The field of runners who lined up at the start of Stage Two in the picturesque town court of Ehrwald showed roughly 10 % attrition this morning as only 458 racers felt in apt condition to continue the 2013 SALOMON 4 TRAILS. Weather and trail conditions looked promising for today's 45.3 kilometer course and the grim cumulative climb of 2,723 m – certainly no picnic for the meek but a real heyday for the eclectic roster of world-class athletes for whom it was time to test strategy and decide on tactics for the second half of the race.  For most leaders it all panned out.

 

Stage Two doesn't allow for much warmup time but sets out almost right away with a bang. The day's first climb starts is nothing less than a long, steep haul beginning at 1000m elevation that doesn't let up until a narrow snow-clad col between towering rock walls at 2,272 meters. It behooves the goats to separate themselves from the sheep well before the apex to secure some room to move about for the punishing, fast descent on snow and loose boulders on the Southern slope of the mountain.  Whoever is among the first to put the unremitting 1,200 meter ascent behind them is in the game for a top ranking on that day – provided they don't dilly-dally at the catering station before the second, equally gruesome climb of the day. However, the second long ascent differs in that it climbs predominantly an unrelenting ridge line to a fore-summit of Tschirgant Peak at 2,203 meters – all in all a most panoramic trail section with absolutely abysmal views to either side. Upon reaching the top elevation on that drawn-out climb, the racers may already hear the ruckus of the finish-line party, an illusion that betrays the reality of the  very steep, continuous drop of 800 meters vertical over a distance of 9 kilometers that yet lie ahead. Stage Two favors headstrong racers of which there were plenty today.

 

Spanish leader - unwilling to give up his leader jersey - sticks another victory

Tofol Castanyer lived up to repute on today's technical and brawny course extending his size-able lead over all others with his astounding time of 4:53.29,7 hours. The Spaniard – a staunch resident of Mediterranean climes -  didn't seem to experience much difficulty on the extensive snow fields during the first half of today's course, much to the chagrin of his competitors who had hoped for a break. To no avail, as the victor seemed more concerned about a recent calf injury which didn't seem to trouble him much. He asserted to have “slowed down the pace a bit given that two more tough days lie ahead. I look forward to tomorrow already” - a luxury to enjoy with no one breathing down your neck!  

 

His closest pursuers yesterday, Stephan Hugenschmidt and Max Frei, both of Germany, were also successful podium contenders today – in that order.  The youngster of the two, 27-year-old Hugenschmidt, a trail running talent of his own, admitted defeat without any sense of remorse: “Tofol Castanyer is simply in a class of his own and I am happy with second place. Luckily, I was able  gain a bit of a lead on Max Frei on the second climb but it was terribly hard and extremely hot. But everyone up front had to deal with the same conditions and given the top-notch lineup of international racers I wouldn't have guessed to have a chance to rank as prominently. I'm thrilled about that and hope to maintain that level of performance for the remainder of the race.”

 

Max Frei was just as happy about arriving in third place and is unpretentiously confident about the upcoming final stages.  “I started the day in a larger group of runners taking in the spectacular scenery. What a breath-taking stage. I'm very satisfied with my performance and the current ranking. The racers ahead of me are exceptionally strong and what I'll try to accomplish over the next couple of days is simply to defend my current third position overall. Difficult to believe that I could advance any.“

 

Angela Mudge picking up the pace to prove who's trail queen

 

The leading women in the race switched positions today, when Scottish Angela Mudge, a multiple trail running world champion,  decided to pull all stops and obviously came into her own outrunning  yesterday's winner, Claire Gordon, by over half an hour. Her time was good enough to best most of the men, as she came in 12th position overall and deservedly took over the leader jersey.  That impressive ranking didn't seem to surprise her as much as it did most others: “Yesterday's vertical profile was not much to my liking. I am a real climber and I can put my strength to use the best on steep ascents. I'm already curious about tomorrow's course. Whatever, a lot can still happen before the final finish [in Switzerland] and I don't want to make any predictions until everything is said and done”. 

 

Among the Master Men, Javier Rodriguez (ESP) was good enough for an upset as he claimed his first stage victory on today's course and managed to switch into the leader jersey, displacing trail running legend Woody Schoch (SUI). Less change to report from the Senior Master category, which continues to be dominated by Dr. Thomas Miksch, who - in trademark fashion - kept the competition at a distance, thereby extending an already comfortable lead. The leading Master Women also maintained the established order of arrival with Julia Fatton (GB) being once again the first to cross the finish line in Imst, Tyrol.