After a demanding season and eight races that have taken the world’s best athletes across some of the planet’s most stunning natural landscapes, everything is still to be decided in the men’s and women’s overall rankings of the 2025 Golden Trail World Series (GTWS). And what better stage to crown the champions than the high mountains of the Ledro Valley, a natural area recognized by UNESCO’s MAB program for its extraordinary environmental value. From October 10 to 12, Ledro Sky Trentino will host the GTWS Grand Finale with a prologue and a race that will determine this season’s ultimate winners.

The GTWS Final follows a unique two-day competition format, with a prologue on the first day and the main race on the second. On October 10, both the men’s and women’s prologues will take place. In the prologue, athletes set off one by one in a time-trial format on a 6.9 km course with 550 meters of elevation gain. On October 11 and 12, the women’s and men’s races will be held respectively, covering a 22 km course with 1,800 meters of elevation gain.

The distinctive feature of the Grand Finale is that, for the overall standings, athletes get double points (400) compared to a regular race (200). For the final overall ranking, the three best results of the season plus the points earned in the Grand Finale are taken into account. This means the maximum score an athlete can achieve is 1,000 points.

PROLOGUE COURSE

RACE COURSE

ON THE SHORES OF LAKE LEDRO

Pieve di Ledro, on the shores of Lake Ledro, will be the epicenter of the weekend, hosting the athlete presentation (Thursday, October 9), as well as the start and finish of both the prologue and the main race. A giant screen will be set up there to follow the competition, along with an expo village featuring outdoor and sports exhibitors. The course, which preserves the essence of the traditional Ledro Sky race, is a technical and scenic rollercoaster between Cima Parì, Cima Sclapa, and Cima d’Oro, crossing trenches and remnants of the First World War.

“The choice of Trentino and, in particular, the Ledro Valley as the host of the 2025 GTWS Grand Finale is a source of great pride for us,” explains Maurizio Rossini, CEO of Trentino Marketing, highlighting the technical and scenic value of a region filled with evocative mountains, steep slopes, and remarkable sites such as Lake Ledro and Lake Garda. “This choice was made possible thanks to the organizational skills of the Ledro Sky team, which has been delivering a high-quality event for the past ten years, and APT Garda Dolomiti. The October Grand Finale, featuring the world’s best trail runners and significant television coverage on Eurosport and other international broadcasters, confirms this region as a global reference point for outdoor sports and mountain running.”

ELAZZAOUI AND FLOREA TO DEFEND THEIR LEAD

The men’s season has been a constant battle between Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco – Nnormal) and the Kenyan duo Patrick Kipngeno and Philemon Kiriago (Run2gether On Trail). The Moroccan leads the overall standings with 600 points after victories at Zegama-Aizkorri (Spain), Broken Arrow Skyrace (United States), and Tepec Trail (Mexico). However, with only 12 points separating him from Kipngeno and Kiriago, the Grand Finale remains wide open.

In the women’s standings, no fewer than five athletes are within 50 points of each other, all with a real shot at claiming the final victory at Ledro Sky Trentino. Madalina Florea (Romania – Scott Running) tops the table with 576 points (one win at Il Golfo dell’Isola – Italy – and two runner-up finishes at Broken Arrow Skyrace and Kobe Trail – Japan). She is closely followed by Spaniards Sara Alonso (Asics) and Malen Osa (Salomon), with 566 and 540 points respectively. Kenyan athletes Joyce Njeru(Nnormal) and Caroline Kimutai (Salomon Milimani Runners) round out the top five with 538 and 532 points.

RUN WITH THE PROFESSIONALS

The Golden Trail World Series Grand Finale is also an opportunity for amateur runners to compete alongside the professionals. Starting today, September 1, registrations are open for both the men’s and women’s races. A total of 200 bibs will be available for the race, giving up to 200 amateur athletes the chance to line up with the world’s best. More information and the registration link can be found on the Garda Trentino website.