Who is Mathieu Blanchard, former “Koh-Lanta” candidate who became winner of the toughest ultra-trail in the world?

His silhouette appeared in the dark Reunion night on October 18 when he entered a boiling Redoute stadium in Saint-Denis. Yellow T-shirt, minimalist backpack and headlamp on his head, Mathieu Blanchard crossed the finish line of the Grand Raid as winner after 23 hours 25 minutes and 02 seconds of a colossal effort accomplished without pause, or almost. On his face, relief, joy but also a few grimaces of pain. The 37-year-old engineer pushed himself to the limit to triumph over this ultra-trail commonly known as the Diagonal of Fools. A nickname far from being usurped: 170 km of muddy trails to swallow from the south to the north of the island through the cirques, in the tropical forests, along the ridges, and above all 10,500 m of positive altitude difference to absorb. An indigestible program.

With the Western States, the Hardrock 100 in the United States and the legendary Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), the Grand…