Rain clouds over the Alps set the stage for one of the most gripping editions of the OCC in recent memory.
The 61-kilometer race, rerouted at the last minute because of heavy storms, became a showdown of raw grit and late-race drama that saw Jim Walmsley of the United States and Joyline Chepngeno of Kenya take narrow victories in Chamonix on Thursday.
For Walmsley, it was a return to form that almost slipped away.
The 35-year-old 2023 UTMB champion, easing back from injuries, seemed to have the race under control after cresting Col de Balme alone.
But Italy’s Cristian Minoggio, 41 and largely overlooked in pre-race chatter, tore down the descent and surged into the lead at Argentière. With four miles to go, he was nearly a minute and a half clear.
What followed was a finish that will live in OCC lore.
Walmsley, striding with the same urgency that once carried him to UTMB glory, reeled Minoggio back in along the flat run into Chamonix. He surged past in the final stretch to win in 5:00:35, just 20 seconds ahead of Minoggio, who collapsed across the line in disbelief.
Poland’s Andrzej Witek rounded out the podium in 5:04:08.
“Adapting to a new route and the strong field at OCC this year kept the race close until the final stretch,” Walmsley said in a statement released by HOKA. “I’m happy I was able to reel back in the competition and close the gap.”
If the men’s race was a duel of old guard versus icon, the women’s race was about a newcomer upsetting the established order.
Joyline Chepngeno, racing the longest distance of her career, refused to yield against defending champion Miao Yao of China. The pair were never more than two minutes apart, trading leads through the mud and mist. Only in the closing kilometers did Chepngeno edge clear, taking victory in 5:34.
Her win signaled a breakthrough not just personally, but also for a wider trend: East African athletes, long dominant on roads and cross country, are increasingly making their mark on the trail world.
Both champions collected €13,000 as the OCC doubled as the UTMB World Series Final for the 50-kilometer category. The men’s field proved historically deep, with the top eight separated by less than ten minutes, including Petter Engdahl in fourth and Americans Adam Peterman (sixth) and David Norris (ninth).
The storm that forced runners onto an alternate route ended up sharpening the race.
With exposed sections cut out, the course was quicker than usual, and several athletes finished ahead of Eli Hemming’s winning time of 5:11 from 2024. Still, the race came not from record books but from the drama on the trail and the sense that, even with lightning in the forecast, the OCC never loses its electricity.
2025 UTMB OCC results
Elite Men
- Jim Walmsley (USA) – 5:00:35
- Cristian Minoggio (ITA) – 5:00:55
- Andrzej Witek (POL) – 5:04:08
- Petter Engdahl (SWE) – 5:05:08
- Kristian Jones (GBR) – 5:05:50
Elite Women
- Joyline Chepngeno (KEN) – 5:34:03
- Miao Yao (CHN) – 5:35:13
- Judith Wyder (SUI) – 5:38:22
- Maude Mathys (SUI) – 5:45:43
- Sara Alonso (ESP) – 5:50:26
