The sensation of speed is impressive: swallowing steps, rocks and curves, without ever slowing down, he launches himself down the slope at full speed. In front of and behind Kilian Jornet, a leading figure in ultra-trail and mountain adventure respectively, a runner and a mountain biker try to keep up with the athlete, keeping him in the field of their camera.
“Filming a trail race is extremely demanding, physically and mentally.relates the camera corridor Catalan Biel Rafols, who posted the sequence on his social networks. We must be able to move on unstable terrain, and above all, never hinder the runners. »
For over a decade, ultra-trail has been developing and becoming more professional, and as with all sports, this growth has been accompanied by a desire to broadcast major events. “Audiovisual production has evolved over the last ten years, reaching live broadcasting, including the monitoring of male and female race leaders”explains Antoine Aubour, director of marketing, communication and media of the UTMB Group, including the 21my The main event, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (176 km and almost 10,000 m of positive elevation gain), started on Friday 30 August at 6:00 p.m.
As is the case with major cycling events such as the Tour de France, organisers also make an effort to highlight the surroundings (in this case, the Mont Blanc massif) in the product they offer to broadcasters (such as L’Equipe). UTMB, for two years.
The cameramen take turns.
“We were contacted in 2012 by the UTMB, which wanted to cover the event live.says Isabel Levionnois, director of Outdoor Sport Live (OSL), the company responsible for producing images of the UTMB (among other trail races). At that time it was unlikely, because we are talking about an event that spans three countries. [France, Italie et Suisse], “In areas where tracking cannot be done in the traditional way, with motorcycles, such as in a marathon or a cycling race. And first we had to think about how the cameramen could follow the race. »
In fact, it is difficult to follow the footsteps of athletes who sometimes look more like ibexes than bipeds across the mountains. “All the “runners” in our system are, first and foremost, excellent trail runners”The director adds. Among them, Sébastien Chaigneau, who twice stood on the UTMB podium in the early 2010s, and Fleury Roux, one of the best French athletes in the discipline.
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