Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz admits "dreaming of a victory over the UTMB"

• A year after his surprising second place behind François D'Haene, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz is back this Friday (6 p.m.) on the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

• The 29-year-old Savoyard physiotherapist confides to

  20 Minutes

  his ambitions before this huge UTMB-Diagonale des Fous sequence in less than two months concerning him.

• "I don't hide it, I'm very competitive," says this young dad, determined to play his luck to the full for more than 20 hours, despite the presence of favorites like Jim Walmsley and especially Kilian Jornet.

The general public discovered Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz for good on August 28, 2021. For his first participation in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (171 km and 10,000 m of elevation gain), this Savoyard physiotherapist seized an impressive second place, just 12 minutes behind the race record holder François D'Haene.

At 29, the 2017 European skyrunning vice-champion will therefore be back with a completely different status, this Friday (6 p.m.) in Chamonix (Haute-Savoie).

Young father of a little Martin, born on July 7, the Team Compressport runner returns for

to his career and his bet to chain two mythical ultras this season in less than two months: the UTMB therefore and the Diagonal des Fous (165 km and 9,576 m of elevation gain) in Reunion.

When did your passion for trail running start?

After having been a footballer and alpine skier at departmental and regional level in Ugine (Savoie) during my adolescence, I started running in the mountains in 2011. I was then a student in a physio school, and as that quickly pleased, I registered for my first trails in 2012.

How did you gradually move towards the ultra?

In fact, I directly attacked, for the very first race of my life, by a 51.5 km, with the Nivolet-Revard trail (smile).

As I finished 10th, then 4th on the Grand Raid 73 (73 km and 5,200 m of elevation gain) three weeks later, and finally 3rd on my first 100 km at the end of the summer with the Ultra Tour du Beaufortain (112 km traveled in 14:16), I understood that it was the long that attracted me.

I liked going for at least 5 hours of sports in the mountains, whether by bike or on foot.

I have never been afraid of not finishing a race.

Not even your first Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (171 km) last summer, which was by far the longest race of your career?

No, I was really going there to have fun.

I didn't fixate on a Top 5 before leaving, nor even during the first hours of the race.

This arrival in Chamonix (at 8:58 p.m.), where I was able to clap everyone's hands, is a moment that I hoped to experience one day.

The finish line barely crossed on the 2021 edition, you announced your ambition to "want to come back to win the UTMB"...

Many trail runners say that they are above all on races for the landscape.

Personally, I don't hide it, I'm very competitive.

For example, I wasn't interested in doing the UTMB in 30 hours.

How did this second place in the UTMB change the way we look at your career as a trail runner?

The Transgrancanaria (129 km and 6,300 m of D +) in February 2021 remains my major international success.

But we know that all eyes of the media and sponsors are on the UTMB.

Since then, there has been more expectation around my results, and almost everywhere on trail events, I am systematically presented as the second in the UTMB 2021. I did not expect to win in any way, so this second place was the best possible result for me, it was almost unexpected.

And since that moment, I know that I will always dream of a victory in Chamonix.

Maybe it will never happen and that's okay, but it would be a great time to be alive.

The one you just experienced, on July 7 with the birth of your first child, did it have an impact on your season?

This prompted me, last December, to turn my season program upside down, starting on a UTMB-Diagonale des Fous sequence (eight weeks apart) and not on the Hardrock 100 and the Diagonale des Fous (14 weeks apart). gap) as I had imagined it, just like François D'Haene.

My organization is different but above all it brings me happiness (smile).

Doesn't this sequence of madness in such a short time seem risky to you?

No, because five weeks after my UTMB 2021, I had taken part in the Ultra Pirineu (100 km, 6,500 m of elevation gain) and I even felt a little better there than in Chamonix.

I had finished 3rd behind Kilian Jornet.

So I think I can be all in on the UTMB then on the Diagonale des Fous.

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As the Diagonale des Fous has refused you so far, with injury withdrawals in 2018 and 2019, will you not nevertheless be tempted to favor this legendary race in Reunion?

It is certain that the Diagonale des Fous attracts me at least as much as the UTMB.

Everything makes me dream there.

The course is more technical than that of the UTMB, which is much more suited to my characteristics.

In my mind, the UTMB serves as a springboard to the Diagonale.

I don't know if I could do as well in Chamonix as in 2021, especially since the density still seems a little higher than last year on the UTMB.

But the two big favourites, Kilian Jornet and Jim Walmsley, may have problems in the race.

Could the presence of ultra monsters like Kilian Jornet and François D'Haene sometimes encourage you to unregister from such a race as the final victory seems systematically promised to one or the other?

No, I plan my goals at the start of the season and that's it, no matter who signs up.

What attracts me sportingly is the confrontation.

So it's nicer when one of them is there on the starting line.

I much prefer to finish second in the UTMB behind François D'Haene rather than win on an edition where there is no one.

And winning a major race ahead of François or Kilian would give my victory a lot more momentum.

How were your “off” challenges important in your progress during 2020?

I took advantage of this Covid-19 timing to chain 14 summits of the Bauges massif in June 2020, which represented 84 km and 8,800 m of D +.

And then three months later in my village of Marthod (Savoie), I organized another challenge to break the world record for elevation gain covered in 24 hours.

I did 81 identical loops and climbed 17.218 m of D+ in total (in 139 km).

Of course, I didn't go there for the quality of the view because I knew this climb by heart.

In the end it was horrible, I could barely walk downhill.

Moreover, during the three days that followed, I only made a sofa-bed trip to my house (smile).

But I knew that these adventures different from my classic race management were worth living.

All eyes were on me, I was accompanied by friends,

Could the GR20 crossing record (currently held by Lambert Santelli in 30h25) tempt you?

Yes, I spent most of my summer holidays in Corsica and I am very hot to try this record by 2025, depending on my racing schedule.

After two recognitions of this GR20 (170 km and 12,700 m of D +) in four days in 2020 and 2021, I have just done it in three days in June.

Our file on the ultra-trail

You are now working as a part-time physiotherapist in Ugine (Savoie).

Is there a real explanation for the omnipresence of physiotherapists or ex-physiotherapists among the best French trail runners (François D'Haene, Thibaut Baronian, Camille Bruyas…)?

The main advantage you can have is knowing how to allow your body to recover as best as possible.

When you are a liberal physiotherapist, it also allows you to have the freedom to free up time to train well.

And that, it is certain that it is precious.

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