The UTMB® Mont-Blanc extends its collaboration with Lyon-based artist Matthieu Forichon. After the first strong and original creation in 2019 - which paid tribute to all those who participate in the UTMB® Mont-Blanc - the illustrator created the poster for the 2020 edition. Following the cancellation of the event, the visual of what was supposed to be the 18th edition of the Sommet Mondial du Trail was passed over and a completely new version is now ready for the upcoming edition.  

This year, the organization and the illustrator worked together to put in images the UTMB® community that meets in Chamonix during the last week of August but that trains and lives all over the world throughout the year. The poster also includes the Virtual Races - the new format launched last year by the organization - which succeeded in engaging the global community with more than 17,000 participants from 106 nations. This format will continue in 2021 as the Virtual Races should be back before the summer. To put a spotlight on this huge community that now meets both on virtual and real trails, some elements of the poster were pixelated to recall this hybridization of genres and formats. This poster shows the great diversity of the people represented, with a place of honor given to women who occupy a central position in the drawing. 

"We want to deliver a message of sharing and unity. Even if the heart of the UTMB® Mont-Blanc is in Chamonix, our runners train all over the world and can run our Virtual Races wherever they are on the planet. We also wanted to represent participants smiling and happy to be racing because we all hope to be able to relive strong emotions during the race. On the other hand, runners can also experience a great adventure from wherever they are on the planet through the different experiences that we offer", explains Isabelle Viseux-Poletti, UTMB® Mont-Blanc Director.  

The illustrator, Matthieu Forichon, has been having a close relationship with the event for several years now, both as a runner and a spectator. Coming to the race inspires him to add to his creations small details linked to the previous editions, such as the wasp that stung a certain Kilian Jornet. This year, despite the uncertainty and the lack of anecdotes, he was able to keep an optimistic and fresh look: "I drew on my memories and my wishes for the after COVID era and put them together in this poster. I’ve put in more color, more perspective and key elements of this event that we all want to live again. I expect the UTMB® to take the best of the pre-2020 era and help invent the best future for trail running. I hope that, without having to make big changes, we know how to go back to what we loved about this sport and take advantage of the good things - because there must be some - that 2020 brought us", comments the artist. 

Matthieu Forichon 

Born in Lyon, France, in 1976, Matthieu Forichon left his job as computer engineer in 2001 to pursue a career as a professional illustrator. Self-taught and passionate, Matthieu Forichon discovered running, first as a complement to his combat sports training and then as a discipline. After running few of the most famous races, he created Des Bosses et Des Bulles® in 2012 to talk about this sport through comics. The site is a great success and is named Best Trail Blog in 2012 at the Endurance Trail Festival. Two collections of illustrations published since 2012 have been published by René Charles Publishing. Since then, Matthieu dedicated himself to working for his agency as a publicist illustrator, the development of the Des Bosses et Des Bulles brand and trail running.