It was all about the grit and the glory as three INOV8 athletes landed top-10 finishes at the world’s biggest ultra-trail running event in Chamonix.
Competing in the flagship 176km race, Yannick Noel placed 7th male and Magali Mellon 6th female to firmly establish themselves amongst the elite of the sport.
The two French athletes were among the 2,127 runners to toe the start line and tackle a course that circumnavigates Europe’s most famous mountain, Mont Blanc.
A total of 1,641 reached the finish within the time limit, with 486 (22%) retiring.
Both Yannick and Magali ran incredibly brave and tactically astute races amidst a stellar field of international athletes. Both steadily worked their way up through the rankings, seemingly getting stronger as the gruelling race progressed.
For Yannick it was a best-ever finish in the race, improving on his previous results of 10th in 2024 and 12th in 2021. His time was 21:03:41.
The 39-year-old works full-time as a pastry chef based in his home village of Les Deux Alpes – a ski mountain resort at 1,650m. Check out the film we recently made about Yannick.
He said: “I ran the early part of the race with my head. The pace was fast, so I stepped off the gas a little. It was a very cold night and my fingers were frozen. It left me unable to open my fuel bars for three hours.
“Arriving in Courmayeur (80km) signals the real start of the race for me. I was in 20th position, and it was time to start taking back some places.
“Into the second day, the ambience was crazy, especially at Vallorcine. I’ve never heard so many people shouting ‘Go Yannick.’
“In the end, to arrive in Chamonix in 7th was really pleasing. I couldn’t have done it without all the support during the race and 365 days a year.”
For Magali it was a first-ever loop of Mont Blanc but she showed little nerves in executing a superb race plan.
The winner of the 100km Maxi-Race in May, Magali was quietly confident heading into the Chamonix showpiece and, like Yannick, worked her way through the field after Courmayeur.
Gaining one final place on the descent down into town, Magali eventually finished 6th in a time of 24:48:12. She was also 43rd place overall.
The third INOV8 athlete to go top-10 was Elise Delannoy in the 145km race, staged earlier in the week.
Elise stormed round the mountain course to finish a brilliant 3rd female and 1st in the 40-44 age category. Her time was 25:18:45.
She said: “Thanks to my amazing support team we were able to create a beautiful slice of life.
“The conditions were very hot and it was difficult to eat properly. But the race went well, and I was able to attack the last 20km to get the two girls in front of me.”
TEAM INOV8 RESULTS IN CHAMONIX
176km race
Yannick Noel – 7th male (21:03:41). TRAILFLY MAX
Magali Mellon – 6th female (24:48:12). TRAILTALON & TRAILFLY
145km race
Elise Delannoy – 3rd female (25:18:45). TRAILFLY MAX
50km race
Clovis Chaverot – 19th male (5:26:02). MUDTALON ZERO
Ludvik Fernandes – 30th male (5:38:34). MUDTALON ZERO
40km race
Marine Coquard – 17th female (5:15:00). TRAILTALON
CHAMONIX SHAKEOUT RUN
During event week we teamed up with Run 4 Adventure to stage the now-annual Chamonix Shakeout Run.
Around 120 runners from across the world joined the fun for an easy four-mile run, the opportunity to test soon-to-be-released shoes, and free coffee.
Loyd Purvis, founder of Run 4 Adventure, said: “This was the fourth year for the shakeout run, which keeps getting bigger. It was incredible to have so many people there showing their support.” Watch Run 4 Adventure’s video from this year’s Chamonix Shakeout Run.
