Andrew Symonds and Tom Owens win inaugural stage / Well known faces leading all other race categories

Andrew Symonds and Tom Owens, first-timers at the GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run, simply ran at breakneck speed and handily claimed victory on the first day of the 8-day stage race. The two Scottish racers of  ‘Saab Salomon Outdoor Team’ mustn’t have wasted much time on the trails today as they covered the distance of 35,03 km and a breathtaking vertical ascent of 2,543 m in just 03:35:09.3 hours. Their closest pursuers, Thomas Geisenberger and Michael Veit of ‘Team Dr. Steinbauer’ had to hand them a lead of nearly one quarter of an hour (03:49:56.0). The third-ranking team ‘BLT Laufsport Saukel Haglöfs Men’ was close on their respective heels though arriving less than two minutes later in a time of 03:51:40.0 hours.

It is very likely that the two Scots who dominated today’s stage will continue to pose a formidable challenge for the other teams. After all, the two pro runners placed second in Men’s category in last year’s famed TransRockies Run. The significant lead Symonds and Owens banked today still came as a bit of a surprise to them, given that they took time to take in the scenery, opting to walk off and on. Twenty-seven year-old Owens pointed out today’s strategy: ‘We took it easy on the uphill sections and relaxed on the descents’. Their pace was still stiff enough to shake off the posse behind them by the time they reached the Fidere Pass (2.210 m), the highest elevation on today’s stage. Owens added that ‘one by one, the other teams dropped the pace and by the time we got to the top they were out of our sight. The technical sections that followed were to our advantage since we tend to excel on these’. The running duo certainly didn’t show any signs of fatigue after today’s muddy and slippery – stage.

Second- to fifth-placing teams arrive within five minutes of one another

There were other teams to which a podium ranking came as a bit of a surprise today. Michael Veit of ‘Team Dr. Steinbauer’ clearly was happy with today’s performance but ‘would have never guessed they’d claim second place. We assumed that with a bit of luck we’d arrive among the top-ten teams’. The team running to third place were equally satisfied with how the race developed, especially since last year’s masters champion, Christian ‘Stork, experienced some difficulties along the way. ‘It didn’t look particularly good at one point. But Matthias (Dippacher) took good care of me and was able to pull me along’.  

Defending champions of the Master’s category right on track
Stork’s former teammate Dr. Thomas Miksch, who is starting among the Master’s this year, ran a fabulous stage today. The defending champion of his category spent only 03:55:57.9 on the trail with his new running partner Anton Philip – a formidable lead of almost 17 minutes on their closest pursuers that landed them comfortably on top of the podium today.

Spaniards Oscar Perez Lopez and Eladio Lantada Zarzosa (Team Elyos, 04:12:56.6) claimed second place with Steffen Walk and Bernhard Endras from German team ‘Salomon/Sport Reischmann’ in third (4:23:19.7) – a great position to launch an attack from tomorrow.

Runners from Great Britain display dominance in the Mixed Category
 ‘Saab Salomon Outdoor’ celebrated a second convincing victory on today’s first stage from Oberstdorf, Germany to Lech, Austria. Angela Mudge and Ben Bardsley (GBR) arrived at the finish line in Lech / Arlberg after 04:05:57.9 hours, a time that placed them seventh in the overall ranking. The team could have bested their already strong performance if only Bardsley’s feet had held up better. The 37-year–old developed blisters on account of orthopedic inserts, which he donned halfway through the stage. He still managed in his own words ‘to enjoy the stage’.

The Swiss-Austrian duo Gaby Steigmeier und Seppi Neuhauser of ‘Team Salomon’ ran a less punishing pace. They arrived over 17 minutes after the victorious Brits in sunny community Lech, a first-time host of the GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run. Regulars at the annual race by now, the two decided to take it easy on the first stage rather than chance too much early on. Third in place were Iona Robertson and Casey Morgan of the British ‘Team TPC Freight Management’ (4:30:46.9 hours).

Many well-known faces on the Women’s podium
Irene Senfter has returned to the 5th GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run and she’s clearly psyched to be back. The champion of 2006 and 2007 and her new running partner of ‘Team Latsch’ Petra Theiner set out on a blistering pace, which won them first place with a time of 04:58:49.5 hours. The two German-speaking Italians had runner-ups Julia Böttger and Iris Leistner of ‘Team Salomon-Auszeit’ on their heels but proved unable to reduce the victors’ three-minute-plus lead any more (05:02:34.1).

Theiner admitted to a small blunder that could have turned things for the worse late in the stage. ‘We knew this stage was going to be a tough one, especially because of all the mud. Towards the very end, I almost fell into a creek’. Third on the Women’s podium were Martina Pfeifhofer and Elisabeth Egarter of the Italian ‘Team Sexten Salomon’ (05:04:54.6) who had placed second in last year’s GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run.

Preview of Stage 2 from Lech / Arlberg, to St. Anton / Arlberg, Austria:
Compared to today’s first stage the race participants should find some relief on tomorrow’s trails with just 2,014 m vertical to be tackled. While two thirds of the stage follow a new course, the last bit will make use of trails that the GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run already covered in 2007. While the stage will seem like a relatively short jaunt of just 24,63 km distance, two-thirds of the day will be in the high alpine above 2,000m in elevation. Several trail less stretches and many trail sections should stretch out the field a bit more. A running highlight undoubtedly will be the Valluga Arête (2,750 m), the fourth highest elevation to take this year.

Photo credit © GORE-TEX® Transalpine-Run – Peter Musch