Éditions Mons La Course en T?te

In the book "La course en T?te," Alexis Berg, Fr?d?ric Berg, Aur?lien Delfosse, and Benjamin Steen immerse us in the heart of the world's most famous trail race, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. To achieve this, they met with 22 winners of this legendary event.

Summary:

UTMB. Four letters, three countries, and a myth spanning 170 kilometers around the summit of the Alps. Created in 2003, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc has established itself as the greatest nature race in the world. An epic and popular spectacle, carefully orchestrated.

In 20 years of constant growth, the UTMB has become THE LEADING RACE. The one everyone talks about. The race thousands of anonymous runners dream of for years. The race that shapes the destinies of trail stars. The race that, through its innovations, dictates and influences an entire sport.

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the UTMB, ?ditions Mons is publishing this 512-page event book in a 22 x 28 cm format.

To tell the story of the UTMB in depth and understand how this race has revolutionized ultra-trail, journalist Aur?lien Delfosse and photographer Alexis Berg chose the obvious: to meet with those who have won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (170 km - 10,000 m of positive elevation gain).

They are 22 winners. Twelve women. Ten men. The pantheon of a sport.

Marco Olmo; Courtney Dauwalter; Kilian Jornet; Nathalie Mauclair; Fran?ois D'Haene; Lizzy Hawker; Xavier Th?venard; Karine Herry; Krissy Moehl; Jez Bragg; Caroline Chaverot; Pau Capell; Colette Borcard; Katie Schide; Dawa Sherpa; Nikki Kimball; Vincent Delebarre; Nuria Picas; Ludovic Pommeret; Francesca Canepa; Christophe Jaquerod; Rory Bosio

It is the story of a journey lasting several months, from Leadville (Colorado) to Robilante (Italy), from the Jura to the Sarthe, from Andorra to Norway. One by one, Aur?lien Delfosse and Alexis Berg visited, at their homes, the greatest legends of this sport: those who continue to bask in the spotlight, but also the forgotten glories.

Building on their bestseller about the Barkley, Les Finisseurs (?d. Mons, 2020), Alexis and Aur?lien took the time to listen. More than 60 hours of exclusive interviews. A wealth of unique material. Powerful testimonies, confidences, and stances. The inside of a sport, but seen from above.

Of course, LA COURSE EN T?TE is not just a collection of extensive interviews.
To analyze an event as multifaceted as the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, Alexis and Aur?lien teamed up with two seasoned journalists and authors, Fr?d?ric Berg and Benjamin Steen, both finishers of the UTMB.

The UTMB week is not limited to the flagship 170 km race. The book naturally tells the story of the other distances - CCC, TDS, OCC, and PTL - essential to the magnitude of the event.
Over the course of about twenty thematic texts, the book also explores the major unavoidable subjects: the origins, the three countries, the environment, the night, research, equipment, media coverage, etc.

During the 2022 edition, Alexis Berg also undertook a major portrait project. More than 200 UTMB participants opened up to his lens, "before" and "after" the race, in his ephemeral studio set up near the finish line. Published exclusively in this book, this artistic (and somewhat sociological) experience reveals the diverse faces of the peloton.

For the authors, LA COURSE EN T?TE is not just about the top rankings. Finishing an ultra like the UTMB is always a victory. As a tribute, we thus publish the names of all the UTMB finishers since 2003. We counted them: they are 26,582...

Author Introductions:

Fr?d?ric Berg is a journalist and trail runner, having notably finished the Diagonale des Fous three times and the UTMB once, as well as about ten other ultras.

Alexis Berg has been a photographer at the UTMB for 10 years.

Aur?lien Delfosse is a journalist and Deputy Director of the Mountain Film Archive. Also an author and publisher, he is co-founder of L'?quipe explore.

Benjamin Steen is a journalist and author.

Key Points of the book "La course en T?te" by ?ditions Mons

• The UTMB through the portraits of 22 winners
• Testimonies, confidences, and stances of these exceptional athletes
• Analysis of the race, breakdown of the different distances
• The history of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
• 512 pages
• Dimensions: 22 x 28 cm
• Authors: Alexis Berg, Fr?d?ric Berg, Aur?lien Delfosse, and Benjamin Steen
• ?ditions Mons