Engelhard claims classic crown to complete Canfranc-Pirineos double

Germany’s Nina Engelhard won the classic race to become a double champion at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships CanfrancPirineos 2025 on Sunday (28).

The 28-year-old added her victory on the fourth and final day of the championships to her uphill win on day one. Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago won the men’s classic race on Sunday, while USA’s Jim Walmsley and Katie Schide were crowned long trail champions on Saturday.

The classic race was 14km in distance with 750m elevation and Engelhard took the lead on the first climb, as the runners entered the forest. By the time she passed the Cargates dam, Engelhard had a 20-second advantage over Uganda’s Rispa Cherop, Kenya’s Ruth Gitonga and Switzerland’s Oria Liaci.

Engelhard extended her lead to more than two minutes by the summit on the second loop. Liaci moved into second place, while Gitonga and Cherop battled for bronze and Kenya’s Joyce Muthoni slipped out of medal contention. Not even a fall on the steep downhill could stop Engelhard, who crossed the finish line at the iconic International Railway Station with impressive strength in 1:11:00. The fight for the remaining medals was thrilling and Gitonga claimed silver in 1:12:54, while Liaci took bronze in 1:13:15.

“I did active recovery over the last three days, combining ice, rest, easy runs and other activities,” said Engelhard. “Even so, I felt cramps in my quads during the descent, but I managed to keep them under control and take the win.”

Kenya claimed the team title ahead of USA and Switzerland.

Uganda’s Martin Kiprotich took an early lead in the men’s race, creating a gap of 14 seconds over Kiriago by the time they reached the first summit, with Ken Koros another 10 seconds behind. Aziz Chebet, Brayan Rodriguez and Mason Coppi were all within 30 seconds of the lead trio at that point, remaining in medal contention.

Kiriago closed in on Kiprotich during the descent, narrowing the gap to just two seconds, while Paul Machoka and Koros were close behind. The second summit witnessed a fierce battle for the lead and ultimately it was Kiriago who launched a stunning final descent – crossing the finish line in Canfranc to win in 1:00:38.

Kiprotich secured silver in 1:01:26 and bronze went to Machoka in 1:01:31.

“I knew I had to launch my attack on the final descent, so I held back, held back – and when I went for it, I gave everything to prevent my rival from keeping up,” said Kiriago. “I’m very happy to win in Canfranc. It’s a dream come true in a place I already knew from before.”

Kenya completed a classic team double, taking the title ahead of Uganda and Italy.

The U20 races were also held on Sunday and Uganda’s athletes dominated, claiming five of the six individual podium places and both team golds. Titus Musau won the men’s race ahead of his teammates Enos Chebet and Abraham Cherotich, while Germany’s Julia Ehrle won the women’s race ahead of Uganda’s Nancy Chepkwurui and Felister Chekwemoi.

Walmsley and Schide triumph over 81km

Saturday was long trail day and the races over the 81km course, which featured 5400m of positive elevation gain, were won by Walmsley and Schide as they secured a US double.

Walmsley dominated the men’s race from start to finish, tackling a course that ran through the heart of the Pyrenees with significant technical demands.

The 2019 short trail champion took the lead from the Canfranc International Station and was relentlessly pursued throughout by the French duo of Louison Coiffet and 2023 champion Benjamin Roubiol.

By the time they reached Candanchu at the 60km mark, Roubiol had dropped back slightly, while Coiffet was just a few seconds behind. Other contenders such as Petter Engdahl, Cristian Minoggio and Peter Frano were all within 15 minutes of the leaders, with the race still wide open.

But the French runners regrouped and the leading trio held firm. The final descent to the finish line confirmed the standings. Gold went to Walmsley (8:35:11), while Roubiol and Coiffet crossed the finish line together to share the silver medal (8:46:05).

“It was a much faster day than I had planned for,” said Walmsley. “I was aiming for a maximum of 10 hours, but I chose to go on the attack early to prevent anyone from breaking away. I actually planned to push in the second half, but I felt great from the start and managed to keep it up all the way to the finish.”

Like her teammate, Schide also took the lead from the start and never looked back in a race where she displayed overwhelming dominance. By the time she passed the Ibón de Truchas at the 40km mark, she had already built a 30-minute lead over her closest chasers – Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha and Italy’s Fabiola Conti.

The lead trio held their positions in the second half of the race, with Budha widening the gap over Conti. Further back, Canada’s Jazmine Lowther and Spain’s Rosa Maria Lara gained ground and moved into the top five during the final section. Schide took the win in 9:57:59, followed by Budha in 10:23:03 and Conti in 10:35:51.

“I went out fast so that when we hit technical sections, I already had a solid gap, which allowed me to race more defensively on the descents,” said Schide. “Running on technical terrain like Canfranc felt very natural to me, because of where I grew up in the US and my years living in neighboring France.”

Italy clinched the women’s long trail team title, while men’s team gold went to France.

WMTRC2025 LOC