The put up 2026 Sierre-Zinal Males’s Preview appeared first on iRunFar.
The 2026 Sierre-Zinal, the 53rd version of the race, begins on Saturday, August 8, with the ladies’s setting off at 10:30 a.m. Central European Summer season Time (CEST) and the lads beginning half-hour later at 11 a.m. CEST.
It’s a part of each the Mountain Operating World Cup and the Golden Path World Collection (GTWS), and is once more one of the vital aggressive mountain races on this planet.
Sierre-Zinal is nicknamed “The Race of the 5 4,000s” for the 5 4,000-meter Swiss peaks (Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Obergabelhorn, Matterhorn, and Dent Blanche) seen from the course. The enduring course runs 31 kilometers (19.3 miles) point-to-point between the villages of Sierre and Zinal via the Valais Alps. The route features 2,200 meters and drops 1,100 meters. That’s 7,200 ft up and three,600 ft down. A lot of the drop comes within the race’s final 7k because it plunges 750 meters to the end in Zinal.
Race winners will earn 2,000 Swiss Francs, or roughly $2,475. Prize cash goes 10 deep, and there are time bonuses too that assure the winner a minimum of 3,000 Swiss Francs ($3,713). A brand new males’s course report is value an extra 4,000 Swiss Francs. Kilian Jornet holds the lads’s course report, set in 2024 with a time of two:25:34. Jornet was initially scheduled to race this yr’s Sierre-Zinal, however is not on the entrants checklist. Jornet dropped from June’s Western States 100 with an damage.
The race can be proven dwell on a number of worldwide channels and platforms, together with Eurosport, TNT Sports activities, Max / HBO Max, discovery+, SSR, and Canal 9, and a replay can be proven on YouTube.
For the primary time, iRunFar can be there to report firsthand on all of the motion because it unfolds. Keep tuned!
Learn on to study in regards to the high males on this yr’s occasion, and take a look at how the whole lot unfolded final yr in our 2025 Sierre-Zinal outcomes article. You can too try our 2026 Sierre-Zinal ladies’s preview.
We’ll even be updating this text via race day with any last-minute modifications. You can too see the full 2026 entrants checklist.
Due to the World Mountain Operating Affiliation (WMRA) for supporting iRunFar’s 2026 Sierre-Zinal protection.
Returning Prime 10 Males
Each single one in all final yr’s high 10 is again.
Philemon Kiriago – 1st, 2:28:31
Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago is a two-time Sierre-Zinal winner, the defending champ, and the second-fastest ever on this course. He’s accomplished no worse than second in three Sierre-Zinal begins. Final yr, Kiriago scored a 37-second win over fellow Kenyan Patrick Kipngeno. In 2024, he was second, by a second, to Kilian Jornet throughout Jornet’s course report run. Kiriago gained in 2023, once more over second-place Kipngeno. In 2026, he has raced usually and nicely. Most lately, Kiriago was third on the 2026 Damaged Arrow Ascent, gained the Damaged Arrow 23k, and was second on the Quebec Mega Path 30k, all in a two-week span. He gained Switzerland’s Thyon-Dixence race once more one week earlier than Sierre-Zinal, too.
Patrick Kipngeno – 2nd, 2:29:08
Additionally from Kenya, Patrick Kipngeno is an uphill ace who has accomplished nicely at Sierre-Zinal. He was second to Kiriago right here in each 2023 and 2025, and third, once more one spot behind Kiriago, in 2024. Kipngeno began 2026 somewhat late, getting back from damage, however gained the Damaged Arrow Ascent and was third on the Damaged Arrow 23k. Regardless of recurrently racing GTWS races, and on the identical ones as Kiriago, Kipngeno was not current at June’s Quebec Mega Path 30k race in Canada on account of visa points, however confirmed his health with a third-place run at Pitz Alpine Glacier Path one week earlier than Sierre-Zinal. He was over 4 minutes behind Elazzaoui there.
Michael Selelo Saoli – third, 2:29:14
Kenya swept the lads’s podium final yr, and Michael Selelo Saoli was the third man in that prepare, behind Kiriago and Kipngeno. After Sierre-Zinal final yr, he was sixth on the World Mountain Operating Championships (WMRC) Up and Down race. This yr, he gained the São Brás Cross Mountain Operating World Cup race in Portugal, was fifth and first on the two Beijing Mountain Operating World Cup races, and completed third at Ledro Sky Trentino. Most lately, Selelo Saoli was second at Pitz Alpine Glacier Path, ending behind Elazzaoui however forward of Kipngeno.
Adrien Briffod – 4th, 2:32:06
Adrien Briffod is a 2024 Olympian in triathlon for Switzerland, and he led an enormous chunk of final yr’s Sierre-Zinal. He misplaced locations within the downhill however nonetheless completed fourth. A yr earlier, in 2024, he was fortieth. Briffod has raced trails greater than ever in 2026. He was twenty second on the Zegama Marathon and fourth on the Marathon du Mont Blanc. He ran 14:27 and 29:38 for street 5k and 10k in 2025, too.
Paul Machoka – fifth, 2:33:00
Kenyan Paul Machoka was seventh and fifth on the July 2026 Vauban Vertical and Up and Down races. Earlier than that, he was sixth at Ledro Sky Trentino and second and third on the two Beijing Mountain Operating World Cup races. After Sierre-Zinal final yr, Machoka was third on the WMRC Up and Down race. Per week earlier than this yr’s Sierre-Zinal, Machoka was third at Thyon-Dixence, over a minute behind race winner Kiriago.
Martin Nilsson – sixth, 2:33:52
Sweden’s Martin Nilsson was simply ninth and seventh on the Vauban Vertical and Up and Down races in July 2026, however was sixth on the European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Up and Down race in June 2026. He was solely seventh at Thyon-Dixence per week earlier than Sierre-Zinal, too.
Dominik Rolli – seventh, 2:34:07
From Switzerland, Dominik Rolli has raced Sierre-Zinal six occasions, going again to 2017. Along with final yr’s breakthrough seventh-place run, most lately, he was tenth in 2022 and twenty fourth in 2024. In 2026, Rolli ran 29:07 on the street 10k race as a part of the Zurich Marathon after which starred on the European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships. He was fifth and second on the Uphill and Up and Down races there. His final two outings haven’t gone as nicely. Rolli was eleventh on the Marathon du Mont Blanc in June after which dropped on the Eiger 51k in July.
Andreu Blanes – eighth, 2:35:19
Spain’s Andreu Blanes gained Sierre-Zinal in 2022 in 2:29. Final yr’s eighth-place end is his solely different Sierre-Zinal end result. He was solely 54th at this yr’s European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Up and Down race, however was third ultimately yr’s Path World Championships Quick Path contest. A multi-disciplined runner, he ran 27:47 on the Valencia 10k in January 2026, too.
Elhousine Elazzaoui – ninth, 2:35:58
After a fourth-place end on the Quebec Mega Path 30k, we questioned if Elhousine Elazzaoui was okay. Different runners had solved for his masterful late race kick. The Moroccan has been largely unbeatable in GTWS races not named Sierre-Zinal the final two years, and 2026 began the identical method. He gained the Zegama Marathon and Ledro Sky Trentino races on back-to-back weekends in Might. Racing and the end seemed totally different on the Damaged Arrow 23k and Quebec Mega Path 30k in June, although. When it got here time to dash at Damaged Arrow, there was contact between frontrunners Kiriago and Elazzaoui, and Elazzaoui finally jogged to the end in second. Then two weeks later at Quebec, GTWS race cameras caught Elazzaoui mid-race within the river, stopping and throwing his arms up in seen frustration on the runners round him. He once more jogged to that end in fourth. Elazzaoui didn’t wait round at Pitz Alpine Glacier Path and led excessive of the race’s huge climb. He gained by over two minutes. What’s going to the race plan be at Sierre-Zinal?
Francesco Puppi – tenth, 2:37:49
This can be a step down in distance for Italy’s Francesco Puppi, significantly this yr. Puppi simply completed second at June’s Western States 100 within the race’s second-fastest end ever. Although Puppi’s already been distinctive the final a number of years, it was a very outstanding efficiency in his debut for the gap, and it occurred after a collection of early 2026 accidents. Although he’s unlikely to problem for the win at Sierre-Zinal, one other end within the again half of the highest 10 wouldn’t be a shock both.
Prime European Contenders
This group consists of a number of particular top-10-or-better contenders and a number of other runners seeking to overcome latest off-form finishes.
Italy’s Daniel Pattis was second to Elazzaoui on the 2026 Zegama Marathon, and second on the 2026 European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships 52k too. He gained the Lavaredo 50k and will problem for the rostrum right here. He was eleventh, twentieth, and 14th at Sierre-Zinal in 2024, 2023, and 2022.
Petter Engdahl began the yr with a drop on the Tarawera 102k and a 2:23 end on the Boston Marathon. He’s been nice since. Additionally this yr, the Swede has been second on the Transvulcania Ultramarathon, second and third on the European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Uphill and Up and Down races, and first on the Monte Rosa Walserwaeg marathon. Engdahl has raced Sierre-Zinal as soon as, ending 18th in 2019.
Cesare Maestri
Italy’s Cesare Maestri was eighth at this yr’s Damaged Arrow Ascent and 23k, and fourth on the European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Up and Down race. He was third at Sierre-Zinal in 2021.
Sylvain Cachard
From France, Sylvain Cachard was seventh and fourth at Sierre-Zinal in 2024 and 2023. He’s had restricted racing in 2026, however should now be wholesome. He simply gained the 2026 Path Des Passerelles Du Monteynard 27k in France in July.
Alain Santamaría
On the excessive finish, Spanish runner Alain Santamaría was fourth ultimately yr’s Path World Championships Quick Path and this yr’s European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships 52k. On the low finish, he was 18th on the 2026 Zegama Marathon and twenty second on the 2024 Sierre-Zinal, his solely time on the race. Most lately, Santamaría was eighth at Pitz Alpine Glacier Path.
Daniel Osanz
Final yr’s race should’ve been a foul day for Spain’s Daniel Osanz when he completed in 282nd. In 2024, he was 87th. In 2022 and 2021, he was seventh. His solely race this yr was a sixth-place end on the Transvulcania Half Marathon.
Roberto Delorenzi
A yr in the past, Switzerland’s Roberto Delorenzi completed 53rd right here. In 2024 and 2023, he was fifth. Delorenzi’s been somewhat off kind this yr, ending eleventh on the Zegama Marathon and twentieth on the Marathon du Mont Blanc.
Davide Magnini
Additionally from Italy, Davide Magnini was fifth and fourth at Sierre-Zinal in 2021 and 2020. He’s had some injury-challenged years since, nevertheless. Magnini was eighth ultimately yr’s Path World Championships Quick Path, however didn’t end the June 2026 Marathon du Mont Blanc.
The U.Ok.’s Robbie Simpson’s historical past with Sierre-Zinal goes again to 2012. He was second right here 4 occasions: 2021, 2018, 2017, and 2016. Most lately, he was thirteenth in 2024.
Extra Prime Kenyan Runners
Kenya positioned three runners inside the highest 10 final yr, and will do even higher this yr.
Samwel Kiprotich lately gained the 2026 Quebec Mega Path 30k, beating Kiriago, Elazzaoui, and a number of other different Sierre-Zinal contenders. He dropped at Sierre-Zinal final yr, however positioned second and sixth on the 2025 GTWS Pitz Alpine Glacier Path and Nice Wall races.
Richard Omaya Atuya struck out at Sierre-Zinal final yr, dropping earlier than the end. He was 18th in 2024. He’s been higher in 2026 on the Mountain Operating World Cup with first- and third-place finishes on the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer and Half Marathon, and first- and second-place finishes on the Vauban Vertical and Up and Down races.
Ephantus Njeri almost matched Atuya at these Mountain Operating World Cup races earlier this yr. He was third within the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer however dropped within the Half Marathon, and was sixth and first on the Vauban Vertical and Up and Down races. He was ninth at Pitz Alpine Glacier Path this yr.
Kiprotich and Omaya Atuya didn’t end Sierre-Zinal final yr, however Timothy Kibett did, even when it was in forty ninth. He gained the GTWS Pitz Alpine Glacier Path race one week earlier than Sierre-Zinal final yr.
American Contenders
Any of Taylor Stack, Christian Allen, Cam Smith, or Noah Williams may very well be this yr’s high American.
Stack, Allen, and Williams have been all at Sierre-Zinal final yr. Stack completed in twelfth in 2:38:37. Allen was twenty first in 2:42:05. Williams was twenty seventh in 2:45:10.
Stack, Smith, and Allen have been at this yr’s Damaged Arrow 23k too, ending fifth, seventh, and tenth. Williams was second on the Damaged Arrow 46k.
Smith and Allen have been each at this yr’s Damaged Arrow Ascent. Smith completed second, and Allen was fourth.
Are all these Individuals at about the identical stage, or is Taylor Stack on the high proper now? He was third at this yr’s Zegama Marathon in opposition to a global subject and seventh on the Quebec Mega Path 30k.
David Norris simply gained his seventh Mount Marathon Race and has by no means raced Sierre-Zinal earlier than. His closest proxy for this type of race and this stage of competitors is likely to be a Thirty sixth-place end ultimately yr’s WMRC Up and Down race.
Nonetheless Extra Quick Males to Watch
- Jacob Adkin (U.Ok.) – 1st 2026 European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Uphill; twenty eighth & nineteenth 2023 & 2019 Sierre-Zinal
- Martin Anthamatten (Switzerland) – 1st 2026 Monte Rosa Walserwaeg 80k; forty fourth 2025 Sierre-Zinal
- Henri Aymonod (Italy) – 4th 2026 Vauban Vertical; seventeenth 2025 Damaged Arrow 23k
- Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau (U.S.) – seventh 2026 Damaged Arrow Ascent; 1st 2026 Mount Washington Street Race, Loon Mountain Race, & Whiteface Mountain Race VK
- Isacco Costa (Italy) – seventh 2026 European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Up and Down; tenth 2025 WMRC Up and Down
- Maximilien Drion (Belgium) – fifteenth 2026 European Athletics Off-Street Operating Championships Up and Down; seventeenth 2025 Sierre-Zinal
- Anthony Felber (France) – twenty second 2025 Sierre-Zinal; 18th 2023 Sierre-Zinal
- Álex García (Spain) – 14th 2025 Sierre-Zinal
- Gianluca Ghiano (Italy) – 2nd 2026 Val d’Aran 50k
- Joey Hadorn (Switzerland) – thirty seventh and sixteenth 2025 & 2023 Sierre-Zinal, sixth 2026 Pitz Alpine Glacier Path
- Damien Humbert (France) – 4th 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon
- Remi Leroux (Canada) – twenty third 2025 Sierre-Zinal
- Alexandre Ricard (Canada) – third 2025 Défi des Couleurs Uphill & Up and Down
- Andrea Rostan (Italy) – 1st 2026 Lavaredo 20k
- Philani Sengce (South Africa) – 1st 2026 & 2025 Cape City Path Marathon
- Tom Spencer (U.Ok.) – thirty eighth 2025 Sierre-Zinal
Name for Feedback
- Who’s it going to be? Can Elhousine Elazzaoui crack the Sierre-Zinal code, and get again to GTWS successful?
- Or does Philemon Kiriago put the race on the right track report watch?
