THE GOLDEN TRAIL CHAMPIONSHIP

Posted by Héctor Rubio on October 16, 2020 in trail running spain | 5 Comments

The Golden Trail Championship will be held at the Azores Trail Run®️ in the beautiful Portuguese island from 28/10 to 01/11.

Like every year since 2018, Salomon has worked very hard, specially this year, to organize an event that will reunite the best trailrunners of the world in such a pintoresque scenary.

Both, the organization of Azores Trail Run and Salomon have worked to ensure the cellebration of the event and maintein the health and safty of all participants, as they mention in the website of the event “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.”

During the last year the Golden Races and Segments have seen more than 110 winners in the different competitions held around the globe, from whom more than 80 of them will be present in the Portuguse Island, together with another 166 amateur runners and professionals who entered the race via the lotery process.

Very interesting from the organization this “COVID year”, has been the posibility of running Strava Segments and winning a place in the Championships.

GOLDEN TRAIL CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN’S RACE

The womens race will have some of the top names like Maude Mathys (Salomon), Sierre-Zinal and Pikes Peak record holder, Ruth Croft (Scott), winner 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 Ainhoa Sanz, who won the Trail Cap de Creus, is unfortunately injured.

MEN’S RACE

The mens race starts with the last minute confirmation of Jim Walmsley and includes many other topc athletes like 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 RACE

The Golden Trail Championship will take place in the Azores from with a 4-day stage race organized by Azores Trail Run®️. In total the athletes will have to run 126 km +6228 in 4 stages.

Every stage will have awards distributed:

• Stage Winner
• Stage Best climber : on only one specific climb
• Stage Best downhiller: on only one specific downhill
• Stage Best sprinter : between 1 and 2km per stage anywhere on the course 

THE STAGES

STAGE 1: 26KM + 1,069 m/ – 1,098 m
STAGE 2: 32 KM + 1.343 m/ – 1.310 m
STAGE 3: 32 KM + 2,363 m/ – 1,137m
STAGE4: 36KM + 1,453 m/ 1,518 m

There will be also an overall ranking at the endo of the 4 days and the Golden Trail Champion will be the one with less cumulated time of all the stages.

There will also be awards distributed per stage (daily)

• Stage Winner
• Stage Best climber : on only one specific climb
• Stage Best downhiller: on only one specific downhill
• Stage Best sprinter : between 1 and 2km per stage anywhere on the course 

There will also be awards distributed per speciality

• GT Climber Champions : cumulated time of all the stages’ uphill climbs
• GT Downhiller Champions : cumulated time of all the stages’ downhills
• GT Sprinter Champions : cumulated time of all the stages of the sprint sections 

PRIZES

In total 100.000 € will be given in money prizes

Photos: Martina Valmassoi

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Info by Héctor Rubio @hekruca for Trailrunningspain #azoresmayayo