The spectacular cliffs and rugged coastal trails of La Palma set the stage for an intense showdown at Acantilados del Norte, the third race of the 2026 Merrell Skyrunner® World Series. With a world-class field lining up at the start line, the race promised technical terrain, relentless pacing, and fierce battles for valuable series points.
The race started hot and fast with a group of the world’s best pushing the pace on the first few kilometers of the volcanic trails, narrow trails of La Palma. By kilometer 12, Frederic Tranchand of France (team Merrell) and Manuel Merillas of Spain (team New Balance) had broken clear and were locked in a fierce battle across the technical terrain.
MERILLAS MAKES DECISIVE MOVE
In the closing kilometers, with less than 30 seconds between them, Merillas made the decisive move on the final descent and stormed to his first victory of the season with a time of 2:31:54, just 13 seconds off the course record. Tranchand finished one minute after in second place and Alain Santamaria of Spain (team X-Bionic Integrity) closed the men’s podium four minutes after the winner.
Merillas commented: “I raced Acantilados in 2021 with the COVID virus and tried to give my best but I suffered a lot. Today’s result was a reward for five months of hard training, where you only worry about performance and results.
It’s very rewarding to win against Frederic as he is really, really strong, as well as the rest of the athletes here today — these are some of the best skyrunners in the world. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the most exciting skyrunning seasons yet and this victory gives me confidence for what’s coming.”
ALONSO IS UNTOUCHABLE
In the women’s race Sara Alonso of Spain (team Asics) stamped her authority early, creating a small gap with Patricia Pineda (team La Sportiva) chasing behind and Marta Martinez of Spain following in third. Although the rest of the field tried to catch her, Alonso was untouchable and stormed to victory with a new record time of 3:00:43. Pineda followed in second place six minutes later and Marta Martinez closed the women’s podium, finishing seven minutes behind Alonso.
Alonso commented: “I had three goals for this race: being competitive, winning the race and trying to go under three hours. I achieved the first two. I tried to push hard to go under three hours but at the end of the race there was a steep uphill and I just couldn’t push anymore.
The weather conditions were perfect for me today and I’m really happy with my result. I was leading the whole race but I suffered a lot during the first hour. The people cheering along the way was amazing.
This victory has given me a lot of confidence. My next stop on the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series is Calamorro where my main goal is achieving a record time again. I know the female field will be super strong there so I’m looking forward to a competitive race and will try my best, as always.”
With the third stage completed, the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series continues to deliver thrilling competition as athletes battle for points across the global circuit and fans witness some of the most technical and spectacular races in the world.
Full results can be found here: https://fitters.es/resultados/acantilados-del-norte-by-dynafit-2026/
The next race in the series will be the Calamorro Skyrace on 11 April.
