Here we are at only 13 days from the starting block. All being well, the Golden Trail Championship will be firing on all cylinders on the islands of Faial and Pico in the Azores, from 28/10 to 01/11.
We have worked hand-in-hand with Azores Trail Run®️ whom we sincerely thank for their investment and willingness to organize such an event in such unprecedented conditions. Life with Covid-19 must go on! We believe in learning to live with it, and not stop living. All sanitary measures will be rigorously respected, it is mandatory for each individual to be tested before arrival, and a second test is requested on-site.
With more than 110 “Golden Ticket” and “Golden Pass” winners, almost 80 of them will be present in the Azores for the toughest race of the year, as well as 166 amateur runners and/or elite runners who entered through the lottery.
So, who will there be on the start line? OK, let’s put you out of your misery…
The women’s line-up looks like this: the Sierre-Zinal and Pikes Peak record holder, Maude Mathys (Salomon), this Swiss showed her form on the Sierre-Zinal golden segment in September. Alongside her, Ruth Croft (Scott), 1st in the 2019 Mont-Blanc Marathon and GTWS 2018 Champion, Elisa Desco (Compressport-Scarpa) 2nd in Zegama last year, Holly Page (Adidas Terrex) 2nd in Ring of Steall 2019, Gisela Carrion (La Sportiva), Fanny Borgstrom (Salomon), Anais Sabrié (Matryx), Oihana Kortazar (Salomon), Eli-Anne Dvergsdal (Salomon), Rachel Drake (WTP Nike), Marcela Vasinova (Dynafit), Tove Alexandersson, 10-times Orienteering World Champion who finished 1st at the Ring of Steall and also Blandine L’Hirondel, 2019 ITRA Trail Running World Champion who registered without a golden ticket will also be on the start line. The top 10 women’s average ITRA category S points are 765.
The major absentees will be Judith Wyder, who recently had a baby, Amandine Ferrato, who has stopped competing, Silvia Rampazzo and Yngvild Kaspersen, for personal reasons. Azara Garcia currently has not yet confirmed, and AinhoaSanz, who won the Trail Cap de Creus, is unfortunately injured.
The men’s line-up includes: David Magnini (Salomon), GTWS 2019 Vice-Champion behind Kilian Jornet, Stian Angermund (Salomon), GTWS 2018 winner and 3rd overall last year, Francesco Puppi (WTP Nike) who won a Golden Ticket at the last minute on one of the Italian golden segments, Jan Margarit (Salomon), Oriol Cardona (Dynafit) , Trail Cap de Creus 2020 winner, where he scooped his ticket, Bartlomiej Przedwojewski (Salomon) always a top 5 finisher in the GTWS races, notably with a solid 2nd place in Chamonix last year, Rémi Bonnet (Salomon), who demonstrated his form on the Fully KV this summer, the ever-present Max King (Salomon), golden segment winner at the PNW in the USA, also Nicolas Martin (Hoka One One), Ludovic Pommeret (Hola One One), Juan Carlos Carera (Buff), arriving directly from Mexico, Pascal Egli (Dynafit), who won his golden ticket just in time in Chamonix and many other big names in trail running. Keep an eye on Frédéric Tranchant, who took 2nd place in the Sierre-Zinal just behind Kilian Jornet and in front of Rémi Bonnet and Davide Magnini! The top 10 men’s average ITRA category S points are 904.
Kilian Jornet will not be present as he is currently focused on a road-running project, which will incite a lot more suspense on the championship’s outcome! Other absentees include Marc Lauenstein, who cannot afford to take any risks due to his medical profession, Nadir Maguet, Alexis Sevennec, Sage Canaday, and David Sinclair. As of yet, Jim Walmsley has not confirmed.
Over a period of four days all the runners will amass a distance of almost 68km and 6,044m in elevation gain. So, who will be the best climber? the best downhiller? the best sprinter? and ultimately, who will be the most consistent and resistant in the 4 days of intense racing, and be crowned Golden Trail Champion 2020?
After each day’s stage, the leaders of the various sections (uphill, downhill, sprint, overall) will receive a special colored race bib:
Overall Leader – yellow bib
Uphill Leader – red bib
Downhill Leader – blue bib
Sprint Leader – green bib
So, there will be competition within the competition. A program that promises to be gritty, exhilarating, rich in emotions, coverage and storyline. It’s going to be epic, and we can’t wait! More info
Find all the future press releases and photos on the goldentrailseries.com website in the MEDIA section: https://www.goldentrailseries.com/media/
Full elites start list in the PR attached.
See you in the Azores!
The Golden Trail Championship and the Azores Trail Run