Muthoni achieves Canfranc-Canfranc double

Kenya’s Joyce Muthoni Njeru won the women’s 16km classic mountain race to complete a Canfranc-Canfranc double after her vertical uphill victory, while Morocco’s Adil Moussaoui won an exciting men’s 16km contest at the Valsir Mountain Running World Cup event on Sunday (10).

Muthoni won the vertical uphill on Friday and after a storm on Saturday the conditions for the 16km were clear again, but the rain had left parts of the route very slippery. Much of the route is on very rugged terrain and the 1600m of ascent makes it a challenging course. Starting from just above 1000m, the runners began with a short, flat section before starting the steep climb up to La Moleta (2572m) at the 5.8km point. Then began the long but technical descent all the way down to the finish.  

In what is becoming a familiar sight in this year’s World Cup, Muthoni went out hard right from the start in the women’s race. Her compatriot Lucy Murigi led the chase, with Camilla Magliano staying in contact just behind her.

By the highest point in the race at La Moleta, it was clear just how much Muthoni had stamped her authority on the rest of the field. She hit the summit in 1:09:14, with Murigi five minutes behind. At this point, Magliano was 90 seconds behind Murigi, so the race for second and third was still very much alive, even if the victory seemed in little doubt. Behind them lay Bel Calero, Charlotte Cotton and Ainara Alcuaz.

Muthoni continued to stretch out her lead on the long descent, but at times it looked as if she was limping and could be in trouble. However, when she hit the bottom of the descent she moved into a smooth stride again and powered to victory in 1:58:57, devastating the rest of the field.

Murigi kept second place, finishing in 2:10:32, and Magliano was two minutes behind in third.

Afterwards Muthoni said that she had slipped on the technical, slippery downhill, injuring herself. Murigi also took a tumble and required some medical attention after the finish line.

If the women’s race was settled right from the start, the men’s event couldn’t have been more different. It was a very close race, with the top three changing constantly in some exciting racing. In the initial stages there was a group of athletes close together including Remi Leroux, Alvaro Asanz and Eduardo Hernandez.

At the summit of La Moleta, it was still very close. Leroux hit the summit first, in 1:03:49, but Alvaro Osanz was right on his heels. Behind them there was a gap of just under a minute to Hernandez and then a small gap of 20 seconds to Marcelo Goncalves, with Moussaoui just behind. A further minute behind lay Alric Petit and Ondrej Fejfar. It was all going to come down to the technical and slippery descent.

On this final descent we saw some incredible racing and it remained very close. Eventually it was Moussaoui who took the win in 1:47:52 but he was chased all the way by Hernandez, who took second just 12 seconds behind him. Osanz was just 20 seconds further back in third place, with another sprint finish for fourth and fifth between Villamuera and Leroux.

The key impact on the World Cup standings this weekend has been an additional 100 points for Muthoni, extending her lead, and 70 points for Murigi. In the men’s competition, Joe Steward has moved up into third and Leroux has added to his tally and moved up into fourth place.

The next gold label race in this year’s World Cup will be at Sky Gran Canaria, where there will be a vertical uphill race, a long mountain race and a classic mountain race.

Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics

Leaading results

Women
1 Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN) 1:58:57
2 Lucy Murigi (KEN) 2:10:32
3 Camilla Magliano (ITA) 2:12:41
4 Bel Calero (ESP) 2:19:03
5 Ainara Alcuaz (ESP) 2:22:22

Men
1 Adil Moussaoui (MAR) 1:47:52
2 Eduardo Hernandez (ESP) 1:48:04
3 Alvaro Osanz (ESP) 1:49:24
4 Remi Leroux (CAN) 1:50:18
5 Marcos Villamuera (ESP) 1:50:19