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.