The 2024 OCC race began at 8:15 a.m. native time on Thursday, August 29. The race hyperlinks up the cities of Orsières, Switzerland; Champex-Lac, Switzerland; and Chamonix, France — giving it the abbreviated OCC title. It’s sometimes called the Little Swiss Sister of UTMB. This 12 months’s course matched the 2022 observe and was longer than final 12 months, when a rockslide closed a bit of the normal course.
The official stats put the course at 57 kilometers (35 miles) with 3,500 meters (11,500 toes) of elevation achieve throughout three large climbs. The race was the UTMB World Sequence Remaining for the 50k distance, and that meant €13,000 to every of the winners and prize cash going 10 deep. The entire OCC prize purse was €76,000.
There have been some 1,800 runners from 90 totally different nations within the race. The new-weather package necessities had been activated for this 12 months’s race, with temperatures climbing to 21 levels Celcius (70 levels Fahrenheit) vary. Runners had been required so as to add sun shades, a Saharan cap, sunscreen, and additional water capability to their usually required gear.
You too can take a look at extra outcomes from the week’s UTMB Mont Blanc pageant:
2024 OCC Males’s Race
Christian Allen (U.S.) opened a near-immediate hole on the sphere initially and ran alone for practically the entire race’s first half.
Eli Hemming (U.S.), Benjamin Roubiol (France), Francesco Puppi (Italy), and Rémi Bonnet (Switzerland) shaped a robust preliminary chase pack that thinned to only Hemming and Bonnet 90 minutes into the race. At Trient, Italy, 15 miles and practically two hours into the race, Allen led Hemming and Bonnet by two minutes.
The race’s second of three large climbs went up Col de Balme, a mountain go close to the Swiss-French border, and right here, Hemming dumped Bonnet and ran down Allen. Three hours into the race, Hemming was away from the remaining.
Behind Hemming, Bonnet dropped after taking a fall, Allen hit a wall, and Antonio Martínez (Spain) made an enormous transfer to leap into second on the Col de Balme climb, although nonetheless over six minutes behind the chief, nonetheless. He additionally ran a stirring second half eventually 12 months’s race when ending third.
Eli Hemming, the 2024 OCC males’s winner. All pictures courtesy of UTMB.
Puppi discovered the acceleration up the race’s third and remaining climb, returning to the lead group for the primary time since early within the race. Puppi overtook Martínez to maneuver into second and reduce into Hemming’s lead. Hemming bumped into hassle on that remaining climb, briefly stopping close to mile 31, however recovered on the downhill end to take care of his pole place to win in 5:11:48. Puppi was second in 5:14:46, and Martínez was third in 5:17:56.
Hemming grew to become the primary American to win OCC, and Puppi and Martínez had been each second and third for the second straight 12 months.
For perspective, in 2022 on this similar course, Manuel Merillas (Spain) received in 5:18.
2024 OCC Males’s Outcomes
- Eli Hemming (U.S.) – 5:11:48
- Francesco Puppi (Italy) – 5:14:46
- Antonio Martínez (Spain) – 5:17:56
- Ju-Wei Zi (China) – 5:22:17
- Aritz Egea (Spain) – 5:27:07
- Kristian Jones (U.Ok.) – 5:27:49
- Daniel Castillo (Spain) – 5:28:48
- Tao Luo (China) – 5:30:23
- Hu Zhao (China) – 5:30:46
- Robbie Simpson (U.Ok.) – 5:31:04
The 2024 OCC males’s podium: (left-to-right) 2. Francesco Puppi, 1. Eli Hemming, 3. Antonio Martínez
2024 OCC Ladies’s Race
Tabor Hemming (U.S.) and Dani Moreno (U.S.) led early, however Miao Yao (China) made an aggressive transfer to the lead on a downhill part lower than an hour into the race to take the lead. The surge timing mirrored Yao’s push in final 12 months’s race when she completed third.
Yao’s time alone on the entrance was short-lived although, and Hemming regained the lead on the climb to La Giète, Switzerland, two hours into the race. Judith Wyder (Switzerland) additionally overtook Yao on the climb to maneuver into second. When the course once more turned downhill into Trient, Italy, Yao once more charged. Yao, Wyder, and Hemming exited the Trient help station, 24.3 kilometers into the race, along with two large climbs to go.
Yao broke the group up on the Col de Balme climb, heading as much as the course excessive level at 34 kilometers, and once more blasted the downhill proper after. She was three two minutes forward of Wyder on the prime, and Hemming would drop from the race additional on. Yao led the remainder of the race from there, and Wyder stayed in second, too.
Miao Yao celebrates successful the 2024 OCC.
Miao’s successful time was 5:54:03, and Wyder completed in 6:00:05.
Behind these two frontrunners, Clémentine Geoffray (France) ran a brilliant sturdy second half to complete third in 6:02:10. Geoffray was the 2023 Path World Championships 40k winner.
For perspective, the 2022 successful time on this similar course was 6:10 by Sheila Avilés (Spain).
2024 OCC Ladies’s Outcomes
- Miao Yao (China) – 5:54:03
- Judith Wyder (Switzerland) – 6:00:05
- Clémentine Geoffray (France) – 6:02:10
- Sara Alonso (Spain) – 6:05:15
- Caitlin Fielder (New Zealand, dwelling in Andorra) – 6:05:46
- Dani Moreno (U.S.) – 6:06:59
- Camilla Magliano (Italy) – 6:07:27
- Ikram Rharsalla (Spain) – 6:10:23
- Rosa Lara Feliu (Spain) – 6:13:06
- Anna-Stiina Erkkilä (Finland) – 6:13:57
The 2024 OCC prime 5 girls: (left-to-right) 4. Sara Alonso, 2. Judith Wyder, 1. Miao Yao, 3. Clémentine Geoffray, 5. Caitlin Fielder