Spain, for all in the Mountain and Trail Running World Championship

The Austrian Alps will host the second edition of the Mountain and Trail Running World Championships from June 7 to 10 after the event on Chiang Mai (Thailand) in November 2022. The headquarters of Innsbruck-Stubai, in the heart of Tyrol and the stubai valley, welcomes almost 1,300 athletes representing more than 50 countries, and among them the powerful #EspañaAtletismo squad with the endorsement of the seven medals won in Thailand nine months ago. After regretting the last minute loss of Ricardo Chertathe national team will be represented by 19 women and 20 men.

Races will have their starting gun with the Vvertical up on Wednesday the 7th, at 1:00 pm, the men’s event and an hour later the women’s event. The route will be 7 km with 1,020 meters of positive elevation gain in continuous ascent, with a kilometer of asphalt at the starting point and then on all the paths, many of them narrow, to reach the finish line just above 2,000 meters of altitude. in this elferhütte. This race will leave the town of Neustift im Stubaital.

In this preliminary test there will be action Alex Garcia Carrillo, current bronze medalist after athletes from Kenya Kipngeno and Kiriago, who are repeating the participation this 2023. #SpainAthletics He will also defend the bronze collective, which he repeats, in addition to MurcianMiquel Corbera (21st in 2022 and current champion of Spain). They completed the Spanish team Eduardo Hernandez and Dani Osanz (Bronze medal at the El Paso European Championship 2022). The aforementioned Kenyans and Switzerland, last year’s runners-up and with almost all of their men since then, will be the teams to beat.

CALENDAR

Wednesday 7
13:00 Ascending masc
14:00 Uphill girls
Thursday 8
09:00 short trail
Friday the 9th
06:30 Long Trail
Saturday 10
10:00 Classic junior women
11:00 Classic junior male
12:00 Classic Masc
14:00 Classic girls

In the female category #EspañaAtletismo is included Onditz Iturbe as the headliner after his impressive fifth place finish last year. It is true that Onditz has had physical problems in recent months and has not been able to compete and train as much as he would like, but the Basque athlete has not stopped growing in recent years. They complete the team Malen Osa, Ainhoa​​​​​​Sanz and Cristina Lara. The two best of the last World Cup, the American Allie McLaughlin and the Austrian veteran Andrea Mayr, repeat the participation; and we have to see the performance of the Kenyans and Ugandans, who did not take part in the last World Cup. #EspañaAtletismo is seventh in Thailand.

Thursday, Short Trail

On Thursday 8 at 9:00 it is the turn of Short Trail, competition with a joint start for men and women from the capital of the valley, Innsbruck, and with an end in Neustift. Its participants have to face 45.2 km with 3,132 meters of positive elevation gain, accumulating 2,719 elevation gains down and almost 10 km on asphalt, more than usual for a test of this type.

#EspañaAtletismo emerges as the gold defender for the women’s teams and from that team from Thailand they repeat the runner-up in Europe and fourth in the World Cup Nuria Gil and the Spanish Mountain Racing Champion Julia Font. A multifaceted woman like few others with extensive international experience is part of the team. Oihana Kortazar, champion of Spain this 2023, and they include debutants Natalia González, Ikram Rhassala and Ainara Urrutiin. The world runner-up, the Czech Macurová, and the Swiss Emilia Bragenfält, bronze medalist, can be seen among those registered. The United States and Great Britain are behind the Spaniards on the podium and attend this event with some of the protagonists in Thailand.

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In this Short Trail in the men’s category, #EspañaAtletismo includes the already commented loss of Ricardo Cherta, so since last year only Zaid Ait Malek is repeating. In Thailand, the team finished in fifth position and, with Zaid, the men hoping to improve that position are the champions of Spain this 2023 Dimas Pereirawho debuted in #EspañaAtletismo, Jonathan Arobes and mario olmedo, beginners too. Returning to the selection is Jan Margaret. Italy, France and the United Kingdom lead the team drawer and go to Innsbruck-Stubai with teams of great potential. Norwegian Angermund will defend his title in Austria, as well as his podium companions, Italian Francesco Puppi and British Jonathan Albon.

Friday, Long Trail

On the 9th of Friday, you have to get up early to see the departure (6:30), joint for men and women, of Long Trail, the competition that will leave Neustift and have a goal in Innsbruck. Competitors in this specialty await 86.9 km ahead and 6,500 meters of positive elevation gain, with a profile of more percentage descent with 6,920 meters. A worldwide tour of the Dolomites of North Tyrol and a ceiling of 2516 meters. 16% of its layout will run on asphalt and part of it on broken roads or loose gravel.

At this distance, he presented #EspañaAthletismo to his second individual medalist from Thailand, La Mancha Gemma Arenas, leading the women’s team, which also won the silver medal after France and ahead of Italy. Repeat the performance as well Azara Garcia de los Salmoneswho did not have her best day last year, but was runner-up in the 2016 Trail Running World Championships and also one of the most successful women of the teams, as well as the champion of Spain in 2023. Complete the trio, in this case , Rosa Maria Lara third in the 2023 Spanish championship after his two teammates. The brilliant 2022 winner, the French Blandine L’hirondel, will once again be a rival to beat.

In the men’s category, #EspañaAthletismo will defend the 2022 bronze medal and repeat formation with the four men who competed in Thailand: José Ángel Fernández (4th), Aritz Egea (5th), Marcos Ramos (23rd) and Borja Fernández (45th). Aritz repeated the national gold this 2023, in El Paso, and Borja Fernández was runner-up. From last year’s individual podium, repeat runner-up Nicolas Martin (France) and bronze medalist Andreas Reiterer (Italy). The United States and France are the teams topping the podium.

Close Mountain Classic

The final day of competition, Saturday, is reserved for the Mountain Classic, the up and down race over two 7.5 km laps with 374 positive slopes per lap and takes place around Innsbruck, with almost 40% of its route in asphalt Here #EspañaAtletismo defends its last medals from the previous World Cup, the bronze of the men’s team. From that set they re-issued participation Andreu Blanes (6th), Alejandro García Carrillo (15th) and Miquel Corbera (21st). Alejandro and Miquel will make their second World Cup races after the Vertical Uphill, and the Spanish quartet will be completed by sub23 Ibai Larrea. Uganda is the country that won the title in Thailand and they come to Innsbruck to defend their trophy, with Kenya as tough rivals. The champion Samuel Kibet (Uganda) is not registered and the runner-up, Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya), is.

Among the women, the current champion, the Ugandan Rebecca Cheptegei, a regular during the cross-country campaign in our country. Uganda will be favorites for the collective victory, because, although last year they did the double, they did not complete the three athletes required to score. The bronze medalist, the American McLaughlin, will once again be the main rival of the Africans, bearing in mind that he is the current Vertical Uphill champion. From #EspañaAtletismo they repeat this distance in the World Cup Onditz Iturbe (9th last year) and Maria Ordonez (33rd), and two sub23 athletes will complete the team: Malen Osa and Laura Domene. Spain last year finished in seventh position.

Before the two full Mountain Classic competitions, it will be the turn of the same discipline for the sub20 athletes, who in this case will go around the circuit and therefore complete 7.5 km and 374 meters of unevenness. Last year’s boys took a well-deserved fourth place and from the great team they repeat the three mainstays: Fabian Venero (6th in 2022 and current champion of Spain), Marcos Villamuera (12th and double medal at the European Championship in El Paso) and Jan Torrella (23rd and also individual medal in the European). Complete four Marcos Lopez. By selection, in 2022 they swept Uganda, and although here they appear to have clear individual choices, they do not present a team to score. France and Great Britain were the other two teams to take the podium in Thailand.

In the women’s sub20 race it will be Blanca Batlle (9th in 2022) with young sub18 NAdia Soto, Laura Ordiales and Inés Herault, individual winner of the National by Federations. Spain did not field a team in 2022 and the trial was dominated by Great Britain, Italy and France. World runner-up Flaherty (Great Britain), are among those listed.