27TH APRIL 2024, START 2:00 PM (UTC+8), 22KM, 1,530M V+ SIGUNIANGSHAN, CHINA After a successful race in Japan, the Golden Trail World Series now heads to China for the second race of the season.
The first race of the GTWS 2024 kept all its promises last week in Japan. But the Golden athletes have no time to rest as they head straight to China for the second race of the season: the Four Sisters Mountain Trail. On the programme, 22 kilometres and over 1,500 metres of elevation gain and some sections over 4,000 metres above sea level with landscapes that literally take your breath away! Will Maude Mathys and Patrick Kipngeno have it in them to do a repeat performance of their victory in Japan? Find out on 27th April.
Times to beat:
Men’s Record: 2:24:10 Zi Juwei in 2023
Women’s Record: 3:02:33 Li Ying in 2023
Check out all the race specifications HERE
Here’s a rundown of the favourites for the Four Sisters Mountain Trail, GTWS 2024 2nd stage:
The women’s line-up
She was victorious at the first race of the season last week. Maude Mathys (CHE – Asics) proved she was back on top form despite the physical niggles that had disrupted her prep. That said, she needs to watch out for Joyce Njeru (KEN – Atletica Saluzzo) who dominated for the majority of the race in Japan and who should be more at ease on the Chinese course. Sara Alonso (ESP – Asics) also performed well in Japan finishing 2nd in this first leg. She’s bound to want to match that result this weekend. Miao Yao (CHN – Salomon) will want to shine in her own country on a course that perfectly suits her racing skills. Malen Osa (ESP – Salomon) should also do well in conditions that are less extreme. All the women need to be wary of Grayson Murphy (USA – Saucony), Sunmaya Budha (NPL – Kailas Fuga), Marta Martinez Abellan (ESP – La Sportiva), Julia Font and Sylvia Nordskar (SWE – Hoka).
The men’s line-up
Just like Maude Mathys, Patrick Kipngeno (KEN – Run2gether ON AG) will be looking to repeat last week’s victory. On a less technical course Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR – Nnormal) should be able to show off his speed; the question is, has he fully recovered from his fall in Japan? Philemon Kiriago (KEN – Run2gether ON AG) unfortunately had to drop out in Japan after twisting his ankle in a fall. He seems to have fully recovered and is raring to go for this weekend’s race. Joey Hadorn (CHE – Salomon) took everyone by surprise in Japan by leading for a lot of the race before losing out to Patrick Kipngeno. The Swiss nevertheless managed to hold onto 2nd place, and will no doubt want to prove he is capable of hunting down victory in China. Daniel Pattis (ITA – Brooks) finished 5th in Japan and will want to keep his spot in the top 5. Nonetheless, watch out for the likes of Roberto Delorenzi (CHE – Brooks), Alex Garcia (ESP – Brooks), Miquel Corbera (ESP – Brooks), Ruy Ueda (JAP – Team Ruy) and Huohua Zhang (CHN – Salomon).
See you on 27th April from 7:45 am (CET) to follow the race live!
