The WMRA Mountain Running World Cup returns to the French Alps this weekend, with the Vauban Mountain Trail hosting stages 9 and 10 of the season in Briançon on July 18-19.

An Uphill race on Saturday will be followed by the Classic Up & Down race, part of the World Cup category powered by Turismo Centro de Portugal – “MOVE Centro de Portugal – The Sports Region.” The two races give athletes very different opportunities to collect World Cup points. With eight races completed and eight still to come, the 2026 World Cup has now entered the second half of the season.

As you may remember, the 2026 World Cup consists of 16 races across 10 countries and four continents. Vauban follows the Grossglockner Mountain Run, the eighth race of the season, and marks the next stop on the European leg of the circuit before Sierre-Zinal in August and the September races at Vertical Nasego, Trofeo Nasego and Maraton Trzech Jezior. The season will then conclude with two races at Défi des Couleurs in Québec, Canada, in October.

Set at more than 1,300 metres above sea level, Briançon combines a high-altitude Alpine environment with the historic Vauban fortifications, which form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This weekend, however, the focus will be firmly on the racing, with many of the athletes currently occupying the leading positions in the World Cup standings confirmed for the two-day programme.

SATURDAY GOES UP. SUNDAY GOES UP AND DOWN.

The World Cup weekend begins on Saturday July 18 with the Montée Verticale, a pure uphill race covering 6km and gaining 1,150 metres of elevation. Starting close to the Prorel cable car in Briançon, the course climbs towards the upper station in a sustained ascent that places the emphasis on climbing efficiency, pacing and the ability to maintain speed as the gradient and altitude take their toll.

The race is Stage 9 of the 2026 World Cup and counts towards the Uphill category.

Racing resumes on Sunday 19 July with the Grand Parcours Vauban Mountain Trail, Stage 10 of the World Cup. The 14km course features approximately 1000 metres of ascent and descent and counts towards the Classic Up & Down category.

Vauban will be the last Classic Up & Down race before the World Cup finals at Défi des Couleurs in Québec, Canada, in October, adding further importance to Sunday’s race in the category standings.

Unlike Saturday’s uninterrupted climb, Sunday’s race will require athletes to manage repeated changes of rhythm and combine uphill strength with fast and confident descending. The course begins and finishes around Parc de la Schappe before taking the field onto the mountain trails surrounding Briançon.

The contrast between the two races could have an important influence on the weekend. Some athletes will focus on the discipline that best suits them, while others will contest both races and attempt to secure two strong World Cup scores within 24 hours.

ATUYA ARRIVES IN BRIANÇON SECOND IN THE WORLD CUP

Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) arrives in Briançon second in the 2026 World Cup standings with 136 points and is entered for both the Uphill and Classic Up & Down races. He comes to France following victory at the Grossglockner Mountain Run.

Atuya has been particularly formidable in uphill racing. He won the Transvulcania Uphill in May in a course record of 45:01 before adding another major victory on the sustained climb at Grossglockner. Saturday’s 6km and 1,150m ascent in Briançon should again play directly to his strengths before he returns for Sunday’s Classic Up & Down race.

Two athletes who showed strong form at the opening race of the season will also be among the names to follow in Briançon. Oscar Subuh-Symons (GBR) produced one of the breakthrough performances at São Brás Cross, finishing third, and is entered for both races in Briançon. Théodore Klein (FRA), who finished fourth at São Brás, is entered for the Uphill race and provides a strong local presence for the men’s competition on home soil.

Andrew Douglas (GBR), the 2019 World Cup champion, is currently fourth overall with 100 points and is entered for both races, while Luca Merli (ITA), sixth overall with 90 points, is entered for the Classic Up & Down race.

Douglas began the 2026 season with second place at São Brás Cross. He remains one of the most experienced and consistent athletes in the field and will have opportunities across both of the weekend’s contrasting formats.

Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (KEN) and Paul Machoka (KEN) are level on 78 points, occupying eighth and ninth respectively in the overall standings, and both are entered for the Uphill and Classic Up & Down races. Njeri comes to Briançon after finishing second behind Atuya at Grossglockner, while Machoka was runner-up in the 2025 overall World Cup.

The field also includes Martin Dematteis (ITA), who brings extensive international championship and World Cup experience and is entered for the Classic Up & Down race, while Matt Knowles (GBR), the 2019 world junior mountain-running champion, is entered for both races.

Jake Collier (GBR), Andrei Ivanescu-Gliga (ROU), György Szabolcs István (ROU), Marcelo Gonçalves (POR), Martin Nilsson (SWE) and Finn Lydon (GBR) are also entered for both races.

GITONGA ARRIVES IN BRIANÇON WITH THREE WORLD CUP WINS IN 2026

Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga (KEN) arrives in Briançon as one of the outstanding performers of the 2026 season and second in the overall World Cup standings with 186 points. She is entered for both the Uphill and Classic Up & Down races.

She opened her campaign by winning the Classic Up & Down race at São Brás Cross, ahead of defending World Cup champion Scout Adkin (GBR) and Nélie Clément (FRA). She then won the World Cup Long Distance race at Transvulcania in a course record of 2:22:50 and most recently claimed victory at the Grossglockner Mountain Run.

Her three victories have come across different race formats, underlining the versatility that has made her one of the central figures of the 2026 World Cup. She also finished second in the Classic Up & Down race at the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.

With current World Cup leader Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN), who has 262 points, not among the confirmed Vauban entries, the two races in Briançon give Gitonga an opportunity to reduce the gap at the top of the overall standings.

The standings immediately behind her are also closely matched.

Benedetta Broggi (ITA) is fourth overall with 109 points, just two points ahead of Kirsty Skye Dickson (GBR), who is fifth with 107. Both are entered for the Uphill and Classic Up & Down races, giving them two opportunities to add to their totals in Briançon.

French interest will be led by Nélie Clément (FRA), currently seventh overall with 87 points and entered for both races.

Clément has already demonstrated her strength in the Classic Up & Down discipline this season, finishing third at the World Cup opener in São Brás. She also returns to an event where she has previously enjoyed success, having won the Vauban Classic Up & Down race in 2025.

Her previous performances in Briançon, combined with the familiarity of racing on home terrain, make her one of the leading French athletes in the women’s field.

The entry also includes defending overall World Cup champion Scout Adkin (GBR), who is entered for both the Uphill and Classic Up & Down races. The British athlete won the women’s World Cup in both 2024 and 2025 and started the current season with second place behind Gitonga at São Brás Cross.

Gloria Chebet (KEN) and Miriam Chepkirui (KEN) are also entered for both races. Chebet finished third at Grossglockner, with Chepkirui fourth, placing both athletes among the leading performers in the most recent World Cup race before Vauban.

Martina Falchetti (ITA), Ingrid Mutter (ROU), Elle Twentyman (GBR), Ellen Weir (GBR), Selina Burch (SUI), Elisa Morin (CAN), Gabrielle Pilote Fortin (CAN), Marie Nivet (FRA) and Caroline Harney Ayton (IRL) are also entered for both World Cup races, completing a broad international women’s field for the weekend.

VAUBAN COULD RESHAPE THE WORLD CUP STANDINGS

The next phase of the 16-race World Cup begins in Briançon with several athletes from the leading positions in the 2026 standings on the start lists and important points available across the weekend’s two races.

With Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (KEN) not competing at Vauban, Richard Omaya Atuya (KEN) arrives as the highest-ranked man in the current standings among the confirmed starters, sitting second overall with 136 points.

Behind him, Andrew Douglas (GBR) sits fourth with 100 points and Luca Merli (ITA) sixth with 90, while Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (KEN) and Paul Machoka (KEN) are level on 78 points in eighth and ninth respectively.

The concentration of leading contenders means that results across the two days could produce meaningful movement in the overall standings.

The women’s standings bring a different dynamic. Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga (KEN) arrives second overall with 186 points, behind Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN) on 262. With the current leader absent from the confirmed entry list, the two Vauban races offer Gitonga an opportunity to reduce that advantage.

The standings immediately behind her are also closely matched. Benedetta Broggi (ITA) is fourth with 109 points, only two points ahead of Kirsty Skye Dickson (GBR) in fifth on 107, while Nélie Clément (FRA) is seventh with 87 points. All three are confirmed for Vauban.

With several athletes from the upper positions of both the men’s and women’s standings entered, Vauban has the potential to produce some of the most significant movement yet in the 2026 overall World Cup standings.

WEEKEND PROGRAMME

The World Cup programme begins with the Montée Verticale on Saturday July 18, a 6km uphill race with 1150 metres of ascent.

The Grand Parcours Vauban Mountain Trail follows on Sunday 19 July, covering 14km with approximately 1000 metres of ascent and descent.

Both World Cup races form part of the wider Vauban Mountain Trail weekend in Briançon.

After eight races across four continents and a first half of the season that has already produced close battles, course records and changes at the top of the classifications, the World Cup now reaches Briançon with many of its leading contenders on the same start line.

Two different races await them. The points collected in the French Alps could prove increasingly important as the 2026 World Cup moves towards its decisive final months.