Sierre-Zinal: who, what and where guide

Big WMRA World Cup race takes place on Saturday in the Valais Alps in Switzerland

The countdown is on for an ironclad highlight of the World Cup – it’s time for Sierre-Zinal! It’s an iconic race for many reasons and it never fails to produce the highest level of racing, often resulting in a few surprises. Over the years it’s provided the backdrop for some of the most exciting showdowns of the World Cup and this year is shaping up to be another classic.

Sierre-Zinal is our next long mountain race at 31km, with 2200m of elevation and 1100m descent. The scale of the scenery alone makes it very special; it’s known as ‘la course des cinq 4000’ because the runners get to enjoy views of five peaks over 4000m along the way (Weisshorn (4506m), Zinalrothorn (4221m), Obergabelhorn (4073m), Matterhorn (4478m) and Dent Blanche (4357m)).

The race route tests every aspect of the athlete’s skillset, with steep climbing, technical singletrack, fast and wide paths, alpine meadows and a final frantic 7km downhill to the finish, where the race is often decided. To win Sierre-Zinal you have to be good at everything and execute your race plan perfectly.

The first Sierre-Zinal took place in 1974 and over the years it has attracted some big names of the sport. Famously, Kilian Jornet achieved his tenth win in 2024, in a nail-biting sprint finish against Philemon Ombogo Kiriago. Anna Pichrtova and Maude Mathys both won four in a row, Ricardo Mejia topped the podium five times and Pablo Vigil took four consecutive titles from 1979 to 1982.

But for every serial winner, there is also an athlete who tears up the rulebook to take a shock victory. Last year it was Joyline Chepngeno of Kenya, who achieved a breakout performance in what was, incredibly, her debut international trail race.

2025 main contenders

This year’s line-up includes no fewer than 23 men who have run this course in under 2hr 40min and 11 women who have run sub-3hr 10min. There’s no Jornet this year but there are 15 men from last year‘s top 20 and 7 of last year’s top 10 women.

Four former winners will toe the start line. Kenyan Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (Run2gether) won in 2023 (and was second in 2024) and Spain’s Andreu Blanes (HOKA) won in 2022. Kenyan Joyline Chepngeno (Salomon) defends her title, after banking a year of experience including a win at Marathon du Mont Blanc, and Swiss Maude Mathys (ASICS) returns. Former Sierre-Zinal podium placers returning…