Favourites back on top at 12th GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run

07.09.2016

Stage three of the 12th GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run saw the race enter high alpine terrain for the first time. Following two surprise victories for Florian Heinzle/Mario Weiß (Team Vertical Power) on the first two stages, the pre-race favourites took control of proceedings on Tuesday’s leg from Imst to Mandarfen at the end of the Pitztal Valley. On the 47.9 km course with an incredible 3037 vertical metres of ascent it was the Italian-Austrian duo of Ivan Paulmichl/Michael Kabicher who surprised the field to win in a time of 5:58:57.30 hours, 2:45 minutes ahead of the Italian-German team of Daniel Jung and Helmut Schiessl (Gore Running Wear/Team Mammut). The result means that Jung, who finished second last year, and the former mountain running world champion Helmut Schiessl now lead the overall standings from Heinzle/Weiß in second and Paulmichl/Kabicher in third. Things are hotting up in the battle for the title at the 12th GORE-TEX® TRANSALPINE RUN ahead of the spectacular glacier stage from Mandarfen in the Pitztal Valley to Sölden in the Ötztal Valley on Wednesday. Just 4:55.70 minutes separate the leaders from the team in third place.

The queen’s stage of the 12th GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run more than lived up to expectations on Tuesday, with the runners facing almost 50 kilometres of technical trails in the breathtaking surroundings of the Pitztal Valley. However, none of the almost 600 competitors from 34 nations had time to admire the views as they set off from Imst at 7:00 in the morning. The first challenge the runners faced was a somewhat unusual one. Only three teams made it across a railway crossing before the barriers came down. Though the organisers stopped the clock while the rest of the field waited, the unexpected interruption changed the character of the leg from Imst to Mandarfen. For the top teams the queen’s stage developed into a race against the clock. The field was led by Jung/Schiessl, Heinzle/Weiß and the Russian team of Ivanov/Rusin, with Paulmichl/Kabicher and the rest of the field 4:50 minutes behind. The decisive moment came on the extremely technical 12 km section between the second and third feed station. By that time the Russians had fallen away, and the strong Austrian team of Heinzle/Weiß had slowed significantly from kilometre 17 as a result of Florian Heinzle’s stomach problems. “Mentally it was tough,” Heinzle admitted after battling through to the finish. “I was running on empty and I am proud that I managed to make all the way to the line.”

That left Jung/Schiessl and Paulmichl/Kabicher to battle it out, with Jung/Schiessl slightly ahead as both teams gave everything. Between kilometre 32 and 40 it was, however, Paulmichl/Kabicher who turned up the heat and put six minutes into their rivals Jung/Schiessl. “We were approaching Daniel and Helmut from behind, so mentally that gave us a real boost. It motivated us to push even harder. The situation was more difficult for them, because they were out front and had to set the tempo,” commented Ivan Paulmichl, who finished second last year together with Daniel Jung. In the end there was a slightly bizarre situation that saw Jung/Schiessl cross the line first but, due to the race clock being stopped while most of the field waited at the railway crossing, finish second on the day behind Paulmichl/Kabicher. Despite the confusion, Schiessl accepted the unusual result with the respect and composure of a class athlete. “We didn’t know what the time gap was, but we just ran at our own tempo and spent much of the time thinking ahead to tomorrow’s stage across the glacier. That enabled us to save a bit of energy,” explained the athlete from South Tyrol.

The women’s race saw the winning streak of the Germans Manishe Sina and Lisa Mehl come to an end after they had dominated the first two stages on Sunday and Monday. Instead, it was Nina Koch and Johanna Erhart who took victory on day three ahead of Sina/Mehl, who continue to lead the overall standings. As with the men, the decisive section proved to be the technically challenging passage between the second and fourth feed station, where the reigning German ultratrail champion Manishe Sina experienced problems and lost almost four minutes at the finish.

The masters category also provided plenty of excitement and top-level performances. Victory on day three went once again to former triathletes Florian Holzinger and Stefan Holzner, who posted a strong time of 6:11:03.20 hours. They were followed by the Swiss pairing of Urs Jenzer and Ruedi Bärtschi, overall winners of last year’s edition of the race. Less fortunate was the German team of Matthias Dippacher and Uli Morgen, who had been lying in fourth. With Pech forced to abandon due to injury, Dippacher had to start the ultra-tough third day of the race alone.

In the Mixed Teams category things are shaping up for a very close battle in the last few days. Three teams reached the finish in Mandarfen within a minute of each other. “It’s unbelievable and really exciting because things are so close,” commented Sweden’s Kristin Berglund, who impressed alongside her partner Gerald Fister on the technical section of the course and almost eliminated what had at one point been a ten-minute deficit. In the end the duo finished in third place behind the surprisingly strong Polish team of Magdalena Laczak/Pawel Dybek and Timo Zeiler/Melanie Albrecht, who secured their second win of the race and increased their lead in the overall standings. “At one stage we had a lead of 16 minutes. It’s a shame we were not able to hold onto it,” said Zeiler, who has been crowned German mountain running champion on multiple occasions.

Results: 3. Stage: Imst – Mandarfen im Pitztal

Men:
1. Ivan Paulmichl/Michael Kabicher (ITA/AUT) 5:58.57,5
2. Daniel Jung/Helmut Schiessl (ITA/GER) 6:01.43,0
3. Florian Heinzle/Mario Weiß (AUT/AUT) 6:08.23,4

Women:
1. Nina Koch/Johanna Erhart (GER/AUT) 8:13.51,8
2. Manishe Sina/Lisa Mehl (GER/GER) 8:17.34,5
3. Rene Unser/Sarah Macleod (CAN/CAN) 8:29.21,5

Mixed:
1. Timo Zeiler/Melanie Albrecht (GER/GER) 6:36.36,7
2. Magdalena Laczak/Pawel Dybek (POL/POL) 6:36.45,8
3. Kristin Berglund/Gerald Fister (SWE/AUT) 6:37.32,2

Master Men:
1. Florian Holzinger/Stefan Holzner (GER/GER) 6:11.03,2
2. Urs Jenzer/Ruedi Bärtschi (SUI/SUI) 6:17.08,8
3. Seppi Neuhauser/Anton Philipp (AUT/GER) 6:24.42,6

Master Mixed:
1. Lord Jens Kramer/Irene Senfter (ITA/ITA) 7:30.30,5
2. Maria Kemenater/Franz Kröss (ITA/ITA) 7:37.50,3
3. Roberto Prades/Pilar M. Prades (ESP/ESP) 7:40.35,3

Senior Master Men:
1. Jörg Schreiber/Thomas Miksch (GER/GER) 7:10.39,0
2. Falk Hübner/Andreas Panthen (GER/GER) 7:42.21,1
3. Josef Blasinger/Martin Mair (ITA/ITA) 7:50.56,0

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