Jung/Schiessl celebrate 3rd stage win in Sarnthein and are favourites for overall title

Press Release / 09.09.2016

What was a three-way battle for the title at the 12th GORE-TEX® Transalpine Run became a two-way fight on Friday as the leading duo of Daniel Jung/Helmut Schiessl (Italy/Germany) secured their third stage win on the 33.6km sixth leg from St. Leonhard in the Passeier Valley to Sarnthein. The Austrians Florian Heinzle/Mario Weiß lost 23:55 to Jung/Schiessl and with it any remaining hopes of catching them in the overall standings. Ivan Paulmichl/Michael Kabicher (Italy/Austria) finished second on the stage and successfully defended their second place in the general classification. Going into tomorrow’s final stage, 36.40 kilometres from Sarnthein to Bressanone/Brixen, last year’s second place finisher Paulmichl and his partner Michael Kabicher trail the leaders by 14:19 minutes.

Day six pushed the 500 athletes from 34 nations to their limits as they climbed all the way up to 2648 metres above sea level. The 33.60 km course led through the stunning landscape of South Tyrol with magnificent views of Vinschgau region, the Texel Mountains, the Sarn Alps and the Dolomites to the east. However, the runners had little time to admire their surroundings as they took on the 2440 vertical metres of ascent requiring not only top physical conditioning but also absolute concentration. “We ran both these stages in preparation before the race and knew where we had to attack,” smiled Daniel Jung after securing the team’s third stage win. As on the previous days, Jung and his German partner Helmut Schiessl, the 2005 world champion in mountain running, stepped up the pace early on and left the rest of the field trailing in their wake as they started the first climb of the day at kilometre 6. Paulmichl/Kabicher were unable to follow (“We run at our own pace”), though Austrians Heinzle/Weiß stuck to the heels of the leaders for the majority of the course. With seven kilometres to go, Florian Heinzle suffered a severe bout of cramp in his left thigh and had to be helped through to the finish line by his partner Mario Weiß. On the downhill section to Sarnthein, Jung/Schiessl decided to save a little energy for tomorrow’s stage and let Paulmichl/Kabicher reduce their deficit to 1:02 minutes.

It was a day of action and excitement in the Mixed Teams category. Melanie Albrecht/Timo Zeiler went into the sixth stage with an advantage of 30:36 minutes, but by the time they crossed the finish line in Sarnthein it had been reduced to just 9:28 minutes. Their closes rivals for the overall title are now Kristin Berglund/Gerald Fister (Sweden/Austria), who won the stage ahead of Markus Mingo/Tina Fischl from Germany. “I felt great on these beautiful trails. We will see what tomorrow’s final stage brings. Apparently the course is another technical one, which is the sort of terrain that suits me,” explained Kristin Berglund. The scene is set for a showdown on the seventh and final leg into Bressanone/Brixen, with Melanie Albrecht and Timo Zeiler showing signs of weakness for the first time in the race. To make matters worse, the 20-year-old Albrecht also fell on the downhill section. “I have always said that what counts is the final standings at the finish line,” commented Timo Zeiler.

The other categories saw little change in the overall standings. In the women’s race the German duo of Manishe Sina/Lisa Mehl made victory all but certain after winning their fourth stage despite Manishe suffering from a painful foot injury. “I never thought we would come here and win,” said Manishe, who admits that she is feeling the accumulated fatigue of 220 km in her legs. “I have to thank Lisa. She is the stronger runner and pulls me along,” she added. The 34-year-old’s career has been anything but typical. She didn’t start running until three years ago but now has a personal best of 37:40 minutes for 10 km and 2:57 hours for the marathon distance. This spring she became German champion in ultratrail running over a distance of 65 kilometres. Her partner, Manishe Sina, also has a somewhat unusual background: her day job is working as a bonds trader at the stock exchange in Frankfurt.

She explains that the attraction of the GORE-TEX® Transalpine Run is not only the sporting challenge but also the atmosphere in the camp. “I love that feeling, the passion that these athletes have. Many of them do not make it through to the finish until the evening hours,” she explains. It appears that the legendary esprit at the GORE-TEX® Transalpine Run has lost none of its appeal. Highlights this week have included the presentation ceremony with extreme mountain running legend Greg Hill in Sölden and the overnight stay in the beautiful village of St. Leonhard. Stage six to Sarnthein saw the locals come out in force to cheer on all the South Tyrolean athletes such as Daniel Jung and Ivan Paulmichl and in particular those from the Sarntal Valley: Martin Josef Blasinger and Martin Mair, who won the stage in the Senior Master category, and Maria Kemenater/Franz Kröss, who finished second in the category Master Mixed. From the atmosphere to the food in the finish area, everything couldn’t be better.

However, veterans of the race know that the final few days are the toughest. The athletes are tired and their muscles fatigued. Challenging trails and temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius are slowly but surely taking their toll. Every day the queue in front of the Medical Tent gets a few metres longer: blistered feet, twisted joints, cramped muscles, stomach problems. And the finish line in Bressanone/Brixen is still 36.50 kilometres away.

Results 6th Stage: St. Leonhard in Passeier - Sarnthein

Men:
1. Daniel Jung/Helmut Schiessl (ITA/GER) 4:13.14,4
2.  Ivan Paulmichl/Michael Kabicher (ITA/AUT) 4:14.16,4
3.  Bublak/Lauterbach (GER/GER) 4:27.18,4

Women:
1. Manishe Sina/Lisa Mehl (GER/GER) 6:15.09,7
2. Rene Unser/Sarah Macleod (CAN/CAN) 6:21.44,7
3. Nina Koch/Johanna Erhart (GER/AUT) 6:25.11,8

Master Men:
1. Florian Holzinger/Stefan Holzner (GER/GER) 4:37.47,3
2. Seppi Neuhauser/Anton Philipp (AUT/GER) 4:43.05,0
3. Clemens Keller/Armin Friesinger (GER/GER) 4:47.11,9

Senior Master Men:
1. Josef Blasinger/Martin Mair (ITA/ITA) 5:13.47,9
2. Jörg Schreiber/Thomas Miksch (GER/GER) 5:14.47,3
3. Falk Hübner/Andreas Panthen (GER/GER) 5:38.33,9

Mixed:
1. Kristin Berglund/Gerald Fister (SWE/AUT) 4:47.42,5
2. Markus Mingo/Tina Fischl (GER/GER) 4:49.54,7
3. Magdalena Laczak/Pawel Dybek (POL/POL) 4:51.59,5

Master Mixed:
1. Lord Jens Kramer/Irene Senfter (ITA/ITA) 5:11.54,9
2. Marie Kemenater/Franz Kröss (ITA/ITA) 5:22.51,3
3. Eva Färberböck/Mathis Bode (GER/GER) 5:24.12,1

See All Stories On This Race