Top three teams finish alternative course seconds apart.
Blowing snow, gale-force winds and freezing temperatures at elevation compelled race organizers early this morning to scrap the original plan of traversing the High Divide via Birnlücke Pass. However, if anyone had hoped for a reprieve from trail-running just because the original itinerary fell through on weather woes, they were out of luck. At 10 am racers started on a loop trail that neatly tied together flowy single track and gravel roads in the mountains nearby Neukirchen, Austria. The impromptu course totaled 28 km and accumulated 1,300 m on two ascents with a corresponding sum total on the descents.
By the time all racers had reached the finish line, the verdict was out. The alternative course clearly had a lot more to offer than would have been expected from an impromptu substitute – and not even driving rain was able to squew this sentiment. Anyhow, the downpour must have been the last thing on the leading racers’ minds as the fastest teams in their categories all managed to clock formidable times. In the end, it was Stephan Hugenschmidt and Mirco Berner (Team SALOMON DEUTSCHLAND) who claimed victory on the substitute course in 2:31:04 hours. However, mere seconds separated them from the overall leaders Johan Johansson und André Jonsson of Swedish Team PEAK PERFORMANCE who arrived in second place. Barely a blink of an eye later David Castan Lopez and Alfredo Gil (Team LA SPORTIVA – MULTIPOWER) claimed third place for the day. In the end, all three teams had arrived within 7 seconds of one another which did not lead to any changes in the overall ranking of the teams after three of eight stages.
Mirco Berner summed up the overall sentiment on the course. “The alternative route was really good and still strenuous at the same time. A lot of up and down – a bona fide trail”. Team colleague Stephan Hugenschmidt added that the day held an electrifying vibe as no team ever chanced to break away. Leadership switched frequently yet the top three teams basically ran shoulder-to-shoulder throughout the 28-km course. “It was a bit weird as the speed varied a lot, sometimes fast, other times slow, but regardless it ended up being a lot of fun!”
The fourth fastest team to make it back to Neukirchen on the loop stage were the invincible Master Men Pascal Giguet and David Pasquio of France (SCOTT GORE-TEX FOOTWEAR TEAM, 2:35:33 hours). Their leadership is undisputed to date but a fierce fight seems to be brewing for positions behind them. Austrians Armin Weißenböck-Meerkatz and Martin Hörmann (Team MAZDA, 2:42:17 hours) pushed hard all day, a strategy which panned out and rewarded them with second place. Their performance displaced the hitherto second-ranked Russians Artem Rostovtsev und Oleg Kharitonov who suffered an unexpected breakdown. Bad luck also bechanced Seppi Neuhauser and Sejad Mulahalilovic (Germany/Austria). The latter sprained an ankle which forced the team to withdraw from the race – a fate which both of them suffered last year already. Team DOLOMITI SUPERBIKE (Ivano Molin/Eugen Innerkofler) comfortably filled the gap and claiming third place (2:44:01 hours).
Leading Mixed Team BUFF (Emma Roca/Gerard Morales of Spain) may have claimed their third consecutive stage victory (2:52:37 hours) but admitted to having difficulties with the elevation profile of the course. Emma Roca compared herself to “a diesel engine favoring steady gradients rather than frequent ups-and-downs. Still, I would consider this course a worthwhile substitute [given the marginal weather conditions]”. The Spaniards shared the award ceremonies with podium newbies Jenn Shelton and Andreas Irsara (Team GORE-TEX HOLIMITES.COM, USA/Italy) who took second place with their time of 2:54:54 hours. Team GARMIN ADVENTURE arrived five minutes later yet which still afforded a podium position for the French couple Freslon-Bette.
Annemarie Gross and Tamara Lunger (Team GORE-TEX ACTIVE) of Italy once again proved unbeatable with their time of 3:17:17 hours extending their already cushy lead into what would seem nothing less than a comfort zone by now. Germans Kathrin Schichtl and Yvonne Lehnert (TEAM THR33KY TRAIL-SQUIRRELS) left them some space to breathe arriving with a ten minute delay on the leaders (3:27:13 hours). They, in turn, enjoyed some privacy on the trail as well as it took TEAM SA MILANA – ALARO yet another nine minutes to arrive at the finish line.
In contrast to the leading Women, the pre-existing hierarchy was upset today among the Senior Master Men. Rudi Schöpf and Alfred Psenner (Team LATSCH/SKINFIT BOZEN) – so far always top podium claimants – for the first time in this race had to accept defeat by Peter Paul Steinhauser and Michael Steger (TEAM LATSCH SKINFIT BOZEN, 2:48:39 hours). The two teams separated 3:06 minutes at the finish line. The Italian Team SEXTEN 2 was third to arrive in 3:04:41 hours.
The leading Senior Mixed racers, Italians Annelise Felderer and Markus Planötscher (Team NIEDERDORF) were good for another victory on this third of eight stages. They arrived at the finish in Neukirchen after 3:07:50 hours ahead of Marion Clignote/Sebastian Marie De Sainte (Team MAMMUT) and Spaniards Roberto Padres and Pilar Prades of Team ATM .
Following race activities, the participants were shuttled across the Austrian-Italian border to Prettau, Italy. The race will proceed from there according to the original plan as of tomorrow since the weather promises to improve substantially. This should allow racers to head up into the High Alpine again with glacier vistas at eye level. Halfway through the race participants will face a 31.5 kilometer stage with 1,796 m of positive vertical but a cumulative descent of 2,383 m. Racers with sub-optimal preparation can be expected to suffer serious shin splints by the time they reach Sand in Taufers. However, there’s hope in sight given that Sand will also be the base for vertical sprint on Wednesday when all the racing will be uphill with nary a meter of descent.
