Sylvain Cachard ahead of the 2026 UTMB OCC: “Like a child at the Christmas tree”

Frenchman Sylvain Cachard (HOKA and ALLTRICKS) will be one of the favourites for tomorrow’s OCC, which gets underway at 8:15 a.m. from Orsières, Switzerland. The Grenoble-based runner is hitting form at just the right time after a difficult start to the season, with a foot injury forcing him to stop for four months. A setback that may have worked in his favour: everything now appears to be clicking for the 2024 OCC 17th-place finisher, who faces a stacked field over 60 km and 3,500 m of elevation gain. Interview conducted in Chamonix.

Sylvain, what sort of shape and mindset are you bringing to Chamonix for the 2026 UTMB OCC?

I feel good, even though the first part of my season was difficult. When you’re injured, you can’t run, and you suffer from the moment you get up until you go to bed. I have other things in my life, of course, but it’s still great when I can run every day and do what I want. So yes, being able to run again since mid-June has been a real joy.

So I’m in a good rhythm and I’m in a good frame of mind going into the OCC. Sierre-Zinal did me a world of good, with 12th place. It was a good test, a way of seeing where I stood in terms of race pace. Now I need to turn that test into something more. But the result at Sierre-Zinal was a real boost mentally, and it also confirmed that the work I’d done in training was paying off.

Do you think you can improve on your 2024 result?

The training sessions since Sierre-Zinal have been very encouraging. I’ve done some great outings with a friend back home in the Chartreuse. The OCC is both intimidating, because it’s 60 km against the best in the world, and exciting. I’m not usually someone who sets big ambitions, but I’m in a different mindset now because I know everything has gone well. I’m a bit like a child standing in front of the Christmas tree. There are presents, but I don’t know what’s inside them. Still, I’m having some great sensations, ones I hadn’t felt for quite some time.

How will you approach the race?

Like a long time trial. People may say that trail running is a mass-start race, but everyone is racing against the clock. You’re really out there on your own. It’s not like a cycling race. I’m planning to stick to my own pace from the start. I’ve done enough sessions to know it and control it. And I know that if I can hold it all the way, it should lead to a pretty good result… I’m going to run my own race and enjoy it as much as my legs allow.

You usually struggle a little after Sierre-Zinal. Not this year?

No, because I usually approach Sierre-Zinal as a goal in itself. That was the case in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, Sierre-Zinal wasn’t a big deal because the European Championships were coming up… So afterwards, I arrived at the OCC a little casually. In 2025, there were the World Championships, which remain my benchmark race to this day… I finished ninth individually. Basically, whenever I target a competition, I’m always able to perform well. This year I did very little tapering for Sierre-Zinal because it wasn’t really a goal. But now I’ve done nothing for 10 days, and it’s starting to feel like a long time.

You often say that you base your races more on intentions than performances. What does that mean?

When you’re alone in the mountains, nothing matters more than your intention. You don’t think about the result. I think it’s a beginner’s mistake to focus on the result above all else. And very few people in this OCC field will make that mistake, because we’re all experienced athletes. No one would want to give up their spot, and all the money in the world could never match the effort we’re going to put in tomorrow, giving it 200%.