Hello, I'mXavier Thévenard

Xavier Thévenard is 32 years old, one of the best ultra-trail runners on the planet. The three-time winner of the UTMB (in 2013, 2015 and 2018) began his ultra-endurance career in 2010.

Originally from Haut Bugey, he studied in high school in sport-study cross-country skiing and biathlon then continued his training to become a sports educator, focused on outdoor sports, in parallel with which he obtained his State Certificate in Nordic skiing. Throughout the start of his racing career, he financed his racing season by working as an instructor at ESI in winter. The difficulty of financing in certain high-level sports, he knows it well “this is the first year in which I can make a living from my sport”, he declares to the Team in 2020, he attributes the merit to his numerous contracts with its sponsors.

These difficulties did not prevent him from performing early, in his first year, he won the CCC (99 km), one of the emblematic races of the UTMB and finished second in the Transju’trail (70 km). His career continued with many victories, always on the UTMB: victory on the large loop around Mont-Blanc in 2013, 2015 and 2018, which made him the athlete with the greatest number of victories in this race. iconic. In the meantime, he also won the TDS (119 km) in 2014 and the OCC (55 km) in 2016. But his success is not limited to the old continent. He took, among other things, first place in the Ultra Fjord in Patagonia in 2015, won the ultra-trail of Mount Fuji in Japan in 2019 and finished 3rd in the iconic American Hardrock 100 race in 2016.

His real passion for the sport and the environment in which it is practiced is not confined to competition: “The competition, I live it first with myself and against myself. The other competitors help me to go even further in the effort and to surpass myself ”.

It is therefore natural that he sets out to conquer the FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the GR20 of Corsica. However, he finished at 1h26 from François D’Haène’s record, which made him the third performer on this route. Asked about this time, he replied without complex: “It’s something more but that’s not what counts. It’s a unique adventure and I will still have great memories for the rest of my life. There are no words to describe the emotions it can bring. ”

Xavier Thévenard is therefore a talented ultra-runner, with his head on his shoulders and who wishes to share the values ​​that are close to his heart: fair play, taste for effort, humility but also protection of nature and respect for the environment. .

“I have the chance to evolve in these still preserved mountains. My notoriety allows me to campaign to protect them as much as possible ”.