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TRANSGRANCANARIA 2022 PREVIEW: FAVOURITES PAU CAPELL, HAYDEN HAWKES, PAU CAPELL, RAGNA DEBATS AND KAYTLYN GERBIN
TRANSGRANCANARIA 2022 PREVIEW: FAVOURITES HAYDEN HAWKES, PAU CAPELL, RAGNA DEBATS AND KAYTLYN GERBIN. Our TRANSGRANCANARIA section bring us the preview of the 20th edition of the Gran Canaria iconic race that will be held on 4-6 March. Check LIVE interviews here
More than 60 international elite runners will meet in this edition in the Spanish island, which will mainly concentrate in the TGC Classic 126 Km queen event. In addition, 15k-26k-43k-63k races and a new Vertical Kilometer will be held from 4th March.
TRANSGRANCANARIA 2022 PREVIEW:
FAVOURITES HAYDEN HAWKES, PAU CAPELL,
RAGNA DEBATS AND KAYTLYN GERBIN
GRAN CANARIA, PIONEERING ULTRA TRAIL PLAY GROUND
The ultra trail on the island of Gran Canaria celebrates 20 years in this edition. A good time, to stop and think about what this special island has between the Canary Islands to be inspiration and cradle of mountain races in the region first. And to have been consolidated today as a world reference, where you can enjoy its mountain trails all year round.
The island of Gran Canaria has a circular shape, hence it is affectionately nicknamed “the round island”. It has approximate dimensions of 46 km in diameter and rests on an ocean floor at a depth of 4,000 m. Its maximum altitude is the Morro de la Agujerada, with 1,956 m, located in the center of the island, and is influenced by a deep network of ravines in radial arrangement.
Gran Canaria is an island in which the relief presents more features of erosive modeling than volcanic, although there is no type of volcanic activity currently. The highest village on the island is Artenara, home to another veteran ARTENARA TRAIL mountain race and great viewpoint over the heart of the island.
The Roque Nublo is perhaps the great icon for mountain runners on the island, despite not being the roof of it. At the time it was a stratovolcano of about 3,500 m high emerged in the center of the island on the central paleorelies of Miocene volcanism.
Roque Nublo. Photo: @hekrucaGRAN CANARIA, VOLCANIC ORIGIN TODAY INACTIVE
The most recent volcanic cycle corresponds to the last eruptions on the island before the conquest of the archipelago in the fifteenth century. They are located spatially in the NE half of the island, forming clusters of Strombolian cones.
The youngest dating obtained corresponds to the Montañón Negro volcano (5km north of Tejeda), dated at 3,075 years. It should be noted in the SE half of La Isleta an eruptive fissure of 2.5 km in length, with an N300E direction, which continues through the sea, as an incipient rift axis.
In short, once we know its volcanic origin and landmarks such as pico de las Nieves and Roque Nublo, keys in the history of Trans, let’s go now with the new for this 2022 and the favorites.
TRANSGRANCANARIA 2022 PREVIEW: THE RACES
As a prologue, the new K.Vertical will open fire at 4pm on 3MAR. The queen test of 126 kilometers will leave at 23h of the 4MAR. You will cross the whole island as always from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Maspalomas. In addition, the next day there will be races of 15k-26k-43k-63k.
The team from http://www.carrerasdemontana.com and http://www.trailrunningspain.com will bring you as always since 2009 the races of the round island live.
As it could not be otherwise, this year also the Transgrancanaria monopolizes the attention inside and outside our country. One of the pioneering races of trail running returns this March from the hand of great legends who will meet on our island to compete again. Some will fight to get on the podium, others will seek to revalidate titles and some will simply measure forces with themselves.
The race that is part of the Spartan Trail World Championship one more year, will surprise its participants in a special edition due to its twentieth anniversary. Mountain lovers will be able to enjoy a spectacular route, with new modifications in order to offer a different experience to athletes
The queen race of the Transgrancanaria 2022 promises an unique route through the most emblematic trails of the island of Gran Canaria. Passing among others, through the Roque Nublo and ending in the South Park of Maspalomas with an event in style that will have live music and during which the trophy ceremony will also be held.
TGC CLASSIC 125,9 km | 6919M+ | START 4th MARCH 2022, 23:00 H.
TGC ADVANCED 61,5KM | 2765M+ | START MARCH 5th 2022. 09:00H
TGC MARATHON 42,9KM | 1355M+ | START 5th MARCH 2022. 09:30H
TGC STARTER 26KM | 562M+ | START 5th MARCH 2022. 08:30 H
TGC PROMO, YOUTH & FAMILY 14,4KM |238M+ | START 5th MARCH 2022. 08:00 H
TRANSGRANCANARIA 2022: TGC CLASSIC FAVORITES |125,9 km | 6919M+|
WOMEN
The absence due to injury of Azara García two-time champion of the Classic, will be noticed this year in the Transgrancanaria, although the level will continue to be very high in the women’s event.
The American Kaytlyn Gerbin returns to the island, already a legend of the race, since in her two participations she has got a victory (2020) and a second place (2019). The Seattle runner will have as one of the main competitors the Dutch Ragna Debats, considered one of the best ultra runners on the international scene and world champion in 2018, and who last year had to retire in El Garañón when she was fighting for the top positions of the Classic.
The Catalan athlete Claudia Tremps, runner-up in 2021 and one of the strongest promises of ultradistance, repeats for the third consecutive year in the Classic and will surely be one of the great cheerleaders of the women’s event.
The presence of the American Abby Hall, current runner-up of the CCC, and the premiere of the Swiss Kathrin Gotz – champion of Lavaredo Ultra-Trail, Eiger Ultra-Trail and podium in the TDS – will be some of the highlights of this Transgrancanaria HG 2022.
Completing the list of favorites of this Classic are the Slovenian Martina Potrc, the French Lucie Jamsin and Claire Bannwarth, the Hungarian Eszter Csillag and Ildiko Wermescher, the New Zealander Sophie Grant, the German Shari Wilken, the American Amy Sproston and the Canary Islands Yasmina Castro and Sandra Moreno.
After his absence in the Transgrancanaria HG 2021, the four-time Champion of the Classic, Pau Capell, returns with force. His sacral injury last year kept him away from the competition. Therefore, this year he returns to the fight to try to get his fifth victory and reaffirm, once again, that he is one of the greatest.
In search of the highest position on the podium of the Classic will also be Pablo Villa. The Leonese rider, who shared an epic triumph with Capell in 2020, wants to return to the Transgrancanaria wanting to give his maximum after having suffered an injury during last year’s race and not being able to finish it.
From the United States comes a large representation of elite athletes willing to conquer the Classic for the first time. Two of them, Hayden Hawks and Jared Hazen, return to the Transgrancanaria after offering a great show in 2019 and 2020, respectively, editions in which they retired after battling the podium positions.
In addition, other top-level athlete such as Jimmy Elam are added, who will debut on the island and raise the competitive level of the event.
Another illustrious debut in the Classic will be that of the Japanese Ruy Ueda, one of the best runners of the Asian continent, who will face the 126-kilometer race starting in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The Japanese will be a great candidate for the podium along with the current runner-up, Pere Aurell, the Romanians Ionel Cristian Manole and Robert Hajnal, the 2016 champion Didrik Hermansen, the Swiss Jonas Russi, the Argentine Gabriel Rueda, the Italian Francesco Cucco, the French Baptiste Chassagne or the Portuguese Luis Fernandes.
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