Author: Tomo Sarf

The inaugural EAORCH in El Paso, La Palma came to a close today, Sunday, with four events and eight medal decisions: Maude Mathys and Ida Waldal both got Gold for a second time after Friday and Italy topped the medals table.

Everything put on the Up&Down and everything won. The French athlete Sylavain Cachard was crowned Elite European Champion in this discipline on Sunday, the third and last day of the EAORCH in El Paso, La Palma. He won with a time of 1:06:02 hours, ahead of Italy’s Cesare Maestri (1:06:42) and Switzerland’s Dominik Rolli (1:07:41). A dream came true for the three times national champion: “I have dreamt about this day every night for the last six months and I woke up with goosebumps the last 30 days. To stand here as the European Champion is the best thing I could have wished for – thank you to all my team and training colleagues, our great staff and my friends and family. I am overjoyed.”

Was it a perfect race by Cachard? “It’s a perfect race when I suffer. And I suffered a lot today, very much – so, yes, it was perfect. I ran with the leaders for the first eight kilometres up to the halfway point, then I wanted to break away, and my plan worked.” The media representatives at the EAORCH wanted to know if there was a secret to his success: “Taking the training seriously, but not taking myself so seriously,” was Chachard‘s answer. “And do what you do with passion.”

The winner of the women’s race was the same person as on Friday. Maude Mathys won in 1:17:30 hours, ahead of Romania’s Monica Madalina Florea (1:18:38) and the Briton Scout Adkin (1:19:35). The Swiss athlete demonstrated her class once more. She was visible at the front from the first few metres, even when she said she had started “somewhat slower.” “I like the distance almost more than the Uphill because it is longer and it suits me more,” Mathys commented, and she followed a similar strategy to the men’s winner Sylvain Cachard – control the first half of the race and then create a lead at Kilometre 9 or 10 (from overall 17.6 km). “My plan was good and it worked!“

While Mathys had classed a medal in the Up&Down as a bonus before the EAORCH, she didn’t want to hear about it having been an expected or logical success afterwards. “You can never be certain – no medal or triumph is guaranteed. You have to work for it.” There was another super bonus — thanks to her work and the work of her team colleagues: Gold in the team event!

The Italian Elia Matteo won the men’s U20 race. His 21:45 beat Spain’s Marcos Villamuera (21:49) and Britain’s Finlay Grant (21:53). “My legs felt somewhat heavy after my race on Friday, when I was fifth on the Uphill and I lost touch with the leaders on the first ascent. But my trainer and I prepared the downhill very well and I could work my way back to the front. The part on asphalt was good for me and I simply ran all-out during the last downhill. I didn’t think I would manage it, but I have done it. European Champion! Wow!”

The winner in the women’s U20 race was Norway’s Ida Waldal (24:37 min), just like on Friday, who beat Britain’s Eve Whitaker (25:33) into second place and Axelle Vicari (25:39) of Italy into third. “I just kept up with the pack during the first part of the race and let others make the pace. But I’m not that good running downhill, therefore I knew that I had to be clearly in the lead after the last Uphill,” she said. “My tactics worked out, and I’m really happy about this Gold medal, considering that I felt quite nervous.”

The 20 medal sets handed out (in 10 individual and 10 team event) went to ten different nations, with a special mention for Gold for Belgium and Silver for Romania. Switzerland took third thanks to Mathys’s two medals and the team medal (3/4/1), and at the top of the table there was a close contest between winner Italy (5/5/3) and France (5/1/5) – the greater number of second places gave the Azzuri the edge. Great Britain & Northern Ireland (2/3/6) and Spain (1/5/5) were both strong with 11 medals each, placing fourth and sixth in the medals table. Norway landed between the two with the two victories of Ida Waldal. Germany (1 gold) and Austria (1 silver) completed the “magnificent ten”.

There are a lot of names of younger and more established runners which we will hear about again in the future. And it will be remembered that so much started here in in El Paso, La Palma – as, for example, will the success story of the EAORCH.

Written by Egon Theiner for European Athletics. Images courtesy of Reventon El Paso.

The second day of the EAORCH in El Paso, La Palma was all about France. In the Trail running, the men won Silver and Bronze and the women Gold and Silver. The French also got the top spots in the respective team competitions.

But let’s start from the top.

There were also some tears of joy when Maximilian Drion du Chapois crossed the finish line to become the first ever European Off-Road Champion in today’s trail competition. “I cannot believe it yet,” the Belgian runner said, right after the race to the waiting media representatives. “I had hoped for a Top 10 finish, but the medal, the victory, came unexpected.”

Drion du Chapois had to cover 47.7 kilometres and 2550 m of vertical gain before he crossed the finish line in solitude after 3:43:01 hours. He preceded France’s Arnaud Bonin by 54 seconds (3:43:55) and Bonin’s fellow countryman Thomas Cardin by more than two minutes (3:45:42).

The Belgian selected almost perfect tactics to win this historical inaugural gold medal in continental Mountain and Trail Running. He started slow and was first in 16th and then in 10th place after 10 km. “That was what I wanted,” he explained. At half-time, the new champion picked up the pace and overtook other racers, who had started more ambitiously. At Pernada after 31 km, he was in second spot, but already running together with the Spaniard Zaid Ait Malek, who finished fourth.

Then, it was the turn of Arnaud Bonin to challenge him for victory, but the Belgian broke away with two kilometres to go and celebrated the most important success of his career to date. This first place seems even more surprising given that Maximilian does not compete in road races or cross-country events in winter but is active in ski mountaineering. “It’s actually the same sport, just with skis,“ he said and looking into the future: “Yes, the 2026 Olympic Winter Games are also a goal of mine. But we are a long way from that and I’m just enjoying this moment.”

On the same track, Blandine L’Hirondel won the women’s race, which was not unexpected. The French athlete was one of the big favourites for the title and it was clear she was taking the Championships very seriously because she arrived in La Palma 10 days before the race. However, there had been a major hurdle for her to overcome. The Frenchwoman had an operation on her abductors two months ago and had to rest for six weeks. “The French Federation had called me up before the operation and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to take part at all. But I started to feel more confident again during the first training sessions after the break. And now I’m standing here as the winner. I am overjoyed.“

Her victory was secured after 4:11:22 hours, in front of the Spaniard Nuria Gil (4:18:16) and fellow French athlete Mathilde Sagnes (4:22:42). Though her advantage over the next runners seemed large, or at least it appeared that way, it wasn’t an easy race for the winner.“I had real difficulties at the start,” said L’Hirondel, who was Trail World Champion in Portugal in 2019. “And I didn’t cope with the first uphill as well as I had wanted. The field was also really strong and you can’t take it easy for one minute around so many great athletes. So, I had to always push and push and push.”

The Briton Eleanor Davis missed out on an individual medal with fourth, but led Team GB to Bronze in the team event, behind the winners France and Spain. There was also Gold for “la Grande Nation” in the men’s event, ahead of Italy and Spain. Thus, Italy is still leading in the medals table (3/3/1), but only just slightly ahead of France (3/1/3). Spain is third (1/3/5) before the competitions on Sunday.

The final day of the EAORCH features the Up&Down race. Eight full sets of medals are up for grabs for both men and women in the elite and U20 categories, both individual and team events.

Then, France want come to the forefront again. “We are so strong because we have an unbelievably good team,” said Blandine L’Hirondel. “We train together and we feel happy as a group and we transfer knowledge. That’s why we’re so good.”

Written by Egon Theiner for European Athletics. Photos courtesy of Egon Theiner and Reventon El Paso.

The curtain has been raised on the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Championships and it was hats off for some of the greats of Mountain Running.

Swiss athlete Maude Mathys won her fourth title in a row in El Paso on the Canary Island of La Palma – that’s a record! And the Italian Cesare Maestri triumphed in the men’s race, while the German Lukas Ehrle and Norwegian Ida Waldal proved unbeatable in the U20 competitions.

“This victory means a lot to me,” Mathys stated after her race. “It shows that I can compete at a very constant high level and that I can compete with younger athletes. It is difficult to stay on top all the time, therefore I’m especially proud of today’s gold medal.”

However, it’s a fact that Mathys was not really thinking of running to a record-breaking fourth Mountain Race title, but more considering of remaining the No. 1 pre- and post-pandemic. “Today, it was like a new beginning, after the interruptions caused by Covid, with a new format of the European Championships,” Mathys said and laughed: “It was very important for me to show that I am still the Queen.”

Her strategy was simple and worked. The Swiss athlete wanted to run with the best women until the middle of the race and then attack and create a gap, before going solo. But the start proved more difficult than anticipated and Mathys had to fight to keep up with Scout Adkin, who later placed fourth. “I had expected it to be easier.” However, her tactics finally paid off and shortly before Kilometre 6, Mathys went all-in for a big gap, achieved it and was able to hold her advantage until the finish line, with Austria’s Andrea Mayr and Christel Dewalle from France coming in second and third, respectively.

Maude Mathys will also take part in Sunday’s Up and Down race to try for another medal (“it is possible and, if so, it will be a bonus. But I have to rest and show my best again”) and also the winner of the Men’s race will be seen again during the Championships.

Cesare Maestri didn’t celebrate his first success today, but the first victory in his career so far on the Canaries. The Italian was European Vice Champion in 2018 and World Vice Champion in 2019, and then came the pandemic. “I thought the virus had stolen my best years,” he said. “But today, I achieved the success I have been waiting for such a long time – my emotions and my happiness are indescribable!”

Maestri didn’t really focus on a strategy as such because he had been dealing with muscle problems in recent days. But he realized in the first kilometre that he felt good and his legs were cooperating. “I knew that it was very fast up to Kilometre 6 of the course and that suited me. Therefore I came with a gap into the last part of the course and had to defend my lead.” And this he did with the style of a champion right up to the finish, which he reached before Dominik Rolli (Switzerland) and Daniel Osanz (Spain).

“I haven’t really begun concentrating on the Up and Down Race as yet because I want to enjoy this moment. I will enter it in a relaxed manner and try to give it my best.”

While the title winners in the elite class were two personalities who were expected to be in the mix, both winners of the U20 races were themselves surprised by their triumphs.

“I didn’t expect to win here,” said Norway’s Ida Waldal. “I approached the race very thoughtfully and got faster and faster the closer I got to the finish. After arriving there, I was really surprised – and happy.“ Germany’s Lukas Ehrle was also finding it hard to take in his success. “It’s my first big international race and I came to La Palma without any real expectations. Now I’m standing here with a gold medal – I simply can’t believe it!”

After the “Uphill”-day, Italy leads the medal table with three Gold (Maestri, Team Senior Men, Team U20 Women), two Silver (Vicari, Team U20 Men) and one Bronze medal (Team Senior Women) in front of Switzerland (1/3/0) and Spain (1/1/4).

Written by Egon Theiner for European Athletics. Photos courtesy of Reventon El Paso.

Full results of all the weekend’s racing can be found here: ETCh-19-2022-LaPalma-ESP.pdf

The name ‘Hahner’ initially makes you think of two strong marathon runners who competed for Germany at the 2016 Olympic Games. 

However, when doing so you overlook the fact the twin sisters Anna and Lisa have quite a successful past in cross country running. And that the present and future for one of them is out there on trails. 

Anna Hahner, who has a lifetime best of 2:26:44 in the marathon, will be one of the most familiar names in action at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso on the Canary Islands from 1-3 July when she will contest the trail race over a distance of 47 kilometres.

“The reason I’ve dedicated myself more and more to trails has a lot to do with the fact I’m still enthusiastic about running, but my ambition for street racing isn’t what it used to be. If you want to run with the best, you need ultimate commitment and must be able to push yourself to the limit in training,” said Hahner. 

When her equipment provider approached her and asked whether she’d like to be part of the “Everesting” attempt by her fellow German Janosch Kowalczyk as a guest runner, the 32-year-old top athlete happily agreed. 

She accompanied him part of the way on his endeavour to run 8,848 meters in altitude in one single day. “I was overwhelmed and elated,” says Hahner. “It felt so right to run up and down through nature, although I didn’t even intend to get into trail running.” 

That was pretty much exactly one year ago.  

One thing led to another as the equipment company also has a line of running shoes for this terrain. Hahner, who is a successful and experienced street runner and coach of others, found herself in the role of student and has been taken under the wing of Marcel Höche who has introduced her to the peculiarities and specifics of trail running. 

“Luckily, I didn’t find it difficult to use a different type of running technique, and most of the transition was straightforward,” says Hahner. “Somehow, it was like when I started running, and I entered a new world with my eyes wide open, trained with others and copied them. Marcel showed me how much fun running downhill can be and what it’s like to run proactively and basically switch off your brain. Meanwhile, I can trust my body to find the right way down a mountain.” 

Running downhill is one of her strengths. It gives Hahner confidence to know that she can fly downhill without fear after a climb and be able to keep up with others. This might come as a surprise for someone who was – and will still be – running mainly on flat and technically undemanding surfaces. 

What struck the rookie trail runner though, was the equipment that comes with trails. “There you are at a race, studying the list of mandatory equipment – such as running clothes that cover your entire body in case of sudden weather changes – and you naively ask: ‘We don’t need to carry this with us today, do we?’ And the answer is: ‘Ummh, yes you do!’ 

“Moreover, the food and drink situation is different to city marathons, where you usually have a drink station every five kilometers. On trails, there might be a station marked at kilometer 11, but in reality it could be at 10.5 or 11.8 or 13 kilometers.” 

Hahner remembers that she once had to fill up her flasks with water from a stream because she skipped a supply station and had underestimated the distance with all the vertical meters. 

That there is competition between her and other athletes is clear: once the starting signal is given, the competitor in her comes out. 

And still, trail running is so much more than that. Being at one with nature, managing unpredictable situations that don’t exist in street racing, correctly assessing uphill and downhill and your own strengths and limits. “How technical, how steep is a section?” Hahner asks herself and she knows she will have to make on the spot decisions during the race. 

It’s something she does well: she won the Chiemgau trail at the beginning of April and the Rennsteig Marathon in mid-May. These performances helped Hahner to gain nomination for El Paso. “I’m honoured and proud to be able to wear my country’s colours,” she said.  

The German star runner is not only looking forward to the competitions on the Canary Islands, but also the interaction with others with the mass participation element a strong component of these championships.

“In street racing, there are defined areas for specific groups while trail runners are one community. We all sit at the same tables, regardless of our times or places because it’s not primarily about competing against anyone but overcoming the distance and its difficulties,” she said.

Hahner thinks the European Off-Road Running Championships are a stroke of genius “because mountain running and trail running come together, because such an event is not only relevant for the media but also for the running community meeting there.” 

Where is her personal benchmark in El Paso? “My goal is to run happily and with ease, get the best out of my body and accept the result I achieve with grace.”  

Her focus for this and next year is on trails. “That doesn’t mean that I won’t be running any street races anymore. But I’ve learned to listen to my inner voice and it tells me: see what else you can achieve in trail running,” she said. 

The European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships will be streamed live through the European Athletics website in its entirety from 1-3 July.

Egon Theiner for European Athletics

Photo by Getty Images

All eyes will be on the Italian Martin Dematteis during the trail race as the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Championships take place in El Paso in the Canary Islands, Spain from 1-3 July. 

The same eyes will be looking in vain for his twin brother Bernard, who is currently out-of-form due to injury and not part of the squadra azzurra.

“When I talk about my sporting life, I automatically start talking about his, too,” says Martin. That’s logical: both were born on 24 May 1986 and brought up in Rore di Sampeyre, around 1000 metres above sea level in the Italian Province of Cuneo, where the Alps unite and separate Italy and France. 

While all the other children chased a ball, the Dematteis brothers ran. When they got more interested, a trainer told them that they had runners’ DNA and it would be better for them to cultivate this. And so, their path was already set before the new Millennium started. They ran everything they could by the time they were 13: along roads, up mountains, through forests and across meadows.      

“We never thought we would be so successful,” says Martin, taking a look back in time. As a matter of fact, it rained titles and medals at national, continental and world level, in the individual as well as in team events. 

There was one very special moment at the European Mountain Running Championships 2016 in Arco, when the Dematteis brothers approached the finishing line hand-in-hand after 12.3 kilometres of running with the thought of being ex aequo winners. The time scoring denied them double-gold. Martin won one second in front of his twin. “It was an extraordinary moment,” said the former world champion with pride.      

It will be exactly six years to the day of this race on 2 July in El Paso. The northern Italian will compete in the Trail Race in the Canary Islands, over a distance of 47 kilometres that is new and relatively uncharted for him. 

“Before the pandemic, I used to run the classical, somewhat shorter mountain races. Then, my training runs started getting longer as I am coming toward the end of my career, and want to run 30, 40 and 50 kilometers. 

“I wanted to qualify for the European Off Road Running Championships this year; I won the Italian Championship equivalent and became part of the team. I’m still a bit nervous because it is a new challenge, but I’ll bring all my courage and determination with me to the starting line.”

Is this because there’s pressure to win a medal? 

“Sure, I set myself goals and there is a certain pressure. I’m not really worried about my opponents, more about the distance, as I am relatively inexperienced at it. Will I be able to manage the race and my strength well enough? And as for the medals: Italy cannot leave the Canary Islands empty-handed!”

The fact that Francesco Puppi broke his elbow in the second half of June and subsequently dropped out of the championships has been a hard blow for Team Italia. Puppi was second at the 2019 World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge in Patagonia and only beaten by Jim Whamsley from the United States.    

Results are always at the forefront of title races but Dematteis hasn’t forgotten why he started running. “Mountain runs mean everything to me. Yes, I also train on asphalt and can run a marathon in 2:17, but I’m only really myself in the mountains on the ridges with the summits in my sights. That’s when I feel like a fox or an ibex or an eagle. Then, I am happy and free!”

It’s this search for pure emotion that drives Dematteis. “Humans are part of nature, it’s part of who we are to maintain this. Thus, running on trails brings together what goes together. It’s not about speed or victories or defeats. It’s about discovering your true self and your true vocation in life in a natural environment. Or rediscovering it.”

And so to the Canary Islands. La Palma. El Paso. The nature here is stunning. Running is an experience. Martin Dematteis also knows that the island group is not really around the corner and that the ecological footprint left by these championships is not exactly small. 

“But many participants are traveling in a small number of planes and that’s acceptable,” he believes. “There is for and against just like in every other situation. While I also try to live as sustainably and climate-friendly as possible as I can at home, I still create pollution – solely through the fact that I drive my car. It would be a good idea to find future venues that can be reached using environmentally friendly transport.”

The Italian superstar is extremely positive about the new event format. “This is how it should be! Up, trail, up and down – I’m really pleased it’s all in one place, all within the framework of one event. We can celebrate a mountain and trail festival in El Paso and highlights like this will spur sponsor interest in our sport and maybe even make it into the Olympics. Not everyone will see it that way, but for me it would be the non plus ultra!”     

Maybe Martin Dematteis might extend his career for a participation at the Olympic Games? Who knows. He himself remains uncertain whether he might one day consider the Ultra Trail. “100 or more kilometers are a completely different category to 40 or 60 kilometres. I’m not saying never. But I’m also not saying yes right now.”    

Written by Egon Theiner for European Athletics

 Photos by Alexis Courthoud and Marco Gulberti for Corsa in Montagna.

Maude Mathys is an off road running superstar and she is eyeing what would be a record-breaking fourth successive title in the mountain running events at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso, Spain from 1-3 July. 

The European Off-Road Running Championships is a new addition to the calendar, combining the disciplines of trail and mountain running. Mathys has won three successive titles at the European Mountain Running Championships and a fourth title would put her in rarefied company.

Mathys is someone who might be considered to be the complete runner. The Swiss star can run the marathon in under two-and-a-half hours and was recently crowned national champion at this distance in Zurich. Yet there are reasons why she will not be competing at the European Athletics Championships in Munich in August – and these can be found in the great outdoors. 

Although Mathys has set her sights on competing in the Olympic Games marathon in Paris in 2024 as one of her long-term career goals – as well as participating in the ski mountaineering event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina two years later – this year her focus is clearly on trails.  

Her love of this type of running is nothing new for the 35-year-old from Ollon in the Canton of Waad who excels both on the trails and in the mountain running disciplines. 

“I began doing this half a lifetime ago,” said Mathys, who got into the sport by running through meadows and forests with her then-future husband. 

“I wanted to keep up with him and wanted to get into running as a sport. I tried out almost all athletics disciplines in my youth – but I found stamina sports the most exciting and I specialised in them.”  

And with great success as well. Mathys has trained – and trained hard – and has achieved the targets on her training plan which have been put together by her coach Mael Bohren since last year. 

Her training programme is rigorous but Mathys follows it diligently. Sixty minutes of running means 60 minutes and not 58 minutes. And Maude Mathys would do another extra lap to reach the required time target.  

“I love running outside and in the woods and I love that I keep discovering new places, wherever I am. I find all my favorite things in trail running. Running is such an easy sport. You just need shoes, pants and shirt and nothing more,” she said. 

The fact that a backpack, water bottles, poles and head lamp are equipment needed – sometimes – in trail running is something the three-time European champion only partially accepts. “I prefer being out for two or three hours at a time and so I don’t carry much equipment. And by the time I’m thirsty, I’m already back home,” she said.

Mathys has established a long and lucrative career with many more chapters likely to be written.

She has won the European Mountain Running Championships three times as well as the prestigious and lung-busting Sierre-Zinal race in Wallis, Switzerland three times, a race that is 31 kilometre, ranges over 2200 vertical metres and whose course passes five 4000-metre high mountains. The course record for women is 2:46:03 (unofficial), and (official) 2:49:20 both of which were set by Mathys.

“Distances between 20 and 40 kilometers suit me best, as I can play on all my strengths,” she said.

Trail running has come a long way in recent years, has found acceptance and has also inspired more and more runners, says Mathys. 

“This is great, as the more people who move, the healthier our society is. And trail running fits perfectly into the prevailing sentiment in terms of sustainability, climate protection and future thinking. 

“But there is another side to this: the greater the number of people in the mountains, the more trash that’s found there and then taking a plane to run in another country also leaves an ecological footprint,” said Mathys.

Mathys is conscious that people’s intentions and actions are not in unison and educational work is needed. “For my part, I try to be careful with resources and live green. When I travel, it’s not only because running is my passion, but also because it’s part of my job. And I almost always use my bike or train for my daily trips,” she said.

Mathys will complete a special puzzle in El Paso on the Canary Island of La Palma. “I know all the parts of this island group, bar one,” she said. “And I am pleased I will be in La Palma in a few weeks to run for a European Championship medal.” 

Her programme includes the uphill mountain race and maybe also the up-and-down mountain race, although this is subject to change. “I am currently somewhat injured as tendinitis and my Achilles are giving me problems and my training is suffering as a result. But I am going to enter to win and get medals. I think this new format of holding three disciplines in one place will be very successful and I really like it!”    

The Swiss athlete has won the Golden Trail Series, which was established by one of her equipment suppliers. “It was a dream to win this competition. It was an important goal for me and I achieved it.” 

Although Mathys treasured these races and the attention they generated in the media, she says this is not where reputations are built.

“Title contests are more important,” she said. “At the European Championships, you race for a place in the statistics books and for medals. No other race has the same meaning as a European or World Championship.”  

Unsurprisingly, the Mountain Running and Trail Running World Championships in Thailand in November are another goal for Mathys. But while she might be looking beyond the European Championships in El Paso, this championship will be the next major target for the amiable athlete. 

She has one final tip for anyone wanting to begin trail running: “Don’t just train in your running shoes, but also in your swimming gear and on your bike. Do strength and core training. Become the most complete athlete possible and trails will be real fun.”

The European Off-Road Running Championships will be streamed live through the European Athletics YouTube channel from 1-3 July.

Written by Egon Theiner for European Athletics

Photos by Alexis Courthoud and Marco Gulberti, for Corsa in Montagna.

18 nationalities will compete in the European Master Mountain and Trail Running Championship taking place at Euro Trail de la Féclaz from July 8^th to 10^th.

In less than 2 weeks, the European Masters Championships – event co-organized by the MaXi-Team association, the FFA (French Athletics Association), and the EMA (European Masters Athletics) – will take place in Savoie Grand Revard. The event offers 2 separate races for which the tracks are identical for both men and women. Registration for both races is closed since June 15^th.

The Uphill (Mountain-Running) race—Friday, July 8^th 2022

10km and an elevation gain of 800 meters! The essentially uphill track offers a substantial elevation gain compared to the total race distance. The 323 registered competitors will start and finish the race near la Féclaz. (The race start is located in the town centre (Les Déserts) and the finish line is at the top of the Sire ski lift.)

The Trail race—Saturday, July 9^th

467 athletes will compete in this race. Its track – 38km and 2100 meter elevation gain – offers both uphill and downhill segments and a race start and finish in the centre of La Féclaz. In order to ensure entertainment throughout the day, the track loops 2 times through the centre town.

Competitors from all of Europe

Athletes from almost the whole of Europe* – no less than 18 countries – will participate in what is sure to be a riveting event.

Stéphane Ricard, the athlete from the area around Gap, frequently on international podiums and three-time World Champion in snowshoeing racing, will participate in the event in the M35 category. Amongst others, he’ll be racing Adrien Michaud, bronze medalist at the 2018 Trail World Championships who also just recently proved he was in shape by finishing 19th in the Zegama scratch race results.

On the women’s side, Christelle Dewalle, who has shown what she is capable of at numerous trail running and mountain running French Championships, will be the favourite in the W35 category.

*Number of athletes competing per country:

547 France, 5 Austria, 7 Belgium, 5 Denmark, 26 Spain, 1 Finland, 18 Great Britain, 1 Ireland, 46 Italy, 4 Czech Republic, 27 Germany, 14 Romania, 1 Holland, 4 Poland, 2 Portugal, 1 Slovenia, 1 Sweden, 13 Switzerland

Race rankings and titles for the Euro Trail in La Féclaz

True to the federal world in which we are, there will be no scratch race results. Rankings, podiums and champions will be announced per category* for men, women, individual and team races.

* Race podiums and categories:
M35 : for those born between 09.07.1982 and 08.07.1987
M40 : for those born between 09.07.1977 and 08.07.1982
M45 : for those born between 09.07.1972 and 08.07.1977
M50 : for those born between 09.07.1967 and 08.07.1972
M55 : for those born between 09.07.1962 and 08.07.1967
M60 : for those born between 09.07.1957 and 08.07.1962
M65 : for those born between 09.07.1952 and 08.07.1957
M70 : for those born between 09.07.1947 and 08.07.1952
M75 : for those born between 09.07.1942 and 08.07.1947

Event program
The whole event will take place in la Féclaz – Station Savoie Grand Revard – Savoie

Thursday, July 7^th

• 1 pm – 7 pm: Uphill race bib pickup – Gymnasium in La Féclaz

Friday, July 8^th

• 8:30 am: Technical Meeting for the Uphill mountain running race – Gymnasium in La Féclaz
• 10:30 am: Opening ceremony for the European Masters Off Road Championships – Town centre
• 10 am – 7 pm: Trail race bib pickup – Gymnasium in La Féclaz
• 2 pm: Mountain-Running (Uphill) European Championships – Les Deserts
• 5 pm: Award ceremony for the Uphill – Town centre
• 7 pm: Technical Meeting pour the Trail race – Gymnasium in La Féclaz

Saturday, July 9^th

• 8 am: Start of the European Masters Trail Championships – Town centre
• 5 pm: Award ceremony – Town centre
• 7 pm: Closing ceremony – Town centre

Sunday, July 10^th

• 7 am: Start of the races if weather conditions call for a deferment

For more information on the event: https://www.euro-trail-feclaz.fr/en/home-page/

For press info and pictures free of copyright: https://www.euro-trail-feclaz.fr/en/media/

Contacts:

• Event manager: Stéphane AGNOLI, president of the MaXi-Team Association –
  Phone: +33 (0)6.60.18.38.15 – [email protected]
• PR: Laurent GASSNER – Phone +33 (0)6.58.34.15.04 – [email protected]