Monte Rosa - Les Sentiers des Valdôtains 120K — Full Race Analysis

Full Race Analysis

The Les Sentiers des Valdôtains is arguably one of the most unusual 120K races in the UTMB World Series. Starting in Aosta and finishing in Gressoney-Saint-Jean, the course crosses the Aosta Valley toward two of the Alps' most iconic mountains, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. The official 2026 course is listed at 120 km and 8,200 m+, with the route passing through Saint-Barthélemy, Valtournenche, Cime Bianche and Val d'Ayas before reaching the Walser villages and the Gressoney Valley.

This is therefore not simply a long race with a lot of elevation. The course repeatedly alternates between major climbing blocks and technical descending, creating a very different physiological problem from a flatter 100K. The available route data places the maximum elevation at roughly 3,000 m, reinforcing the importance of high-alpine terrain management.

The 2026 edition also established itself as a major international race. More than 6,000 athletes participated across the event's different distances, with runners representing 77 countries.

At the front of the 120K, however, the story was much more concentrated. VANDERSCHAEGHE (Bib 4) established control early and, according to iRunFar's race recap, led throughout the entire second half of the race. He ultimately finished in 15:33:44, ahead of fellow Belgian DESCAMPS (Bib 28) in 16:00:57 and Italian defending champion CORSINI (Bib 6) in 16:05:01.

The women's race was almost the opposite. BANNWARTH (Bib 13) held a substantial advantage deep into the race, reportedly still around 13 minutes ahead of BORZANI (Bib 19) at approximately mile 66. By mile 72, however, BORZANI had made her decisive move, ultimately winning by only 6:18.

Men's Race Analysis

VANDERSCHAEGHE built the victory through sustained climbing efficiency

Jérôme VANDERSCHAEGHE (Bib 4) produced the clearest all-around performance in the men's field. His final VPI of 970.3 was comfortably the highest among the Top 10, while his DMI of 12.49 was also among the strongest. Most importantly, his ER of 86.0 indicates that this was not simply a high-power climbing performance: he was able to preserve a very large proportion of that efficiency across the full race. His final effort-pace values of 4.19 min/effort-km in the first half and 4.77 in the second show a relatively controlled degradation despite the enormous accumulated vertical gain. The dataset confirms that his performance was already exceptional on the early climbing sectors.

The checkpoint data provides a good illustration of just how aggressively the leading group attacked the early mountains. On one of the major early climbing segments, the front runners were operating around 1,100–1,200 VPI. At checkpoint 3, for example, CORSINI (Bib 6) produced approximately 1,201 VPI, while DESCAMPS (Bib 28) reached 1,202 VPI and VANDERSCHAEGHE was also above 1,180. These are not isolated numbers from a short vertical race; they came within a 120K containing more than 8,000 m of total climbing. This is important because it shows that the eventual winner did not simply wait for others to fade—he was already operating at elite climbing intensity from the beginning.

Yet the defining characteristic of VANDERSCHAEGHE's race was what happened afterward. The early field was extremely close, with DESCAMPS and CORSINI producing climbing numbers almost indistinguishable from the winner on several individual sectors. The difference was therefore not who could produce the biggest VPI once, but who could repeatedly reproduce high-quality efforts while absorbing the enormous cumulative load. VANDERSCHAEGHE's final 970.3 VPI / 12.49 DMI / 86 ER combination suggests precisely that balance. It also fits the external race narrative: he was the leader throughout the second half rather than merely making a late move.

DESCAMPS (Bib 28) deserves particular attention because his performance was statistically much closer to the winner than the 27:13 finishing gap might suggest. His VPI of 941.4, DMI of 12.09 and ER of 77.1 place him firmly in the elite range across all three dimensions. His early climbing was exceptional, including approximately 1,150 VPI on one major segment, and he remained competitive deep into the course. The key difference appears in endurance: his second-half effort pace reached 5.07 min/effort-km, compared with 4.12 in the first half. That degradation does not represent a collapse—it represents the difference between an excellent ultra performance and an extraordinary one.

CORSINI (Bib 6) was perhaps the most interesting of the podium from a pure race-performance perspective. The defending champion finished only four minutes behind DESCAMPS and produced a final VPI of 942.9, virtually identical to his Belgian rival. His DMI 12.12 was also almost identical, while his ER of 77.9 slightly exceeded DESCAMPS' 77.1. In other words, the VTL metrics show an almost perfectly matched battle between second and third. The separation came not from a dramatic difference in climbing or descending ability, but from the accumulation of small differences across a course where four minutes can represent a handful of individual sections.

Behind the podium, the next tier remained exceptionally strong. HAGNERE (Bib 9) finished with VPI 913.5, DMI 11.66 and ER 71.6, while VANDEWALLE (Bib 12) recorded 893.7 VPI, 11.41 DMI and an outstanding 89.1 ER. That ER is particularly notable: it was the highest value among the men's Top 10 despite VANDEWALLE finishing fifth. His profile suggests an athlete who preserved performance exceptionally well, even though his absolute climbing power was lower than the podium. This is exactly the kind of result where ER adds information that the finishing position alone cannot provide.

The rest of the Top 10 reinforces the same pattern. NUTI (Bib 790) finished with 849.1 VPI, 10.63 DMI and 72.2 ER; SAMZUN (Bib 35) 833.6 / 10.55 / 75.0; BUI (Bib 40) 820.9 / 10.65 / 73.6; GRANET (Bib 45) 834.9 / 10.21 / 67.9; and PALILLA (Bib 17) 817.9 / 10.24 / 72.4. The progression is striking: VPI generally falls as we move down the classification, but ER does not follow the same linear pattern. This again demonstrates why climbing power and endurance resilience should not be treated as interchangeable qualities.

Women's Race Analysis

BORZANI's comeback was an endurance victory

The women's race produced the most dramatic tactical story of the event. Lisa BORZANI (Bib 19) won in 19:19:39, but the result looked very different deep into the race. Claire BANNWARTH (Bib 13) was reportedly still around 13 minutes ahead at approximately mile 66, before BORZANI launched the decisive comeback and moved ahead around mile 72. The final margin was just 6:18, making this one of the closest victories of the weekend.

The VTL data explains why BORZANI was capable of such a recovery. Her final profile was 787.2 VPI, 10.04 DMI and 76.5 ER, with a first-half effort pace of 4.96 min/effort-km and second-half pace of 6.12. The VPI is not spectacular relative to the men's leaders, but her ER is strong and her DMI remained competitive. More importantly, her profile is extremely balanced. She did not need to dominate individual climbs; she needed to avoid losing efficiency everywhere else. That became decisive once the race entered its final third.

BANNWARTH's numbers tell a fascinatingly similar story. She finished with 792.5 VPI, 9.71 DMI and 77.6 ER, actually exceeding BORZANI in both VPI and ER. Her first-half effort pace was 5.01 min/effort-km, almost identical to BORZANI's 4.96, while her second-half figure reached 6.13. On paper, the two athletes were almost indistinguishable statistically. This makes the late comeback even more interesting: BORZANI's victory was not the result of a dramatically superior overall index, but of how those small differences translated into specific late-race sections. The external race report confirms that the decisive move came very late.

KLANCNIK POTRČ (Bib 5) completed the podium in 19:30:58, only 11:19 behind BORZANI. Her 795.6 VPI was actually the highest of the women's podium, while her DMI of 9.69 was slightly lower and her ER of 68.7 significantly below BORZANI and BANNWARTH. This is a particularly useful VTL profile: KLANCNIK POTRČ possessed excellent climbing power, but the endurance metric suggests greater performance degradation over the full race. The result is a classic example of how a runner can possess greater raw climbing capacity than the winner while still finishing behind her over 120 km.

PAGANELLI (Bib 152) also produced a strong and balanced race, with 767.8 VPI, 9.79 DMI and 78.0 ER. Her ER was actually the highest among the women's Top 10, slightly above BANNWARTH's 77.6 and BORZANI's 76.5. BIELER (Bib 117) followed with 749.6 / 9.56 / 73.3, while PROST (Bib 20) recorded 730.1 / 9.27 / 66.3. These numbers show that the second half of the women's field was increasingly separated by endurance rather than pure climbing power.

The final positions also show why ER becomes particularly valuable at this distance. SCHERER (Bib 23) finished with 732.1 VPI, 9.23 DMI and 72.3 ER; DUJON (Bib 139) with 704.8 / 9.21 / 73.0; BLANCHARD (Bib 194) with 728.9 / 8.95 / 72.7; and HOUDUSSE (Bib 249) with 711.0 / 9.03 / 82.4. HOUDUSSE is particularly interesting: despite a relatively modest VPI, her 82.4 ER was the strongest endurance profile in the women's Top 10. That is a major VTL finding because it identifies a performance quality that is almost invisible if we only look at finishing position.

Vertical Trail Labs Insights

The most interesting feature of the Monterosa 120K is the separation between peak performance and sustainable performance.

The early checkpoint data shows that several athletes could produce extraordinary climbing numbers. On one major ascent, VPI values above 1,100 m+/h were common among the front runners, with CORSINI around 1,201, DESCAMPS around 1,202 and VANDERSCHAEGHE also above 1,180. These values demonstrate the raw climbing level required to compete at the front of this race.

But those numbers alone did not determine the final classification. VANDERSCHAEGHE's advantage came from combining that climbing capacity with DMI 12.49 and ER 86, while DESCAMPS and CORSINI finished almost identically on the VPI/DMI axis but showed lower endurance ratings. The race therefore provides a textbook example of the distinction between maximum output and repeatable output.

The women's race makes the same point even more clearly. KLANCNIK POTRČ had the highest VPI of the podium at 795.6, yet BORZANI won with a lower 787.2. BANNWARTH was also slightly higher at 792.5. The deciding factor was not simply uphill power. BORZANI's ability to combine adequate climbing with a strong DMI and high ER allowed her to erase a substantial late deficit. The fact that she was reportedly 13 minutes behind BANNWARTH around mile 66 and still won by 6:18 makes this one of the strongest examples of endurance-driven race reversal in the current Vertical Trail Labs dataset.

Another important observation is VANDEWALLE's 89.1 ER and HOUDUSSE's 82.4 ER. Neither athlete finished on the podium, yet both produced exceptional endurance profiles. This is exactly the type of information that VTL is designed to expose: the final ranking tells us who crossed the line first, but the performance indices tell us how the race was executed and which athletes may have had the strongest resistance to fatigue.

The course itself amplifies this effect. With around 8,200 m of elevation gain over 120 km, the average vertical density is extremely high, while the route moves through terrain associated with the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa and reaches high-alpine elevations. This is a race where the athlete cannot simply recover by running efficiently on long flat sections. Climbing, descending and technical terrain repeatedly interrupt each other, meaning fatigue accumulates in different muscular systems throughout the race.

Finally, the 2026 edition confirms that the Monterosa 120K has quickly become a serious international ultra. VANDERSCHAEGHE's 15:33:44 was not just a victory but a new course record, improving the previous mark by more than an hour. The Belgian victory was completed by DESCAMPS in second, while CORSINI—winner of the previous edition—remained only four minutes from the top despite being unable to defend his title.