Today the OCC category at the 2026 UTMB finals kicked off first.

After intense competition, French home favorite Frédéric TRANCHAND took the lead and ultimately won with a time of 5:10:08. As a MERRELL-sponsored athlete he was wearing the Agility Peak 6 — however, it’s not a racing shoe but a technical long-distance trail running shoe.

Kenyan Nashon KIPLIMO mounted a furious late chase and finished second in 5:14:37. He was wearing the Salomon S/LAB Pulsar 4, the latest iteration of Salomon’s racing family.

Third place went to Spanish runner Miguel BENITEZ, who was the big dark horse. As an Asics-sponsored athlete he ran in Asics’s latest racing model, the METASPEED TRAIL 2.

In the women’s race, the fight for first and second was exceptionally exciting. American Lauren Gregory won in a dramatic sprint, edging out the runner-up by just three seconds. She was wearing the ACG racing model Ultrafly Trail.

The runner-up was Britain’s Naomi LANG, who wore the same Salomon S/LAB Pulsar 4 as the men’s runner-up.

Third place belonged to Spain’s Sara Alonso, who was wearing the same METASPEED TRAIL 2 as the men’s third-place finisher.

So which brand do you think is the winner? Did you expect MERRELL to claim the top spot on the men’s podium?