The following is published with permission from World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and features results from Vauban Mountain Trail in Briançon, France, which hosted the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup stages 9 and 10 on July 18 and July 19. Featured photo courtesy WMRA/Marco Gulberti.
Atuya and Ghelfi victorious at Uphill Race
Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) and Francesca Ghelfi (ITA) claimed impressive victories as the seventh edition of the Vauban Mountain Trail hosted the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup for the second consecutive year in Briançon, France.
Stage 9 of the 2026 World Cup took athletes from the snow front at the base of the Prorel gondola, in the Briançon sector of Serre Chevalier, all the way to its upper station. Over just 6 km, the Montée Verticale gained 1,150 metres without a single metre of descent.
From the opening metres, the race demanded full commitment. Athletes left Briançon below as the course climbed into open Alpine terrain, surrounded by wide, 360-degree views across the French Alps and towards the peaks of the Briançonnais, the Queyras and the Écrins. It was mountain running in its purest uphill form: one continuous ascent, no opportunity to recover and the summit always above.
Men’s race: Atuya repeats history clocking 40:40
Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) successfully defended his Vauban Mountain Trail Uphill title in extraordinary fashion. The Kenyan attacked from the very first step of the climb, quickly distancing himself from the rest of the field before running alone to the finish. In a remarkable coincidence, Atuya stopped the clock at 40:40—the identical winning time that brought him victory on the same course in 2025—to claim back-to-back Vauban Mountain Trail Uphill titles and maximum World Cup points.
Behind him, the race for the remaining podium positions remained open throughout much of the climb. Elijah Kamau Kariuki (KEN) held second place for most of the race, but Brayan Rodríguez Flores (MEX) produced one of the performances of the day. Running in third position for the majority of the climb, the Mexican launched a decisive attack over the final 800 metres, overtaking Kariuki to secure second place in 42:38, just 1:58 behind the winner.
Elijah Kamau Kariuki (KEN) completed the podium in 42:55, while Henri Aymonod (ITA) finished fourth, with Théodore Klein (FRA) completing the top five.
Top 10 Men
1. Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) – 40:40
2. Brayan Rodríguez Flores (MEX) – 42:38
3. Elijah Kamau Kariuki (KEN) – 42:55
4. Henri Aymonod (ITA) – 43:53
5. Théodore Klein (FRA) – 44:16
6. Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (KEN) – 44:55
7. Paul Machoka (KEN) – 45:05
8. Alric Petit (FRA) – 45:55
9. Martin Nilsson (SWE) – 46:03
10. Jon Breivold (NOR) – 46:44
Women’s race: Ghelfi moves from sixth to victory
The women’s race delivered one of the most dramatic stories of the day. At the mid station, Christel Dewalle (FRA), Kirsty Dickson (GBR) and Ruth Gitonga (KEN) were locked together at the front, while Francesca Ghelfi (ITA) passed the checkpoint in sixth position.
From there, Ghelfi transformed the race. The Italian produced a superb second half of the climb, closing the gap on the leaders and moving from sixth to first on the exposed upper slopes. She reached the finish at the Prorel upper station in 49:18, completing a remarkable comeback to claim victory.
Behind her, Gitonga secured second place in 50:12, while Dickson completed the podium just nine seconds later in 50:21. Dewalle finished fourth on home soil in 50:46, with Benedetta Broggi (ITA) taking fifth in 52:35.
Top 10 Women
1. Francesca Ghelfi (ITA) – 49:18
2. Ruth Gitonga (KEN) – 50:12
3. Kirsty Dickson (GBR) – 50:21
4. Christel Dewalle (FRA) – 50:46
5. Benedetta Broggi (ITA) – 52:35
6. Ellen Crombie (GBR) – 53:16
7. Miriam Chepkirui (KEN) – 53:48
8. Selina Burch (SUI) – 54:12
9. Gloria Chebet (KEN) – 54:29
10. Elle Twentyman (GBR) – 54:39
Classic race: Njeri notches first World Cup win on the men’s side and Gitonga takes women’s victory
Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (KEN) claimed his first WMRA Mountain Running World Cup victory of his career after overturning Richard Omaya Atuya’s lead on a decisive descent, while Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga (KEN) took the women’s race win and moved to the top of the overall World Cup standings at the Vauban Mountain Trail Classic Up & Down in Briançon, France.
One day after the continuous climb of the Montée Verticale, Stage 10 of the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup presented athletes with a completely different challenge: 14 km with approximately 1,000 metres of ascent and descent through one of the most distinctive and beautiful settings in international mountain running.
Starting from Parc de la Schappe, beneath Briançon’s fortified old town, the athletes climbed away from the city towards the Croix de Toulouse, the highest point of the course at around 1,950 metres. From there, the route plunged back towards Briançon in less than three kilometres before crossing towards another part of the city’s historic defensive landscape and the fortifications surrounding the Pont d’Asfeld and Fort des Trois-Têtes.
Briançon’s fortifications form part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Fortifications of Vauban. Here, that heritage was not simply the background to the race. The fortified city, mountain paths, bridges, tunnels and defensive structures shaped the sporting challenge itself, bringing together Alpine terrain, centuries of history and World Cup mountain running.
The opening climb rewarded strength, but it could not decide the race alone. The rapid descent from the Croix de Toulouse and the second passage through the fortifications demanded speed, technique and commitment before the final return to Parc de la Schappe.
Men’s race: Njeri finds his moment on the descent
Twenty-four hours after winning Saturday’s Uphill race, Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) again showed his climbing strength and was the first athlete to reach the high point above Briançon’s fortifications.
Atuya appeared to be moving towards a second victory of the weekend, but the Classic Up & Down race still had its decisive kilometres ahead. Once the course turned downhill, Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (KEN) began to close the gap.
Njeri moved past Atuya on the fast descent towards Briançon and continued to build his advantage on the return to Parc de la Schappe. By the finish, he had opened a 27-second margin, crossing the line in 1:03:01 to secure the first WMRA World Cup victory of his career.
It was a breakthrough moment for Njeri. After finishing sixth in Saturday’s pure uphill contest, he returned one day later and used the speed and technical demands of the Classic Up & Down course to claim the biggest international victory of his career so far.
Atuya finished second in 1:03:28, completing an exceptional weekend in Briançon with one victory and one runner-up finish across two very different mountain-running disciplines.
Elijah Kamau Kariuki (KEN) secured third in 1:05:06, completing an all-Kenyan men’s podium. Brayan Rodríguez Flores (MEX) finished fourth in 1:05:43, while Paul Machoka (KEN) completed the top five in 1:06:14
Top 10 Men
1. Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (KEN) – 1:03:01
2. Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) – 1:03:28
3. Elijah Kamau Kariuki (KEN) – 1:05:06
4. Brayan Rodríguez Flores (MEX) – 1:05:43
5. Paul Machoka (KEN) – 1:06:14
6. Théodore Klein (FRA) – 1:06:42
7. Martin Nilsson (SWE) – 1:07:05
8. Lukas Ehrle (GER) – 1:07:06
9. Noé Daviaud (FRA) – 1:07:41
10. Matt Knowles (GBR) – 1:08:04
Women’s race: Gitonga wins and takes overall lead in the World Cup ranking
After finishing second in Saturday’s Montée Verticale, Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga (KEN) returned to the start line determined to go one better in the Classic Up & Down. Gitonga crossed the finish line at Parc de la Schappe in 1:14:03, completing her Briançon weekend with a runner-up finish and a victory. Those two results move her to the top of the overall 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup standings.
The race for victory remained close until the finish, with Gloria Chebet (KEN) crossing the line only 19 seconds behind in 1:14:22.
Miriam Chepkirui (KEN) completed another all-Kenyan podium in 1:19:08, but the battle for third continued until the final metres.
Just five seconds behind Chepkirui, Arianna Dentis (ITA) produced one of the breakthrough performances of the weekend. Dentis finished fourth in 1:19:13, recording her first major World Cup result and coming within only five seconds of a sensational podium place. Elle Twentyman (GBR) completed the women’s top five in 1:20:08.
Top 10 Women
1. Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga (KEN) – 1:14:03
2. Gloria Chebet (KEN) – 1:14:22
3. Miriam Chepkirui (KEN) – 1:19:08
4. Arianna Dentis (ITA) – 1:19:13
5. Elle Twentyman (GBR) – 1:20:08
6. Benedetta Broggi (ITA) – 1:23:53
7. Selina Burch (SUI) – 1:23:59
8. Céline Jeannier (FRA) – 1:25:11
9. Bethany Bergstrand (GBR) – 1:26:47
10. Gabrielle Pilote Fortin (CAN) – 1:27:59
Results can be found here.
Two races, two different expressions of mountain running
Across two days, the Vauban Mountain Trail tested almost every element of elite mountain running.
Saturday’s race was a single sustained ascent from Briançon towards the upper station of Prorel. Sunday required athletes to climb from the fortified city towards the Croix de Toulouse, commit fully to a rapid descent and then race through another section of Briançon’s UNESCO-listed defensive landscape.
For Njeri, the descent opened the door to his first World Cup victory. For Gitonga, a second place and a victory across the weekend carried her to the top of the overall standings.
The Vauban Mountain Trail was the last Classic Up & Down race before the World Cup Finals at Défi des Couleurs in Québec, Canada, in October, where the final points in the category will be decided. The Classic Up & Down category is sponsored by Turismo Centro de Portugal – “MOVE Centro de Portugal – The Sports Region.”
The World Cup pauses for almost three weeks before returning for Stage 11 at Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland on Saturday, August 8.
IN MOUNTAIN RUNNING WE TRUST.
