Gore-Tex Transalpine Run
Spaniards Dominate the First Stage of the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run 2011
Oliver Kraus / 05.09.2011
David Lopez Castan and Miguel Caballero Ortega of Trangoworld Gore-Tex handled the 27.20 kilometers and 1,806 elevation meters from Oberstdorf, Germany, to Hirschegg/Kleinwalsertal, Austria, in 2:40:01.0 hours. Scottish runners Jethro Lennox and Joe Symonds from the Inov-8 Gore-Tex Footwear team came in second a little over 12 minutes behind (2:52:37.8). Reigning Mountain Running World Champion Tofol Castaner Bernat and his team partner Capo Soler Miquel of TransMallorcaRun took the third spot on today’s podium (2:53:51.0).
Almost cloud-less skies and hot temperatures didn’t seem to impress the two Spaniards Lopez Castan and Caballero Ortega, who not only claimed the blue leaders-jerseys but really set the pace on today’s comparatively easy stage.
However both members of the Spanish Mountain Running National Team admitted that they did not expect such a dominant result. “It was pretty surprising“, thought the 29-year old Miguel Caballero Ortega. His partner David Lopez Castan added, “We were running together with a few other teams at first, but after the first ascent we seemed to be by ourselves.“
From the Fiderepass-Hut (2,060m) on and then over the Wildenalpe (1,777m) and the Außerkuhgehrenalpe (1,622m) the two strong Spaniards exteneded their lead from about a minute to 12:36 minutes at the finish line. A fact that has really pushed Lopez Castan for the upcoming legs. “We are going to give everything we’ve got on each stage and if possible win even more legs“, the Spanish National Mountain Running Champion of 2010 said.
<b>Heat Slows Rivals Down</b>
The two winners certainly benefitted from the hot temperatures on today’s stage, with their Scottish rivals really affected by the heat. “Lately I had been running in Scotland and the temperatures there are different for sure“ said Joe Symonds. The brother of last year's winner Andrew also admitted to having slowed down his teammate.
“Jethro (Lennox) certainly could have ran faster today. But I tend to have problems with my stomach on every first day of any multi-stage event. It is going to get better as we progress, that’s why I’m thinking it will be he same this year.“
If the Scottish athlete is right, it should be an exciting race tomorrow when the runners face the longest stage on this years event. Especially since Philipp Reiter, the best German athlete, and his French teammate of the Salomon International Team contained themselves today. “We started off slow deliberately to not overpace ourselves right from the start“, stated the 20-year old Bavarian after the race.
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