It was a long, long race, the longest on the 2017 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series calendar, third leg of the Sky Ultra category. With 113 km and a demanding 7,400m vertical climb, the inaugural Scenic Trail K113 took off at midnight in Tesserete, Switzerland on June 9.
Two-hundred athletes from 17 countries had come here to take up the challenge and enjoy the spectacular scenery from which the race takes its name. After six hours of running in the darkness, as the day dawned and the light revealed the mountains around and the lakes below the course, the reality and severity of the test had struck many competitors.
The finish unveiled an extraordinary result however, with the two leading men closing neck and neck after 15h40’. Germans Stephan Hugenschmidt and Matthias Dippacher had run for much of the race together and, as training partners, it seemed the best way to end the day with a joint victory. Third man was Czech Marek Cuasidis in 16h08’.
Closing an incredible 12th overall and first woman was Italian Ultra specialist Francesca Canepa who led from start to finish in 19h12’. After a half-hour gap, Russian Yulia Baykova arrived second in 19h43’ and Swiss Denise Zimmerman, 20h46’ in third.
High temperatures of 30° during the day added to severity of the elements facing the competitors who raced through night and day.
Still leading the Sky Ultra ranking after three races is Dmitry Mityaev. An exciting scenario unfolds with four outright winners: Jonathan Albon, Tim Freriks, Stephan Hugenschmidt and Matthias Dippacher all sharing second place.
Hillary Allen continues to top the women’s ranking with Ekaterina MItyaeva in second and Ida Nilsson now sharing third with Francesca Canepa. The three best results out of eight count for the final titles and prizes.
Scenic Trail 113K race results
Men
- Stephan Hugenschmidt (GER) – 15h40’
- Matthias Dippacher (GER) – 15h40’
- Marek Causidis (CZE) – 16h08’
- Benoît Guyot (SUI) – 16h20’
- Gaël Droz (SUI) – 16h27’
Women
- Francesca Canepa (ITA) – 19h12’
- Yulia Baykova (RUS) – 19h43’
- Denise Zimmerman (SUI) – 20h46’
- Giulian Arrigoni (ITA) – 22h38’
- Patrizia Besomi (SUI) 23h38’
The next leg of the Sky Ultra heads for Val d’Isère with France’s toughest race, the High Trail Vanoise on July 8 and filling the gap, the third Sky Classic takes shape on June 18 in Northern Italy with the Livigno SkyMarathon®.
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