M20-34: Kiplimo Holds Off a Late Charge to Win the 60K

• Nashon Kiplimo, 24, wins in 5:14:39 (8:26/mi), posting the 2nd-fastest men's split on the Col de Balme→Télécabine Vallorcine section to seal the result.
• Miguel Benitez storms through the final stretch — running the fastest men's split on Télécabine Vallorcine→Argentière, he climbed from 43rd among the men mid-race to finish 3rd overall among men and 2nd in M20-34 in 5:17:45.
• Three minutes cover the top three, but 4th through 6th are separated by just 51 seconds: Santamaria Blanco (5:28:26), Gustafsson (5:28:29), and Puppi (5:29:17).
• 294 finishers completed the 60 km Orsières-to-Chamonix course — a UTMB World Series Final — within the 14h 30min limit.

Nashon Kiplimo, 24, ran a measured, controlled race from start to finish. Sitting 8th among the men through the first half of the course, he made his decisive move between Trient and Col de Balme, surging to 2nd among men by that checkpoint and never relinquishing it. His 2nd-fastest men's split on the Col de Balme→Télécabine Vallorcine leg — a high-altitude stretch where the course now features the new 2,321 m high point added in 2026 — was the moment that cemented his lead. He crossed in 5:14:39, earning the M20-34 title by over three minutes.

The real drama unfolded behind him. Miguel Benitez, also 24, had a chaotic first half — sliding as far back as 43rd among the men before the race's midpoint. Then he ignited. Posting the fastest men's split on Télécabine Vallorcine→Argentière, he tore through the field to finish in 5:17:45, just 3:06 behind Kiplimo. Sylvain Cachard, 28, was no slouch on that same stretch — 3rd-fastest men's split there — and crossed 3rd in M20-34 at 5:21:37. Benitez caught him; Cachard couldn't respond.

Alain Santamaria Blanco, 33, put together one of the stronger second-half performances in the field — his 5th-fastest men's split on Trient→Col de Balme helped him rise from 33rd to 6th among men, landing him 4th in M20-34 at 5:28:26. Anton Gustafsson, 34, finished 5th in 5:28:29 — three seconds back — having run the 4th-fastest men's split on Télécabine Vallorcine→Argentière himself. Francesco Puppi, 34, rounded out the top six in 5:29:17, with Leonard Mitrica (5:30:33) and Luca del Pero (5:36:15) completing a deep and competitive top eight across 294 finishers on one of trail running's most storied routes.