Ultra-Trail® World Tour 2017 Title Winners!

Press Release / 25.10.2017

After a very well managed season, François d’Haene is the Ultra-Trail® World Tour champion for the 2nd time after his 2014 title. 2 races, 2 victories. Clear and clinical in 2 races with very deep elite fields.

At MIUT in April, he managed to handle the energy of the young Paul Capell and the powerful come back of Xavier Thévenard to win on a demanding and technical course.

In August, he offered a demonstration of force by winning UTMB®, over the “best field ever assembled for a trail ultramarathon”, according to Bryon Powell (iRunFar.com). He had a more cautious start than Jim Walsmley and Kilian Jornet but was soon seen running with them and, in Courmayeur, at 80th km, one could guess that this would be a battle between those three for the win, even if anything can happen on a trail race. François decided to keep running strongly after Courmayeur. The ardent American could not resist and Kilian Jornet will never see the tall French man again. An impressive victory!

After that performance, he went for the FKT of John Muir Trail in the US: 360k (14.600 m of elevation gain) in 2 days, 19 hours and 26 minutes. Giant!

In the women’s ranking, Andréa Huser is a hyperactive runner. As in 2016, she finished no less than 6 UTWT races this year! With an incredible record: 2nd at Transgrancanaria HG; 1st at MIUT; 10th at Western States on a new format; 1st at Eiger Ultra-Trail®; 2nd at UTMB® just behind Nuria Picas, filled with emotion; and, finally, a 2nd win in a row at Diagonale des Fous, where she finished 8th overall!

Her performances at UMTB® and Grand Raid Réunion allow her to win this Ultra-Trail® World Tour champion title that she was after!

A logical title when you see how Andréa impresses on all the races she participates in. Always smiling before and after the race, but with martial eyes when she needs to run kilometer after another. Impressive!

Her first reaction: “It was a dream when I started to run races of the World Tour 3 years ago! Now I am Champion, it is just unbelievable!”

For the full updated ranking see https://goo.gl/PVQcJb