Festival des Templiers 2026: Who to Watch in Millau

The race that truly electrifies the crowds at the Festival des Templiers is, of course, the Grand Trail (80 km, 3,400 m of elevation gain). It sets off into the pitch-black early hours of Sunday morning, bringing a weekend of 16 races to its climax. For the 32nd edition, the Grand Trail start will have a distinctly historic feel, reviving a tradition from the event’s early days: two riders dressed as Templars will fire the starting gun, as they did before 2000. It will be a spectacular piece of theatre, bringing one of the Festival’s historic signatures back to life and giving the Grand Trail start an unmistakably epic dimension.

Two months after the UTMB Mont-Blanc races, a host of elite runners will be back on the start line, either looking to erase disappointment in Chamonix or build on a rich vein of form. The two French trail monuments remain closely intertwined.

© Guillaume Salem

The Grand Trail will assemble one of the strongest elite fields in its history in 2026, with competition expected to be fierce.

In the women’s race, the organisers have unfortunately confirmed that New Zealander Caitlin Fielder (Adidas), the two-time defending champion, will not take part. She finished fifth at the CCC 2026 and fourth at the Western Endurance Run 2026.

That boosts the prospects of Poland’s Martyna Mlynarczyk (Hoka), winner of the marathon-distance race at the Trail Alsace by UTMB in 2026 (47 km / 1,600 m of elevation gain) and winner of the 2025 CCC. She has not raced in the Aveyron terrain before, however.

So too does Switzerland’s Judith Wyder (Hoka), the 2026 European trail champion and runner-up at the 2025 OCC, who will also be discovering the Causses.

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French runner Julie Roux (Salomon) will also be making her return. The 2023 winner is back racing after giving birth last June, following the same timeline as in 2023, when she was crowned champion just four months after the birth of her second child.

© Cyrille Quintard

The French contingent can also count on the experience of Adeline Martin (Kiprun). Third last year after leading the race, she has since won the Marathon du Grand Raid Kiprun 3 vallées and finished eighth at the CCC 2026.

© Cyrille Quintard

As for Audrey Tanguy (Hoka), she has made a spectacular return to the sharp end this season, finishing second in the 90 km du Mont Blanc 2026 and claiming the 2026 French long trail title. She will be discovering the event this year.

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In the men’s race, with defending champion Pierre Livache (Kiprun) absent, the battle looks wide open. A host of French trail runners will be looking to make their mark: Benjamin Roubiol (Asics) will be out to put his DNF at the CCC 2026 behind him. Sylvain Cachard (Hoka), winner of the Marathon des Causses in 2025, is stepping up in distance this year after finishing fourth at the OCC 2026. Then there is Pierre Galbourdin (Brooks), the 2026 French short trail champion and recent winner of the 50K du Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB. Thomas Cardin (Kiprun) had initially entered, but long COVID means he will not be able to repeat his 2024 victory.

Belgium’s Raoul Raus (New Balance) is also on the start list. The Belgian prodigy made headlines with his runner-up finish at the 2025 Marathon du Mont Blanc, crossing the line with a bloodied face after crashing on the final descent from Flégère. Two months later, he set a new course record at the Championnat du Canigo.

© Fabian Bodet / MBB

His 2026 season has been more complicated. After a strong start, with second place at the ARC 25 by UTMB in January (41 km and 1,240 m of elevation gain), he then endured a run of disappointments: a DNF at Zegama, 21st at the Marathon du Mont Blanc and 133rd at Sierre-Zinal.

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The 2026 edition also marks the return of Italy’s Francesco Puppi (Hoka), runner-up to Britain’s Jonathan Albon (Adidas) at the 2023 Grand Trail des Templiers. Puppi arrives full of confidence after finishing second at the Western States 2026. He could be in the mix for the win, perhaps under the watchful eye of his Team Hoka teammate Jim Walmsley, who will be in Millau. The 2022 winner continues to keep observers guessing, leaving his participation in the headline race uncertain.

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Among the potential outsiders, keep an eye on Britain’s Luke Grenfell-Shaw (Brooks), fourth at the CCC 2026.

The Endurance Trail (100 km and 4,309 m of elevation gain) will open proceedings in the Causses on Friday, October 16 (see the full schedule at the end of the article). Three plateaus, three valleys, medieval villages and singletrack: this 100K course, with €5,000 in prize money for the winners, is as demanding as it is spectacular. It is a plunge “into the wild”, with just five aid stations, although the late-course cut-offs have been made more forgiving.

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The 2026 Endurance Trail also offers entry into the lottery for a place in the 2027 Western States Endurance Run. The only requirement is to finish in under 19 hours. Yannick Noël (Inov8), ninth at the UTMB 2026, will leave the trails of Réunion aside this year in an attempt to win the race for a third time, having already triumphed in 2023 and 2024.

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At 38, Sébastien Spehler (Altore), a two-time Grand Trail winner in 2017 and 2018, will continue his exploration of ultra-trail by lining up here. Third at the Ultravasan 2026 (90 km, 900 m of elevation gain) in late August and winner of the Trail du Bout du Monde (57 km / 1,160 m of elevation gain), he has evidently lost none of his speed. Whether that will be enough to last the distance remains to be seen.

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Valentin Benard (Asics), third at the French long trail championships in March, will be looking to bounce back from his DNF at the 2026 UTMB and could challenge for a podium place.

In the women’s race, American Jessica Brazeau (Hoka), Jim Walmsley’s wife, will be looking to match her husband’s achievement in 2022, when he won the Grand Trail. She arrives after finishing sixth at the Wildstrubel 70 by UTMB (72 km and 4,600 m of elevation gain). She will have French runner Marine Quintard (Rossignol) in her sights. A familiar face in the Causses, Quintard finished fourth at the 2023 Grand Trail des Templiers and ninth in 2024. She is stepping up in distance this year after placing 21st at the CCC 2026 and fifth at the Trail Verbier Marathon 2026 (43 km / 3,000 m of elevation gain).

With this 35 km, 1,578 m-elevation-gain race, the organisers set out from the beginning to give runners the chance to compete over a distance that usually receives less attention in short trail racing. The gamble has paid off, with a strong field of recognised athletes lining up for the 2026 edition. They will all have to negotiate a technical, deceptive course, moving from a succession of towering cliffs above the valleys into vast conifer forests at the heart of the Causse Noir, cut through by ravines. The men’s and women’s winners will each take home €3,000.

On paper, Switzerland’s Roberto De Lorenzi (Brooks) has the highest UTMB profile. He has performed well over shorter, less hilly distances, but how will the Swiss champion fare on this terrain when race day arrives? He will have to keep an eye on Sweden’s Martin Nilsson, third in this race last year, as well as Spain’s Alex García Carrillo (Brooks), runner-up at the recent 50K du Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB, who has run a 2:12:10 marathon.

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French hopes will rest in part on Romain Discher (Asics), a mountain-running specialist who finished second at the ETC 2026 in Chamonix and recently won the demanding Trail des Aiguilles Rouges (52 km / 3,700 m of elevation gain).

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Among the women, after her last-minute withdrawal from the OCC, everyone will want to see Swedish star Tove Alexandersson (Salomon) in action. She is Madame 100%, reflecting her 100% winning record in 2026: victories at the Grand Raid du Ventoux by UTMB, the Zegama marathon and the 42 km race at the Marathon du Mont Blanc. The 2025 short trail world champion will be the clear woman to beat. French runner Cécile Jarousseau (Kiprun), the 2025 and 2026 French short trail champion and winner of the Marathon du Montcalm on August 15 (40 km and 2,800 m of elevation gain), will try to stand up to the Swedish force, as will Italy’s Vivien Bonzi (Brooks), 13th at Sierre-Zinal 2026.

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