Sylvain Cachard

Sylvain Cachard, a climber with the mountains in his legs 🏔️

Grenoble offers peaks as a backdrop and a solid club, EA Grenoble 38. Sylvain begins sharpening his climber's legs and runs his first races in Occitanie. His favorite course remains the Cirque de Mourèze, in Hérault, as technical as it is scorching in summer. He is now an ambassador for the École de Trail de Clermont-l'Hérault.

His talent shone early: 3rd at Sierre-Zinal junior in 2017. In 2020, he claimed the French mountain running champion title in Superdévoluy, then the Trofeo Nasego record in 1h34'11" 🧗 , after a close duel with Francesco Puppi.

Sierre-Zinal, when 5 seconds weigh a ton ⏱️

In 2022, the Grenoble native became European mountain running champion 🏆, and smashed the Skyrace des Matheysins record in 2h15'40". The following year, Sierre-Zinal held a movie-worthy finale in store for him: Sylvain Cachard worked his way up through the pack, was in 3rd place 500 m from the finish, then missed the podium by 5 seconds. His 2h34'22" remains the best French time in 50 editions. Five seconds, just the time to retie a shoelace: a cruel finish for the Grenoble runner.

Fate played another trick on him in 2026. A foot injury kept him off the trails for 4 months 🩼. His return to Sierre-Zinal was reassuring: 12th, and first Frenchman.

SaintéLyon: the mountain man who put the night in his pocket 🌙

On November 30, 2025, the vertical purist took on his first SaintéLyon, 80 km and 1,950 mD+ between Saint-Étienne and Lyon. His parents had run this legendary night, while he followed it from the side of the trails. This time, he sped along at the front of the forest of headlamps 🔦 . Favorite Benjamin Polin blew up before Chaponost, Sylvain took the lead and crossed the line in 5h36'33", with a 3 min lead over Virgile Moriset. He won the oldest of the French ultras at 26 years old, on his very first attempt.

What followed took place at the OCC, the 50K final of the UTMB World Series: 60 km and 3,500 mD+ between Orsières and Chamonix. Sylvain finished 4th in 5h21'35" in 2026, behind Frédéric Tranchand, the winner in 5h10'08", after a 17th place in 2024. His motto, displayed on his UTMB profile: "When I run in the mountains, I'm happy." His ITRA index of 928 shows he has plenty more reasons to smile for a long time to come.

While waiting for the rest of his season, pick your own trail on Finishers and aim for your start line 🎯 .