The 2021 CCC race started Friday at 9 a.m. and the top runners finished the 100k race later that same day. The course runs from Courmayeur, Italy through Champex, Switzerland and to Chamonix, France while picking up 6,100 meters (20,000 feet) of elevation gain. It’s similar to TDS, but goes an opposite direction for a shorter distance and less elevation.
Women
Nine and a half hours into the race Marta Molist (Spain) pulled even with Petra Ševčíková (Czech Republic), and then sped to the finish. Molist was the race winner in 12:50 and was absolutely ecstatic at the finish.
Abby Hall (USA) also overtook Ševčíková for second, finishing in 13:04, and Ševčíková was third in 13:21. The race marked a big step up for all three of the podium finishers. Earlier, Molist was 15th at the 2019 IAU Trail World Championships, and Hall was 14th at this year’s Western States 100. Ševčíková might’ve made the biggest leap. Little is known about this Czech skyrunning star, but perhaps our readers can help.
The top-three women of the 2021 CCC race celebrate (l-to-r): 2. Abby Hall, 1. Marta Molist, and 3. Petra Ševčíková. Photo: UTMB/Michel Cottin
The lead runners were all well off both Miao Yao’s 2018 11:57 course record and Ragna Debats‘s 12:10 2019 winning time.
The rest of the top 10 ran as:
4 – Eszter Csillag (Hungary) – 13:43
5 – Katarzyna Solińska (Poland) – 13:49
6 – Meryl Cooper (U.K.) – 14:18
7 – Agnese Valz Gen (Italy) – 14:18
8 – Sara Escobar Carron (Switzerland) – 14:22
9 – Meg Mackenzie (South Africa) – 14:27
10 – Frederica Zuccollo (Italy) – 14:37
Ruth Croft (New Zealand) did not start the race, sharing on Instagram that she was struggling with a stomach bug.
The 2021 CCC women’s champion Marta Molist raises her hands in celebration. Photo: UTMB/Michel Cottin
Men
Thibaut Garrivier (France) won the men’s race in 10:23. He gained the lead near 60k and ran from the front the rest of the way. The win marked a comeback from a year-long injury cycle, and a step up from his 2019 runner-up finish. Garrivier dedicated the victory to the still not-yet-identified Czech runner who died in TDS earlier in the week. Garrivier’s time bettered Hayden Hawks’s 10:24 run from 2017 for a new course record.
2019 UTMB third-placer Scott Hawker (New Zealand) was second in an emotional 10:47 finish, and Thibaut Baronian (France) was third in 10:53.
The 2021 CCC top-three men (l-to-r): 2. Scotty Hawker, 1. Thibaut Garrivier, 3 Thibaut Baronian. Photo: UTMB/Michel Cottin
The rest of the top 10 included:
4 – Andreas Reiterer (Italy) – 10:57
5 – Hugo Deck (France) – 10:58
6 – Janosch Kowalczyk (Germany) – 11:06
7 – Riccardo Montani (Italy) – 11:16
8 – Abel Carretero (Spain) – 11:16
9 – Baptiste Chassagne (France) – 11:18
10 – Pere Aurell (Spain) – 11:30
For the Americans, Kris Brown was 13th in 11:40. Avery Collins and Caleb Olson were also near the top, finishing 15th and 17th in 11:47 and 11:51, respectively.
Stian Angermund (Norway), Jared Hazen (USA), and Luis Alberto Hernando (Spain) were notable drops from the race. Angermund led the race’s first half, on his birthday no less, before dropping with a hip injury. Hernando was the race’s defending champion.
The 2021 CCC men’s champion, Thibaut Garrivier, raises his hands to the crowd as he finishes. Photo: UTMB/Michel Cottin
