Tor des Géants 2026: Jiaju Zhao and Katharina Hartmuth triumph

China’s Jiaju Zhao crossed the Tor des Géants finish line in Courmayeur overnight after 65h55'22 of racing through the Aosta Valley, covering the event’s 330 km and 24,000 m of elevation gain. The Fuga athlete finished 47 minutes ahead of Switzerland’s Jonathan Schindler, while Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth took third overall and won the women’s race.

At 3:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Chinese trail runner Jiaju Zhao crossed the finish line at the Jardin de l’Ange in Courmayeur to win the TOR330 – Tor des Géants in a new fastest time of 65h55'22, taking down the previous mark set by Franco-Belgian runner Victor Richard in 66h08'22. In trail running, however, the notion of a record is always relative, since the route followed by runners is never exactly the same from one edition to the next, and weather conditions can also affect the final time.

Zhao becomes the first non-European to win the Tor des Géants

Whatever the case, a new chapter has opened in the race’s history. Across 16 editions, no Chinese athlete had ever made the podium of this gargantuan event, which features 25 passes above 2,000 m, let alone stood on the top step. The best previous result was Wei-Qiang Zhang’s sixth place in 2025. Zhao is now the first Chinese winner of the event, as well as the first non-European athlete to win the TOR330.

A tightly contested race at the front

Starting from Courmayeur at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 13, Zhao was already in front at La Thuile (km 19) after two hours of racing, ahead of compatriot Xingzhi Bai. At the Valgrisenche aid station (km 48.5), he held an 11-minute lead over Switzerland’s Jonathan Schindler.

Zhao made it through the first night without sleeping, extending his lead to one hour and 40 minutes at Pontboset (km 138.5), before resisting the Swiss runner’s charge. By Colle della Vecchia (km 185), Schindler had cut the gap to 27 minutes.

At the Gressoney aid station (km 204), where Zhao arrived at 9:42 p.m. on Monday, he opted to take his first proper rest, while Schindler slept at Champoluc (km 222).

On Tuesday morning at Valtournenche (km 237), the gap between Schindler and Zhao stood at 43 minutes. The closing stages then began to resemble an exercise in heroic endurance.

At Ollomont, after 222 km of racing, Zhao came through with just 22 minutes in hand over the Swiss runner and 34 over Katharina Hartmuth. At Col Champillon (km 297), the margin was 35 minutes. But during the third night, between Bosses (km 310) and Col Malatrà (km 319), the Chinese runner found his rhythm again and was able to finish alone.

At first, I was aiming for the win and the record, but by midday yesterday I was so tired that I stopped thinking about it. I just wanted to finish. At Ollomont, I thought the others were far behind, then I found out Jonathan was 19 minutes back. Last night, I saw his headlamp in the distance. There were less than 50 kilometres to go, I was feeling good and decided to speed up and finish the race. At one point, I felt my soul leaving my body, a sensation I hadn’t experienced in years. After dropping out last year, I said I would come back to win. Many people can say that, but not everyone can do it. I want to be an example: there are no limits, mental or physical. Mental strength is my greatest asset, and it comes from leaving home before I was 20 and working as a courier without knowing where I was going.
Jiaju Zhao2026 Tor 330 winner

Born in Guizhou in 1995 and raised in Hunan, Jiaju Zhao discovered running in 2014 and trained for years while working as a delivery driver. Today, he is one of the strongest and most experienced ultra-trail runners in China, with around 100 races under his belt, wins at Mont Fuji 100 and Doi Inthanon Thailand by UTMB, and four victories at Chongli 168. His latest came in July 2026, when he also set the course record, while he also finished 10th at the 2025 UTMB.

Switzerland’s Jonathan Schindler finished his 2026 Tor des Géants in second place, less than 50 minutes behind the winner. Another Chinese runner completed the men’s podium, finishing fourth overall: Weiqiang Zhang.

The first Frenchman, Jérémy Goguet, finished sixth overall and fifth among the men. Aurélien Jacoutot was eighth overall, with Martin Perrier 10th.

There were really a lot of people all along the course, and that gave me a lot of energy. I’d planned to sleep both nights so I could stay fresher. Towards the end, I hoped to catch Zhao before Bosses, but he was too strong
Jonathan SchindlerSecond at the 2026 Tor 330

Katharina Hartmuth becomes the first woman on the overall podium

Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth finished third overall, making her the first woman in the 2026 Tor 330. She also won her second Tor des Géants, following her 2024 victory. More importantly, she became the first woman in the event’s history to reach the overall podium, after spending three days just a few dozen minutes behind the two leading men and getting only 15 minutes of sleep in total.

On the first day, I felt really good. The second was a little harder because of sore feet and blisters, but my legs always responded when they needed to. Yesterday, I realised I was under 75 hours, then under 72, then under 70. I couldn’t believe it. I knew Zhao and Schindler were ahead and close by, but I never thought about winning overall. I was focused on my own race. Of course, seeing Jonathan at the aid stations made me happy: it showed me I was there, in contention
Katharina HartmuthThird overall and first woman at the 2026 Tor des Géants

China’s Huiping Zhang took second place in the women’s race this evening.

Top 5 Men

1 Jiaju Zhao (China) 65h55’22

2 Jonathan Schindler (Switzerland) 66h55’06

3 Weiqiang Zhang (China) 71h53’56

4 Galen Reynolds (Canada) 72h53’23

5 Jeremy Goguet (France) 74h10’55

Top 2 Women

1 Katharina Hartmuth (Germany) 67h10’09

2 Huiping Zhang (China) 80h35’31

2026 results LIVE