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MARATHON DU MONT BLANC: GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES MAUDE MATHYS AND STIAN ARGEMUND REPEAT VICTORIES.
MARATHON DU MONT BLANC: GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES MAUDE MATHYS AND STIAN ARGEMUND REPEAT VICTORIES. The second GTWS race of the 2021has been successfully cellebrated in Chamonix this weekend. Today our GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES bring us the Marathon du Mont Blanc.
After a year’s hiatus, we saw the great return to the trail-running Mecca, Chamonix, for the eagerly awaited second stage in the Golden Trail World Series, and a stage in the Golden Trail National Series – the legendary Marathon du Mont Blanc. IN the below video you can see the start of yesterday’s race.
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MARATHON MONT BLANC 2021: THE RACE
The high white clouds danced across the tops of the Chamonix valley’s glaciers on this Sunday morning in July, giving way to blue skies and a fresh morning air. This was godsend for the 1,600 runners who prepared to set off from Chamonix for a completely new Mont-Blanc Marathon course route, modified to comply with the restrictions imposed due to the health crisis. Just 4km shorter at 38km for a substantial vertical elevation of over 2,600 meters, welcome to the French Alpine rollercoaster!
MAUDE MATHYS WINNER MARATHON DU MONT BLANC 2021
In the women’s field too, Maude Mathys (Switzerland, Team Salomon) reproduced the same race pattern as the first stage. Very quickly, the Swiss widened the gap with her rivals to whom she left no chance. “I still had a hard time finding a good rhythm,” she said at the finish. My quads were tight as hell, I couldn’t spring forward, and I was too rigid on the downhill. I knew Anaïs was strong. Then there’s the big climb and it was my chance to get ahead and create a gap. In the downhill I didn’t take any risks and then, in the last hour, I felt better and was able to roll out the pace. It was still not the same sensations I had in Spain, there I was flying. Here, I opened up my lead, but I wasn’t serene.”
Yet, at the finish line, Maude Mathys was over 9 minutes ahead of second place Anaïs Sabrié (France, Team Matryx). “I’m just so grateful to everyone, the public, the runners, the organizers and the marmots! I felt I had good legs today, so this is a great result. I still have a few points to improve on in the downhill, but it was a really great race, and the course route was amazing! For me, this is my ultimate dream race in the Alps!”
Blandine L’Hirondel (France, Team Hoka One One) completed the women’s podium, despite a badly twisted ankle. “At km 15, I sprained my ankle again… I have a serious problem with this ankle. I was on the verge of giving up. In Vallorcine I stopped and wondered if I was going to carry on or not. But I like the sport too much. So, I just hung in there and carried on. I really didn’t expect to be third. I don’t know what I’m going to do next, I’ll start by treating this ankle first and then we’ll see.”
WOMEN’S RESULTS
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (CHE – SALOMON): 03:51:04 (+100 pts)
2 – ANAÏS SABRIÉ (FRA – MATRYX): 04:00:17(+ 88 pts)
3 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FRA – HOKA ONE ONE): (+ 78 pts)
4 – DANIELA OEMUS (GER): 04:13:34 (+72 pts)
5 – MARCELA VASINOVA (CZE – SALOMON): 04:14:46 (+68 pts)
STIAN ANGERMUND WINNER MARATHON DU MONT BLANC 2021
He had already proved his point at the first round of this GTWS 2021 in Spain, Stian Angermund (Norway, Team Salomon) did it once again on the Alpine trails. Holding back in the first part of the race, the Norwegian knew how to bide his time to release his fireworks and pick off his pursuers, one by one. “At first I felt I was struggling… Maybe I had eaten too much at the beginning,” he explains. “I hung in there and I was running with Bart, Davide and Carlos. Then at the top, I went over the other side with Davide but then Bart powered down the descent to Vallorcine. Luckily, I managed to keep up with him even though he made a gap. Fortunately, in Vallorcine I caught up with him and he told me that his legs weren’t great! So, I put some pressure on the climb to create a gap. I was never really relaxed, I was really afraid that Bart, Davide, or even someone else would catch me up before the finish. But from La Flégère I really had fun, and I really enjoy this section, which is super pretty and fun to run!“
At the finish line, he won with more than 2 minutes ahead of runner-up Davide Magnini (Italy, Team Salomon). “I didn’t have good legs today, they were so sore in the second part of the race. I was like “OK, don’t think about it and try to keep running as hard as possible.” Then I started to have stomach problems and I couldn’t really drink anymore. It’s annoying these digestion concerns… I’m a little disappointed that I couldn’t fight with all my weapons but I’m pretty happy with my race anyway!“
Bartlomiej Przedwojewski (Poland, Team Salomon) completed the podium. The Pole used his power on the downhills to secure a sufficient lead to secure the third-place spot. “I know that my strong point is in the downhills,” he tells us. “But considering the level of the other guys, I had to push it even harder than usual and take risks to try to create enough lead on the downhill. But it was a great race for me, I felt really good during the race. In the last part Stian and Davide were really better than me… I tried to catch up with them, but it was impossible. “
MEN’S RESULT
1 – STIAN ANGERMUND (NOR – SALOMON): 03:18:08 (+100 pts)
2 – DAVIDE MAGNINI (ITA – SALOMON): 03:20:10 (+88 pts)
3 – BARTLOMIEJ PRZEDWOJEWSKI (POL – SALOMON): 03:23:23 (+78 pts)
4 – RÉMI BONNET (CHE – SALOMON): 03:27 :14 (+72 pts)
5 – FRANCESCO PUPPI (ITA – NIKE TRAIL): 03:28:18 (+68 pts)
Check the full RESULTS HERE
See you in Canazei, Italy, in 2 weeks’ time on 18th July for the 3rd stage of the Golden Trail World Series for the Dolomyths Run – The Corridor to Hell!
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