc festival of races, Tschumi DNFed UTMB itself in 2023 after taking seventh at CCC in 2022.
New Zealand’s Dan Jones has been one of the faster trail ultramarathoners out there the past few years. Over the past three years, he’s been fifth, fourth, and fifth at the Western States 100, running as fast as 14:32 last year. He’s also won the past three Tarawera 100ks. He’s faired reasonably well on UTMB’s terrain as well, taking 12th at UTMB in 2023 and fourth at last year’s CCC.
Jia-Sheng Shen of China has one heck of a similar profile to Dan Jones over the past few years. He was fourth at Western States in 2023 and eighth in 2024. While Shen DNFed UTMB in 2024, he was second at CCC in 2023 after taking fourth in 2022. So far this year, he’s also been fifth at the Hong Kong 100k and won the Ultra-Trail Australia 100k.
Not surprisingly, UTMB is deep with French talent, including Thibaut Garrivier. While he was among the many top men to DNF UTMB last year, he was sixth at the race just a year earlier and 10th in 2022. Those results should surprise no one as he was sixth and fourth at the past two Trail Running World Championships Long Trail races, won MIUT in 2023, took fifth at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail last year, and third at the Grand Raid Ventoux 90k this April.
Thibaut Garrivier placing 10th at the 2022 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
His seventh place at last year’s UTMB might be Cody Lind’s best ultra performance to date, but it’s no fluke. He was fourth at the Western States 100 in 2021 and ninth at the race in 2022. So far this year, he’s been fourth at the Tarawera 100k and eighth at the Canyons 100k.
While Dmitry Mityaev, who races as a neutral athlete, has had a mostly rough stretch since DNFing at UTMB in 2024 — excluding his win at Ultra Pirineu 100k last September — that comes in stark contrast to what came before that. Just his three results before that DNF include a win at the 2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k, a second place at the 2024 Transvulcania, and a win at the 2024 Mont Blanc 90k.
Josh Wade of the U.K. was 11th at last year’s UTMB after DNFing the year before. While he DNFed the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100k in May, he’s taken third at Transgrancanaria and eighth at Lavaredo this year. Further in the past, he’s won both the 100k and 100 Mile at Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and placed third at the 2023 Eiger Ultra Trail 100k.
I’ll admit to not knowing Frenchman Yannick Noël as well, but he seems to have stepped up the UTMB Mont Blanc festival races well over the past few years, having taken 15th at CCC in 2022, third at TDS in 2023, and 10th at UTMB last year, which I would see as consistent, positive progression. He’s also won the Endurance Trail des Templiers 100k in both 2023 and 2024 and taken sixth at the Mont Blanc 90k this year.
Jonas Russi was eighth at the 2022 UTMB before DNFing at the race the past two years. The Swiss runner has particularly excelled at the Lavaredo, where he won in 2023 and was sixth in 2022 and fourth in 2024 before a poor showing this year.
Jonas Rossi taking eighth at the 2022 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Despite continued failure at UTMB — meaning DNFs at every attempt between 2021 and 2024 — Romanian runner living in Spain Ionel Manole remains too strong at the moment not to have a breakout UTMB one of these years. Just this year, he’s been fourth at both the Hong Kong 100k and Transgrancanaria. In 2023, he was third at Transgrancanaria and fifth at Transvulcania. One of these years, something has gotta’ give!
Where to put that American Dakota Jones? He’s had some rough runs by his standards over the past couple of years, including taking 17th and 18th at the Western States 100 in 2023 and 2024. However, in 2023, he did finish third at CCC after winning Transvulcania earlier in the year, which he followed up with a ninth at last year’s CCC.
Here I’ll get to a pair of American runners who’ve recently excelled at the Western States 100. Jeff Mogavero was fourth at this year’s Western States 100 after also taking fourth at the Canyons 100k just two months prior. He also ran a blazing fast 12:54 to take second at the Javelina 100 Mile late last year. However, Mogavero has run UTMB the past three years, taking 16th in 2022, DNFing 2023, and taking 50th last year. It’s not that he’s bad in the mountains — he was fifth at MIUT last year — he’s just not matched his more moderate mountain process to UTMB yet.
Jeff Mogavero at the finish of the 2022 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Similarly, Rod Farvard nailed last year’s Western States 100, where he placed second, before DNFing there this year. At the UTMB festival, he was 22nd and 17th at UTMB in 2022 and 2023, ahead of placing 15th at CCC in 2024.
Following DNFs of UTMB in 2021 and 2023, France’s Aubin Ferrari took 13th last year. Last year, he was also fifth at the Chianti Ultra Trail 100k and eighth at Lavaredo, while this year he placed fourth at the Chianti Ultratrail 120k and finished third at the Swiss Canyon 50k before DNFing Lavaredo in June.
Poland’s Kamil Lesniak was 14th at last year’s UTMB, which has to be near his top performance in 15 years of running ultras. He was also fifth at the 2024 Mozart 100k.
Kamil Lesniak crossing the line with a wee one in tow at the 2022 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Argentina’s Gaby Rueda had the race of his life in taking 13th at UTMB in 2023, before DNFing last year. Over the past few years, he’s also taken 10th at Transgrancanaria in 2024, as well as 10th at the Chianti Ultra Trail 73k and 14th at Tranvulcania, both this year.
Continuing with folks placing in that 13th to 14th range in recent UTMB races, China’s Ji Duo was 14th at UTMB in 2023 before DNFing last year. In addition to winning a slew of Chinese ultras the past few years, he was 12th at the Western States 100 in 2024 and second at the Swiss Canyon 110k this year.
Despite winning TDS in 2019, Spain’s Pablo Villa has yet to carry that success over to UTMB, where he’s DNFed in 2021 and 2022. Still, Villa won Transgrancanaria in 2020 and 2022. After DNFing the Tenerife Bluetrail 110k this March, he was eighth at Transvulcania and won the Mozart 118k elsewhere in 2025.
Pablo Villa of Spain celebrates his win at the 2022 Transgrancanaria. Photo: Jordi Saragossa
At 25 years old, one of the kids of this year’s race, Zachary Garner of the U.S. ran CCC the past two years, finishing 18th in 2023 and 30th in 2024. In contrast, he set a solid course record at the Bear 100 Mile in 2023, and also beat the likes of D’Haene, Joaquin Lopez (third at UTMB in 2024), and Dhiman in winning last year’s Trail 100 Andorra 100k. By time, this will be Garner’s longest race to date. Interestingly, Garner is also signed up for the Wasatch 100 Mile the week after UTMB and the Bear 100 later in September, despite only having run one 100 miler so far.
The U.K.’s Tom Joly had his best stretch of ultra finishes in 2023, including taking 11th at the Trail Running World Championships Long Trail, 16th at UTMB, and winning the TransLantau 130k. Aside from DNFs at Transgrancanaria and UTMB in 2024, he’s had some strong results recently, including taking third at the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100 Mile and Trail Verbier St Bernard 80k thus far this year.
Aleksei Tolstenko, racing as a neutral athlete, probably wishes they moved UTMB to South Africa for a year, as he’s won the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile the past two years and placed second in 2022. That said, he did take 13th at UTMB in 2021 after DNFing in 2019. He also won the Penyagolosa CSP 110k in 2021 and took second last year.
Spain’s Miguel Heras is another ageless wonder along the lines of Ludovic Pommeret. Heras was second at UTMB way back in 2013 and is still competitive beyond 50 years old. Since DNFing UTMB in 2023, he was second at Ultra Pirineu 100k in 2023, second at Transgrancanaria last year, and second at the Tenerife Bluetrail 73k this March. Tío, show the kids how it’s done!
Miguel Heras on his way to taking second at the 2024 Transgrancanaria. Photo: Transgrancanaria/Ian Corless
I’d certainly have Guo-Min Deng of China listed higher if UTMB wasn’t seemingly his nemesis. He’s DNFed the race in 2019, 2023, and 2024, while finishing 20th in 2022. That’s not in line with his consistently strong results at top ultras in China, nor with many of his other results. For example, he won the Mt. Fuji 100 Mile last year and took second this year, and he was third in 2025 and fifth in 2024 at the Hong Kong 100k. He’s had more mixed results in taking 11th at Lavaredo this year and 14th at the Western States 100 last year.
Jia-Ju Zhao of China has yet to see his success in Asian ultrarunning carry over to the rest of the world. He’s DNFed UTMB in 2022 and 2023 while finishing nearly 200th in 2024, while also DNFing the Western States 100 in 2023. On the other hand, he’s racked up numerous wins at prominent 100k and 100-mile races in China over the past two years.
Canada’s Christian Meier won TDS in 2023, but has DNFed in six of his nine ultras since then, including his last four, which includes UTMB last year.
Still More Fast Men at the 2025 UTMB
- Matteo Anselmi (Italy) – 5th 2024 Eiger Ultra Trail 100k; 16th 2023 CCC; 1st 2022 Lavaredo Ultra Trail 80k
- Philipp Ausserhofer (Italy) – 6th 2025 Lavaredo; 6th 2024 Mont Blanc 90k; 3rd 2023 Nice Côte d’Azur 100k
- Valentin Benard (France) – 1st 2025 Trail 100 Andorra 100k; 19th 2024 CCC; 4th 2023 Le SaintéLyon; 2nd 2023 Kodiak 100k
- Marek Causidis (Czech Republic) – 6th 2024 Ultra Pirineu 100k; 1st 2024 Istria 100 Mile
- Ricardo Cherta (Spain) – 4th 2024 Hochkönig Skyrace; 9th 2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k
- Baptiste Coatantiec (France) – 1st 2025 Val d’Aran 100k; 5th 2025 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100k; 8th 2024 Mont Blanc 90k
- Tobias Dahl Fenre (Norway) – 18th 2023 Trail Running World Championships Long Trail; 1st 2022 Nice Côte d’Azur 100k; 11th 2022 CCC
- Théo Detienne (France) – 1st 2025 & 4th 2024 Mont Blanc 90k; 5th 2024 Les Templiers 80k; 1st 2024 Trail Alsace Grand Est 114k
- Simon Gosselin (France) – 6th 2025 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100k; 2nd 2023 Nice Côte d’Azur 100k; 4th 2022 Les Templiers 80k
- Nicolas Gourdon (France) – 10th 2025 Mont Blanc 90k; 4th 2024 & 7th 2023 TDS; 1st 2023 & 3rd 2021 Trail de Bourbon 100k
- Gediminas Grinius (Lithuania) – 25th 2023 UTMB; 5th 2024 Chaingmai 100 Mile; 2nd 2023 & 3rd 2022 Doi Ithanon 100 Mile
- Stephen Kersh (U.S.) – 1st 2025 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile; 5th 2024 Canyons 100k; 5th 2024 Black Canyon 100k; 16th 2022 CCC
- Terunobu Kurokawa (Japan) – 1st 2025 Kaga Spa 100k; 1st 2025 Mt. Hiei 50k; 1st 2024 TransLantau 126k
- Antoine Lamboy-Martin (France) – 3rd 2025 Maxi-Race Annecy 100k; 13th 2024 TDS; 11th 2024 Lavaredo
- Gilles Roux (Italy) – 9th 2025 Mont Blanc 90k; 10th 2025 Transvulcania
- Aleix Toda (Spain) – 3rd 2024 Eiger Ultra Trail 100k; 2nd 2024 Swiss Canyon Trail 110k; 1st 2024 Chianti Ultra Trail 70k
Gediminas Grinius taking second at the 2016 UTMB. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Call for Comments
- Who do you think will pull off the win?
- What’s your lineup for the men’s top five?
- Who’s going to have an unexpected breakout performance?
