The USA Motoclimb Team conquered Montee Impossible in La Bresse, France, over the July 18-19 weekend, with an American winning the race for the third time in the past decade.
Story by Matt Musgrove | Photos by Alexis Manet-AM Photography
Logan Cipala, Tristan Alexander, and Dexter Hoenhause were selected to represent the USA at Montee Impossible this year, after their success in the AMA Motoclimb Super Series Championship. In coordination with team manager Joel Falde and Moto-Club La Bressaude in France, the team had a successful fundraising effort to make the trip and borrowed several competitive bikes from club members for the race. This partnership between USA Motoclimb and Moto-Club La Bressaude stretches back to 2017, when multiple top American Motoclimb athletes have had the opportunity to compete in France, while the French have begun to send racers over to race the AMA MSS Championship the past few years.
This year’s race introduced a night show for the first time, where the first two runs were under the lights in front of a roaring crowd. The race continued Sunday morning with three more runs. The rider with the fastest time of the weekend wins this prestigious race, and it was 2025 AMA MSS Champion Alexander who ended the night with the fastest time of 21.59 seconds, aboard Yohan Peltier’s KTM 1190.
Cipala did not go over the hill on day one, while Hoenhause nearly made it over, stopping at the top. On day two, the pressure was on, as Alexander was in the lead and the French competitors were motivated to keep the title at home. Nearly an inch of rain helped out, as the hill desperately needed some water to keep it together. Cipala, who finished here in second place in 2019 and had a rough year in 2023, was looking for redemption at this hill. He was sharing the KTM RC8 of the current French Champion Thomas Jolly, so there was no doubt his equipment wasn’t ready to perform. Cipala made up for a tough day one by going over the top all three times on day two and setting the fast time of 19.38 seconds. This time held through the whole day, making Logan Cipala the winner of the 2026 Montee Impossible La Bresse. This was not only one of the biggest victories in Cipala’s accomplished race career, but also a lifelong dream to stand on top of the podium and bring home that coveted first-place trophy. At the end of the day, Alexander finished in fourth and Hoenhause in 18th.
In addition, Canada was represented with Ryan Wyatt, joining the USA Motoclimb Team’s journey for the first time. Wyatt rode a great race, finishing in tenth place. Top French stars Julien Perrin and Thomas Jolly are now on their way to race the 108th Great American Championship this weekend in Billings, Montana, aboard bikes from USA Motoclimb Team members.CN
2026 Montee Impossible Hillclimb Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Logan Cipala (USA)
- Thomas Jolly (France)
- Vincent Mougenot (France)
- Tristan Alexander (USA)
- Kevin Laby (France)
- Jeremy Laby (France)
- Cedric Vaxelaire (France)
- Fabien Parmentier (France)
- Aurelien Antoine (France)
- Ryan Wyatt (Canada)
