Zugspitz Ultratrail
ULTRATRAIL 2014 Breaks All Records
Press Release / 13.06.2014
More than 2000 athletes from 46 nations – Hugenschmidt secretly regarded as Ultratrail hopeful The SALOMON ZUGSPITZ
Who will succeed last year’s champion Philipp Reiter in Germany’s most important trail run, the SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL? A prognosis here is much like a weather forecast. The chances of it turning out to be right are very slim. For a very good reason: Competition in the fourth edition of the SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL is stronger than ever. This doesn’t just apply to the very top athletes. So far, 2000 athletes from 46 different countries are set to tackle the legendary 100 km run around the Zugspitze massif and the Wetterstein range from June 21 to 22, 2014. That isn't the only new record: For the first time ever, there will be four different distances. From 35.6 km to 100 km.
In keeping with tradition, all the runs will finish in the picture-perfect Zugspitze village of Grainau. Of course, the 100 km Ultratrail will be the athletic center of attention. All eyes will be on world-class athletes like the Moroccan, Mohamad, Ahansal, or Michael Wardian from the USA, both of whom are taking on this challenge for the first time. They will be starting for UVU Racing.
Stephan Hugenschmidt from the SALOMON Germany team, the reserved young athlete from Radolfzell and living in Switzerland, has become something like a secret favorite. Last year, he won the SALOMON ZUGSPITZ BASETRAIL and then went on to take overall second place in the SALOMON 4 TRAILS. We also have the super strong Italian. Giuliano Cavallo is coming to Grainau with victories in the high-profile Trails in Courmayeur and the Italian “Ultrabericus” in his pocket. We should also keep our eyes on Rudi Döhnert who came in sixth last year and Andreas Selle from Munich.
In the Woman's class, it looks like a duel between the strong Italian, Simona Morbelli, and the German flagship runner, Anne-Marie Flammersfeld. The native of Duisburg living in St. Moritz, Switzerland is starting for UVU Racing and is in top shape. The 35-year-old won the Woman’s class at the UVU North Pole Marathon a few months ago with a new course record, giving her an overall ranking of second as a side benefit. Anne-Marie Flammersfeld made her breakthrough into the world elite class of trail runners in the year 2012 when she became the first woman in the world to win all four races, as well as all the stages, in the “4 Deserts Race”. Since then, the sports scientist has been permitted to call herself the “Desert Queen”.
Simona Morbelli, probably her strongest competitor, shouldn’t be underestimated either. She won the “Eiger Ultratrail 51k” in Switzerland last year. Her current track record, though, is even more impressive: Simona Morbelli, the 41-year-old from northern Italy, has already won the 80 k ECO-TRAIL de Paris 80k and the 110 k Itialian Trail Tuscany Crossing this year. Mohamad Ahansal, three-time winner of the Marathon des Sables, is known as a specialist in ultra-long desert runs. By contrast, Wardian just celebrated a great triumph on ice and snow in the UVU North Pole a few months ago. Ahansal turned 41 on the 1st of January, US star Wardian is a year younger and has already been running through the world for 17 years. Two old hands with a huge wealth of experience. By contrast, Stephan Hugenschmidt is only 26 and has been an ambitious trail athlete for three years. Without a question, the 4th SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL will also be a competition between generations. Will lightweight Hugenschmidt, though, be able to make use of his advantages on a mountain? June 21st will show. Because the figures of the Ultratrail course are impressive: 100 km, 5420 m total uphill, 5420 m total downhill, maximum altitude over 2200 meters, plus snow fields and hair-raising climbs. Like the one up to the top of the Alpspitze lift. A major advantage in Stephan Hugenschmidt’s favor. He is just as familiar with the trails and climbs as with the long and steep downhill into Grainau. This could very well turn out to be decisive.
We can also look forward to a true novelty in the area of environmental protection at the SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL. Disposable cups, in the form of folding cups, will be used for fluids for the first time. When the participants pick up their personal starter package, they will receive a cup that they can use for fluids at the feed stations.
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