Zubero won the second round of Titan and Herrero kept the red jersey

The Spanish Julen Zubero (Krypteia) shouted victory in the “endless desert” at the end of second stage of Titan Desert disputed under the heat attempt near 40 degrees between Merzouga and Ksar Jdaid, 102 km, who finished with a group of 7 runners at the same time, including another Spaniard, Francisco Herrero, who retained the lead.

Zubero (Lemoa, 39 years old), son of professional Luis Zubero on the route from 1968 to 75, was the strongest in the Titan marathon stage, a day of safety that put all participants to the test in various stage of the desert, because they have to overcome the rocky and sand tracks, canyons, rivers and complex harbors with dizzying descents.

Equality marked the stage from start to finish, a fact seen in a sprint finish with 7 men fighting for victory. Zubero was the first to put the tire on the Ksar Jdaid finish line, a few kilometers from the Algerian border.

The Basque runner, winner of 3 stages on the Titan, set a record of 3:24:35, averaging 29.9 km/hour, alongside a group of race favorites, that is, Konny Looser, leader Francisco Herrero, Oriol Colomé, Guillem Muñoz, Óscar Carrasco and Haimar Zubeldia.

A victory that Zubero himself did not expect on the day of this marathon, where runners had to bring essential supplies to spend the night, including sleep, and no mechanical assistance or physiotherapy arrived. Safety.

“For me it was a surprise. This is the stage I like the most because we all have the same way and under the same conditions. I struggled a lot because Konny Looser put pressure on me, but out of pride I competed and won “, explained the Basque cyclist.

Herrero (Cannondale TB) also showed fun with Ksar Jdaid’s hot goal. Coming up with the best opens the horizon for the European ultramarathon champion. He kept the leader’s red jersey and took a reality check when he confirmed that his fitness could allow him to fight for the final victory.

Overall, his opponent was the title defender, Swiss Konny Looser, who tied the time, while Zubero finished third with 53 seconds.

“The experience is being brutal, I’m freaking out. I think Looser is the strongest, but why can’t I win? I was responding very well to the attacks and it was a huge moral blow, ”he said.

Vera Looser wins over women

Among women there is also equality up to the highest among namibians Vera Looserwife of Konny, the Catalan Anna Ramireza triple champion of the Titan and of the Norwegian Gertrud Hildegunn.

The African cyclist took the sprint between the three, marking the finish line at 3: 49.38, averaging 26.6 km/hour, the Catalan retained the blue jersey as the leader with 3.41 minutes to Looser and 7 with respect to Nordic runner.

This Tuesday, the second sector of the marathon stage arrives with a 125 km route between Ksar Jdaid and Fezzou, which includes 2 climbs and a lot of descents in a section of the very in demand mine. The fastest runner on the same climb will get a 1 minute bonus. This will be the longest stage of Titan Desert 2022.