FAIAL, AZORES ISLANDS, 31st October 9:15 am
STAGE 3 – Going Full Circle – 30.5km, 1,453m vertical elevation, 1,453m descent
Start line & Finish line: Capelinhos Volcano
GTC STAGE 3 – VOLCANIC HALLOWEEN PARTY
The last two days of racing is beginning to show damage. But it was once again the Pole Bart Przedwojewski (Team Salomon) who showed no signs of letting up, and the Swiss Maude Mathys (Team Salomon) equally fired up, who stuck to their guns and brought the win home. Maude Mathys (Team Salomon) retains her yellow bib in the process.
No Pico
This third and penultimate stage of the Golden Trail Championship, was originally planned to take place on the neighbouring island of Pico, with its eponymous volcano rising up to 2351 metres above sea level, but bad weather conditions made the course route too dangerous. An alternative 30km-loop was set up on Faial Island to include sections from the first two days racing, but in reverse.
Jim Walmsley, the phoenix rises.
It was once again Bart Przedwojewski (Team Salomon) who stood out among the men. “I tried to push hard straight from the first nine kilometers because I knew the technical terrain was fine for me. After that, I just tried to control the gaps on the climb and the downhill is what I enjoy.” The Pole is once again ahead of Jim Walmsley (Hoka One One) who, after this second time taking second place, made a great comeback in the general classification. “It got better as the day went on, but I took a few wrong turns and had a fall, all in the first 8 km, but I just had to regroup and cut a new life going uphill and catch people up,” explains the American. He is now second, although almost 9 minutes behind the Pole. Just behind, we once again find the Moroccan Elhousine Elazzaoui (Team Salomon) who didn’t need to wait for the Norwegian Stian Angermund (Salomon) this time.
Maude Mathys takes the lead!
We had anticipated it on yesterday’s stage, and it was confirmed today: Maude Mathys (Team Salomon) is on top form. The Swiss woman won the day’s stage yet again, 1min46 ahead of Rachel Drake (Team Nike). “My legs were very tired today, and it was a tough start,” she explains, “but I took no notice, especially in the first 8 kilometres, which I knew were long; even if Rachel and Blandine took off fast, I preferred to keep my own pace Tove also went passed me, but I didn’t panic either. Then I noticed I was catching up on the climb, and at the top I was alone in the lead. Rachel caught up with me in the downhill but I did my own race and as I still had some energy I just tried to keep up the pace to hold her off!” Rachel Drake (Team Nike) said smiling, “it was super fun, I feel like I’ve been taking it easy in the last two days because I didn’t want to hurt myself. So, today and tomorrow I’m gonna pick up the pace a little.” Blandine L’Hirondel completed the podium at 5min34 behind Maude Mathys. Tove Alexandersson (Team Icebug) is losing a bit of ground for the yellow bib, today she finished 9min32secs behind to take 4th position.
Iris Pessey reclaims red
Nothing changed in the men’s standing for the red bib, Rémi Bonnet (Team Salomon) once again won the day’s uphill section with 49 seconds ahead of Jim Walmsley (Hoka One One). The Swiss now has a 55-second lead on the American and it seems difficult to imagine that the red bib will escape him, but never say never.
The women saw Maude Mathys (Team Salomon), with dynamite in her legs, carry away today’s best climber section, and by winning this stage the day’s red bib is now handed over to the runner-up Iris Pessey (Team Scott).
Ana Cufer, untouchable!
The downhill segment has one woman’s name on it, Ana Cufer (Team Salomon), she once again proved her dominance in this domain by scorching downhill at an exceptional pace. She was 27 seconds ahead of Maude Mathys (Team Salomon) in the today’s segment and is now 49 seconds ahead of Tove Alexandersson (Team Icebug) for the disputed blue bib.
Even though Anders Kjærevik (Team Bergen Running) keeps his blue bib with a 1’43 advantage over his pursuers, the Norwegian was nevertheless beaten for the first time since the start of the championship in the day’s downhill segment. The Spaniard Antonio Martinez (Buff Pro Team) ripped a 37-second gap.
Théo Détienne: The Flying Frenchman!
Among the girls, the sprint of the day went to Gisela Carrion (Team La Sportiva). After yesterday’s victory in the sprint segment, the Spaniard was keen to bring the green bib back home. Now she’s done it and takes the lead in front of Blandine L’Hirondel by 14 seconds in the best sprinter standings.
The men’s sprint saw the bib change owner! Furious at not being able to show his true potential in the previous stages, Théo Détienne (Team Salomon) set the record straight by beating Spaniard Andreu Blanes (Team Carnicas Serrano) by 21 seconds. “I’m so happy! At last!” Détienne shouted with glee on arrival. “Yesterday my hair elastic broke, and suddenly, with a gust of wind, my hair was in my eyes and I couldn’t see where I was running! Today I was in better shape and I was finally able to spring how II wanted to across all the little bumps!” With one more stage to go, the Flying Frenchman is 14 seconds ahead of his immediate pursuer. “Tomorrow, the sprint is a sort of sloping road that is a little under 2 kilometres. Andreu is really going to have to work his butt off if he wants to take the bib back from me!”. That seems like an invitation for a dual!
Anaïs Sabrié is out
Sadly, the French woman Anaïs Sabrié (Team Matryx) was unable to take the start line today due to receiving medical treatment yesterday. The Matryx team athlete suffered very severe hypoglycemia at the finish line ofstage 2 and had to be placed on an IV by the medical team. Although she was feeling much better today, the rules unfortunately didn’t allow her to take the start of stage 3.
RANKING STAGE 3
Scratch
Men
1 – BARTLOMIEJ PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 02:34:49.477
2 – JIM WALMSLEY (USA) TEAM HOKA ONE ONE: 02:37:42.377
3 – ELHOUSINE ELAZZAOUI (MAR) TEAM SALOMON: 02:40:16.357
4 – STIAN ANGERMUND (NOR) TEAM SALOMON: 02:40:30.380
5 – FRANCESCO PUPPI (IT) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 02:41:02.403
Women
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 03:00:17.163
2 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 03:02:03.267
3 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 03:05:51.230
4 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 03:09:49.673
5 – JOHANNA ÅSTRÖM (SW) TEAM ARC’TERYX: 03:12:27.670
Climb Ranking
Men
1 – REMI BONNET (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 00:41:00.893
2 – JIM WALMSLEY (USA) TEAM HOKA ONE ONE: 00:41:50.256
3 – BARTLOMIEJ PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 00:42:09.627
4 – ORIOL CARDONA COLL (SP) TEAM DYNAFIT: 00:43:19.826
5 – FRANCESCO PUPPI (IT) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 00:43:32.270
Women
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 00:50:32.946
2 – IRIS PESSEY (FR) TEAM SCOTT: 00:51:15.410
3 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 00:51:23.527
4 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 00:52:51.520
5 – AUDREY TANGUY (FR) TEAM HOKA ONE ONE: 0:54:53.483
Downhill Ranking
Men
1 – ANTONIO MARTINEZ (SP) BUFF PRO TEAM: 00:07:57.173
2 – ANDERS KJÆREVIK (NOR) TEAM BERGEN RUNNING: 00:08:34.380
3 – JAMES WALMSLEY (USA) TEAM HOKA ONE ONE: 00:08:39.716
4 – FRANCESCO PUPPI (IT) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 00:08:50.933
5 – JOHN LUNA-LIMA (USA) TEAM ASCENT PROTEIN: 00:08:59.410
Women
1 – ANA CUFER (SLO – SALOMON: 00:09:37.684
2 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 00:10:05.173
3 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 00:10:13.247
4 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 00:10:31.133
5 – CAMILLE BRUYAS (FR) TEAM SALOMON: 00:10:34.943
Sprint Ranking
Men
1 – THEO DETIENNE (FR) TEAM SALOMON: 00:09:10.007
2 – ANDREU BLANES REIG (SP) TEAM CARNICAS SERRANO: 00:09:31.370
3 – BART PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 00:10:36.896
4 – STIAN ANGERMUND (NOR) TEAM SALOMON: 00:10:40.633
5 – ELHOUSINE ELAZZAOUI (MAR) TEAM SALOMON: 00:10:40.784
Women
1 – GISELA CARRION (SP) TEAM LA SPORTIVA: 00:11:41.563
2 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 00:11:50.527
3 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 00:12:18.436
4 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 00:12:28.133
5 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 00:12:31.127
OVERALL RANKING AFTER STAGE 3
Overall Ranking
Men
1 – BART PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 06:24:40.473 (yellow bib)
2 – JIM WALMSLEY (USA) TEAM HOKA ONE ONE: 06:33:34.807
3 – ELHOUSINE ELAZZAOUI (MAR) TEAM SALOMON: 06:36:02.204
4 – STIAN ANGERMUND (NOR) TEAM SALOMON: 06:36:21.080
5 – FREDERIC TRANCHAND (FR) TEAM Nvii SPORT: 06:36:57.463
Women
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 07:30:26.360 (yellow bib)
2 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 07:35:37.807
3 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 07:41:09.101
4 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 07:41:44.994
5 – JOHANNA ÅSTRÖM (SW) TEAM ARC’TERYX: 08:02:21.694
Climb Ranking
Men
1 – REMI BONNET (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 01:19:20.389 (red bib)
2 – JIM WALMSLEY (USA) TEAM HOKA ONE ONE: 01:20:16.244
3 – BART PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 01:21:05.963
4 – STIAN ANGERMUND (NOR) TEAM SALOMON: 01:23:48.310
5 – ELHOUSINE ELAZZAOUI (MAR) TEAM SALOMON: 01:23:57.979
Women
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 01:35:27.721
2 – IRIS PESSEY (FR) TEAM SCOTT: 01:35:27.721 (red bib)
3 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 01:39:56.469
4 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 01:42:02.193
5 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 01:43:55.094
Downhill Ranking
Men
1 – ANDERS KJÆREVIK (NOR) TEAM BERGEN RUNNING: 00:18:48.007(blue bib)
2 – BART PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 00:20:31.257
3 – JOHN LUNA-LIMA (USA) TEAM ASCENT PROTEIN: 00:20:33.269
4 – FREDERIC TRANCHAND (FR) TEAM Nvii SPORT: 00:21:00.336
5 – SEBASTIAN LJUNGDAHL (SW) TEAM SALMING: 00:21:09.717
Women
1 – ANA CUFER (SLO) TEAM SALOMON: 00:22:07.186 (blue bib)
2 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 00:22:57.168
3 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FRA): 00:24:31.639
4 – JOHANNA ÅSTRÖM (SW) TEAM ARC’TERYX: 00:25:06.422
5 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 00:25:08.886
Sprint Ranking
Men
1 – THEO DETIENNE (FR) TEAM SALOMON: 00:21:49.967 (green bib)
2 – ANDREU BLANES REIG (SP) TEAM CARNICAS SERRANO: 00:22:04.180
3 – BART PRZEDWOJEWSKI (PL) TEAM SALOMON: 00:22:04.180
4 – ELHOUSINE ELAZZAOUI (MAR) TEAM SALOMON: 00:24:24.123
5 – FREDERIC TRANCHAND (FR) TEAM Nvii SPORT: 00:24:55.717
Women
1 – GISELA CARRION (SP) TEAM LA SPORTIVA: 00:28:19.686 (green bib)
2 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FR): 00:28:33.686
3 – MAUDE MATHYS (CH) TEAM SALOMON: 00:28:35.736 (yellow bib)
4 – TOVE ALEXANDERSSON (SW) TEAM ICEBUG: 00:29:02.136
5 – RACHEL DRAKE (USA) TEAM NIKE TRAIL: 00:29:45.349
Golden Trail Championship: Full Programme
29th October – 11 am CET (9 am local time): 1st Stage
24.1 km – 1 073 m D+
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34505537
30th October – 11 am CET (9 am local time): 2nd Stage
24.5 km – 1 158 m D+
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34338641
31st October – 10:30 am CET (8:30 am local time):3rd Stage
30.8 km – 2 426 m D+
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33981606
