In previous years, the winners of the Diagonale des Fous all finished their race in less than 24 hours. But this year, the route of the legendary Grand Raid race is longer. So what time could the first of this edition arrive in Saint-Denis? Estimates below.
They are still a few dozen kilometers from the finish at the La Redoute stadium, but these questions are already being asked: what time could the winner of this Diagonale des Fous 2024 arrive? Will he be able to complete his race in less than 24 hours?
According to estimates from the Grand Raid association, the racing time for the 1st of this edition should be around 23 hours and 30 minutes, or around 9:30 p.m. at La Redoute. “They won’t be there before 9:45 p.m. if they really boost, or even 10 p.m. Doing it in less than 24 hours will really be an achievement“, estimated our consultant Laurent Nativel, better known as Ti Dash.
But this figure is purely theoretical since on the trails, nothing is ever won.
Also, this year, the Diag’ route is the longest observed since 1992. This is due to a few modifications: among other things, a detour to avoid traffic jams at the start of the route, in the heights of the South, or even the return from the passage by the Maïdo. “These are not the simplest kilometers that we added“, notes Ti Dash.
According to the race director, interviewed a few days ago, these 5 or 6 km of additional racing should add 30 minutes of racing time compared to last year.
As a reminder in 2023, Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz – who unfortunately withdrew this Friday afternoon – arrived at La Redoute in 23 hours and 21 minutes. We could therefore expect this year’s winner half an hour later, arriving in Saint-Denis shortly before 10 p.m. At least on paper.
Because in reality, we also have to deal with the very gloomy weather this Friday afternoon which undoubtedly impacts the progress of the runners: light rain which makes the paths slippery, particularly on the descents. At the end of the afternoon, the rain even increased at the Grande Chaloupe, as well as on the Colorado. This should therefore make the task more difficult for the leader of the race when they pass through the Chemin des Anglais.
The various ailments and fatigue that appear after nearly 20 hours of such an intense race can also be taken into account. For example, the first in the race at this stage, Mathieu Blanchard, explained that he suffered from inflammation of the Achilles tendon. “He has to cross his fingers that this pain doesn’t wake up“, comments our consultant Ti Dash.
As an indication, in recent years, all the winners of the Grand Raid have completed their race with a time between 23 hours and 24 hours of racing.
Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz in 2023: 11:21 p.m.
Benat Marmissole en 2022 : 23h14
Daniel Jung et Ludovic Pommeret en 2021 : 23h02
Grégoire Curmer in 2019: 11:33 p.m.
Benoît Girondel and François d’Haene in 2018: 11:18 p.m.
Benoît Girondel in 2017: 11:53 p.m.
