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That had never happened before. Ben Dhiman becomes the first runner in history to break that barrier, wiping out Tom Evans' record (19:18:58 in 2025).",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":248,"children":249},{},[250,252,257],{"type":27,"value":251},"Put another way, Chassagne's performance — 18:47 — would have ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":253,"children":254},{},[255],{"type":27,"value":256},"won every previous edition of the UTMB",{"type":27,"value":258},". This year it wasn't enough.",{"type":21,"tag":68,"props":260,"children":262},{"id":261},"a-race-launched-into-a-storm",[263],{"type":27,"value":264},"A race launched into a storm",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":266,"children":267},{},[268,270,275,277,282],{"type":27,"value":269},"The 2026 edition, the 23rd, did not get under way as planned. The start, originally scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Friday 28 August, was ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":271,"children":272},{},[273],{"type":27,"value":274},"pushed back two hours, to 7:45 p.m.",{"type":27,"value":276},", to let two bands of thunderstorms clear the Haute-Savoie. The organisers also altered the route by cutting out the Pyramides Calcaires section. Final numbers: ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":278,"children":279},{},[280],{"type":27,"value":281},"174 km and 9,700 m of elevation gain",{"type":27,"value":283},", for around 2,500 runners on the start line.",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":285,"children":286},{},[287,289,294,296,301,303,308,310,315,317,322],{"type":27,"value":288},"The field, meanwhile, had been thinned out. ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":290,"children":291},{},[292],{"type":27,"value":293},"Kilian Jornet",{"type":27,"value":295}," and ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":297,"children":298},{},[299],{"type":27,"value":300},"Jim Walmsley",{"type":27,"value":302}," both pulled out with knee injuries. ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":304,"children":305},{},[306],{"type":27,"value":307},"Tom Evans",{"type":27,"value":309},", the defending champion, was absent. In the race itself, two major withdrawals came before the 70th kilometre: ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":311,"children":312},{},[313],{"type":27,"value":314},"Vincent Bouillard",{"type":27,"value":316},", the 2024 winner, and ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":318,"children":319},{},[320],{"type":27,"value":321},"Courtney Dauwalter",{"type":27,"value":323},".",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":325,"children":326},{},[327],{"type":27,"value":328},"A word of honesty on this point: a race is judged on those who make it to the start line, and this edition produced the fastest podium ever seen. But the context deserves to be stated.",{"type":21,"tag":68,"props":330,"children":332},{"id":331},"how-it-unfolded-out-front-then-chasing-then-under-siege",[333],{"type":27,"value":334},"How it unfolded: out front, then chasing, then under siege",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":336,"children":337},{},[338,340,345,347,352],{"type":27,"value":339},"Chassagne did not sit back and wait. ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":341,"children":342},{},[343],{"type":27,"value":344},"He took control in the opening hours",{"type":27,"value":346},", leading through Les Contamines in ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":348,"children":349},{},[350],{"type":27,"value":351},"2:45:21",{"type":27,"value":353},", ahead of Zach Miller and Ben Dhiman.",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":355,"children":356},{},[357,359,364],{"type":27,"value":358},"The American made his move at ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":360,"children":361},{},[362],{"type":27,"value":363},"La Balme",{"type":27,"value":365},", and the gap opened up in stages:",{"type":21,"tag":367,"props":368,"children":369},"ul",{},[370,381,391],{"type":21,"tag":371,"props":372,"children":373},"li",{},[374,379],{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":375,"children":376},{},[377],{"type":27,"value":378},"Col de la Seigne",{"type":27,"value":380},": +13 minutes",{"type":21,"tag":371,"props":382,"children":383},{},[384,389],{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":385,"children":386},{},[387],{"type":27,"value":388},"Maison Vieille",{"type":27,"value":390},": +16:25",{"type":21,"tag":371,"props":392,"children":393},{},[394,399],{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":395,"children":396},{},[397],{"type":27,"value":398},"Champex-Lac",{"type":27,"value":400},": around +30 minutes",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":402,"children":403},{},[404,406,411],{"type":27,"value":405},"The Frenchman never let go of second place, going through ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":407,"children":408},{},[409],{"type":27,"value":410},"La Fouly (km 114) in 12:01:06",{"type":27,"value":412},". But his real fight was no longer ahead of him — it was behind.",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":414,"children":415},{},[416,418,423,425,430,432,437],{"type":27,"value":417},"At ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":419,"children":420},{},[421],{"type":27,"value":422},"Trient",{"type":27,"value":424},", Joaquin Lopez had closed to within 9 minutes. At ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":426,"children":427},{},[428],{"type":27,"value":429},"Vallorcine",{"type":27,"value":431},", Chassagne stopped for barely thirty seconds. And on the final section, ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":433,"children":434},{},[435],{"type":27,"value":436},"Caleb Olson put together a huge descent",{"type":27,"value":438},": the gap came down to a minute, then to around forty seconds.",{"type":21,"tag":29,"props":440,"children":441},{},[442,444,449,451,456],{"type":27,"value":443},"After 18 hours and 47 minutes of racing, Baptiste Chassagne crossed the line ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":445,"children":446},{},[447],{"type":27,"value":448},"46 seconds ahead",{"type":27,"value":450}," of the American. A margin of ",{"type":21,"tag":43,"props":452,"children":453},{},[454],{"type":27,"value":455},"0.07%",{"type":27,"value":457},". 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