Moroccan Trail Running Star Elhousine Elazzaoui Aims to Break Sierre-Zinal Curse

Will Elhousine Elazzaoui, the overall winner of the Golden Trail Series for men this year, break the "curse" by winning Sierre-Zinal this Saturday? Only Kilian Jornet has achieved this feat in 2019. Elhousine is convinced that he can reach this summit: "We talked about it with Rémi (Bonnet. The Fribourgeois won the Series in 2022 and 2023, but has never crossed the finish line as the winner in Zinal). We know that we put too much pressure on ourselves here, that it ruins our race. This year, I’m blocking all that out. I’m putting myself in a bubble." The 52nd edition of Sierre-Zinal will start this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the starting line, TdG reports. Two hours later, the winner’s name will be known.

Favorite Elhousine is ready to take on the challenge. "Where I come from, we grow up fast. The desert forces us to fend for ourselves very early on," says the 33-year-old Moroccan. He displays his determination to become a running champion. The only child in his family to go to school because he had to run there, the thirty-year-old is counting on his strengths. "In my family, I’m the only one who went to school. I did a bit of it," he says modestly. He adds: "I come from a family of very great walkers. But me, I was already running in my mother’s womb!" At the age of 14, he won a local race in the heart of the Zagora market in Morocco. It was his first victory.

He who grew up in contact with animals, who spent days taking care of them, going to get water, preparing a little food, playing with what he found, has many assets. "He has an incredible foot on the descent," praises his friend, mentor, teammate and rival Kilian Jornet. But he needs other assets, because Sierre-Zinal has few very technical parts. In addition, its elevation gain is mostly positive. "I’ve often been told that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t win on Saturday. I’m capable of it. I’m aware that I’m the best trailer in the world at these distances. That must mean I have other qualities," is convinced the man who divides his life between Morocco and Switzerland.