Races on Legendary Passes

Climbing a pass is writing a piece of your own story 📜

In the world of outdoor sports, there is a type of challenge that fascinates, sometimes obsesses: the ascent of a legendary pass🦾. It's a kind of trial where each step or pedal stroke becomes a duel between yourself, the slope, and the air, which 🫁, it must be said, becomes increasingly scarce at altitude 🌪️. It's the only type of race where the clock doesn't matter as much, because you're not just racing for yourself, but for a summit. At the finish, it's not the arch or the spectators that fascinate you, it's the panoramic view 👀. The Mont Ventoux Kookabarra, for example, attracts hundreds of runners each year for its demanding half marathon, 21 km with over 1,610 m elevation gain, a steady 7.5% grade and a finish on an almost lunar summit 🌚. This type of race is no trivial matter: it pushes you to your limits, your boundaries, and will let you know whether or not you can surpass yourself! Ascents test both the mind and the legs, but offer something very rare: the feeling of accomplishment ❤️‍🔥. It's no coincidence these passes have become legendary: they embody the threshold between human effort and the grandeur of nature. Plus, no sport is left out, whether it's cycling, gravel 🚵‍♀️, road racing, trail running - all are part of the challenge! 🏃‍♀️

©HauteRouteAlpes

In France or elsewhere, the whole world tries to race to the sky 🌏

It's not only in France that the cult of the ascent is becoming mainstream; in fact, this new hobby extends beyond borders 🗺️. Of course, the Alps and the Pyrenees are well-known playgrounds that drive many French runners to take the plunge. The Alpe d'Huez Climb, The Portet Pass Challenge, The Haute Route des Alpes in Megève, or the Grenobloise Cyclosportive have all become annual fixtures 📆. Yet Finishers knows, France isn't the only country filled with daunting climbs waiting to be tackled by hundreds of runners! Whether it's road formats, trail, or even triathlon, like the formidable NordseeMan Norwegian 🇧🇻. In the United States 🇺🇲, the phenomenon takes on a different appearance: in the Rockies, on the ridges of Colorado or Oregon, there are endless trails where you no longer count the elevation gains or kilometers, traversing through forests 🌲, high plateaus, and rocky passes. From the atmosphere of the Broken Arrow Skyrace, a UTMB® event taking place in the Squaw Valley Mountains in California ⛰️, to the Leadville 100, known for its extreme elevation, to the Wy'east Wonder Parkdale in Oregon, on Finishers, you'll find challenges, my dear padawan! 🧌

©Wy'estWonder

When passes give birth to legends! 🫅

Passes are challenges to be conquered, and sometimes in this quest, some runners even leave a legendary mark: Recently, we have the incredible example of Anaïs Quemener who conquered the Mont Ventoux Kookabarra Half Marathon in 1h 51min 36s and marked her second victory by setting a record on the Giant of Provence with its 1610 m elevation gain 🥇. In July 2024, professional triathlete Alanis Siffert claimed victory at the Alpe d'Huez Triathlon 🏊‍♀️, in long-distance format, finishing the race in 6h 20min 31s, leading her competitors by a quarter of an hour ⏱️. On the cycling front, we can't overlook the legendary Tour de France, like in 2022 when Tom Pidcock, still very young, surprised everyone: he broke away from the pack at the summit of the Galibier, attacked solo on the descent, then claimed victory at Alpe d'Huez, becoming the youngest stage winner on that legendary climb! 💪 And how could we talk about legendary ascents without mentioning Kilian Jornet ! 👑 His achievements are countless; as at the Tromsø Skyrace in Norway, which he co-created, or at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc where in 2022, he became the first participant to finish under 20 hours... 🤯 But no one can speak about this better than the "mountain" or "at altitude" themes! 😉

©SemimarathonduMontVentouxKookabarra