Overview
- The Ultra‑Trail du Mont‑Blanc festival opened this week with the Petite Trotte à Léon team race starting Monday in Chamonix on a roughly 300 km unmarked route that teams must finish within 151 hours.
- Shorter events have already produced results with Gatien Airiau winning the MCC and Noémie Lepoutre taking the women's race, and other races such as the ETC and Megève events delivering more local podiums.
- The main 174 km UTMB race remains scheduled for Friday but the start list is altered by notable withdrawals including Killian Jornet, Tom Evans and Jim Walmsley while contenders such as Ben Dhiman and Théo Detienne are listed among the favorites.
- Local residents and Chamonix's mayor have voiced strong frustration over crowding and disruption in a town of roughly 9,000 people that expects about 100,000 spectators, and the mayor has called for curbs on sponsor and corporate side-events.
- Organisers say the festival brings large economic benefits across the valleys and have added measures to reduce impact—banning poles in protected zones, requiring red lights on headlamps and urging reduced car use—but environmental concerns and capacity debates are likely to shape talks after the week ends.