Compressport Trail Menorca Camí de Cavalls
Antoine Guillon and Pere Lluís Garau Are Joint Winners
Press Release / 19.05.2018
The Frenchman and the Mallorcan arrived together at the finish line in Ciutadella after completing the race around Menorca in less than 20 hours. Gerard Morales 'Blacky' was third.
The result is in for longest and most emblematic race of the 2018 Compressport Trail Menorca Camí de Cavalls. Antoine Guillon and Pere Lluís Garau were announced joint winners of the TMCdC after completing the 185 km around the island in a time of 19:21:21. Gerard Morales Blacky, who could not quite keep up the pace in the final stretch, took third place.
The overnight section of the race was full of surprises with the lead changing on a number of occasions. The night began with Antoine Guillon and Gerard Morales sharing the lead, with Pere Lluís Garau just a minute behind them. These positions were held for many kilometres. However, after a stop at the Binibèquer refreshment station (115 km), Antoine Guillon's pace became too much for Gerard Morales. The Frenchman broke away and Pere Lluís Garau was caught by Blacky.
However, when the Mallorcan and the Catalan arrived at the next refreshment station in Cala en Porter (129.6 km), they learnt that Guillon had not yet passed. It seemed as if the race was theirs. The Frenchman was lost. He had headed in the wrong direction, towards Cova d'en Xoroi, after being confused by the signs for the TCS. By the time he had realized his mistake and retraced his steps, he had lost a valuable 35 minutes. "I was forced to push myself hard and thanks to that I realised that I could push myself even more if necessary," explained Guilon at the finish line.
It did not take Antoine Guillon long to reach his two rivals, who saw he was very close when they left the Sant Tomàs refreshment station (144.4 km). When the Frenchman caught up with Pere Lluís Garau and Gerard Morales, he did not slow his pace and only Garau was able to keep up with him. Blacky was left trailing. During the last few kilometers, the two leaders both maintained their speed which ended up with them sharing the top podium position. What is more, they were just 3 minutes away from breaking the race record, which Antoine Guillon himself set in 2016 (19 hours 18 minutes).
Overnight, there were also changes to the lead in the women’s race. First Eva Orives and then Tina Ameller overtook Alice Modignani-Fasoli. At this moment, the leader is about 30 km from the finish line.
Quote from Antoine Guillon: "It’s been a special race for me, because when I was on my own I got lost. I then had to push myself a lot. Pere Lluís is very strong and I’m happy to have reached the finish line alongside him. I’ll return to Menorca next year to try to get under 19 hours, as I have realised that it’s possible for me to do that".
Quote from Pere Lluís Garau: "The simple fact of being with runners like Antoine Guillon and Gerard Morales is something incredible. I never imagined I’d be able to win the race. I was dying for the last 20 km. Gerard and I thought we had left Antoine behind but suddenly we turned round and saw him there."
FINAL PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION:
1. Pere Lluís Garau (Altura-Sports Lloseta): 19:21:21
1. Antoine Guillon (Team Globetrailers): 19:21:21
3. Gerard Morales (Buff): 19:32:01
4. Marc Solé (Camí dels Ibers): 19:37:16
5. Carlos Herrero (C.M. Matinam x Somiar): 19:57:15
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