Announcement from the Golden Trail World Series supported by American Trail Running Association (ATRA) member Salomon. Photos: GTWS.
Maude Mathys (SUI) and Francesco Puppi (ITA) are victorious at the GTWS Final in El Hierro, Spain. American Dani Moreno finishes 5th in the race and 2021 GTWS rankings.
This 2021 GTWS Grand Final – a 37 km race with 9,389 feet of vertical – kept all its promises for the men and women’s events. The volcanic lands of El Hierro, the smallest Canary Island, and the scorching sun out in the Atlantic waters, took their toll on the athletes in this final challenge of the season; a dozen men and a dozen women who only had one goal; to collect as many points as possible to win the 2021 Golden Trail World Series (GTWS)!
Maude Mathys. Photo: GTWS.
Ok let’s be honest, we doubted her… let’s hope she forgives us! Maude Mathys (Team Salomon, Switzerland) was dominating the entire first part of the season… But the sudden appearance of the young and surprising Nienke Brinkman (Team Salomon, The Netherlands) put a spanner in the works of our minds. Could fervor and carefreeness really override power and experience? Apparently not! Maude Mathys proved by winning the 2021 GTWS Grand Final, that she was the Queen of this Golden Trail World Series and that no one was ready to remove her crown.
And, as if to just prove her supremacy, the Swiss decided to really strike a blow by finishing 3rd overall: 4h09, only Francesco Puppi (Team Nike Trail, Italy) and Thibaut Baronian (Team Salomon, France) managed a place in front of her. “It was a really tough race; it was very hot and very technical. I had a hard time keeping up the pace, I just kept saying to myself “don’t fall!” I managed to hold on at the start and then to make a gap in between the two uphills. But the last 10 kilometres were really tough, especially as I hadn’t done any long-distance running since Sierre-Zinal”, said Mathys.
However, Nienke Brinkman didn’t disappoint and confirmed her potential by taking second place despite a huge fall in the last downhill. “Maude is incredible, she confirmed at the finish line. It’s definitely the toughest race I’ve ever done. I fell near the end and lost my focus from then; my coach would say that I had a flat tyre! I didn’t even think I would reach the finish line! I am really happy to have finished in second place!”
Anaïs Sabrié (Team Matryx, France) finished in a strong third position. “Maude and Nienke are crazy! I immediately said to myself I shouldn’t follow them. I tried to find my own rhythm and have fun, and it worked! I was told that the downhills were technical and, in the end, I didn’t find them that bad, likewise for the heat! I’m really very happy with this third place and I want to thank everyone for their amazing support that we had on the trails!”
Francesco Puppi. Photo: GTWS.
In the men’s race, which started 30 minutes after the women, we thought for a long time that the winner would be Stian Angermund (Team Salomon, Norway) before seeing Francesco Puppi (Team Nike Trail, Italy) gloriously rise up out of the flames like a phoenix in the final kilometers. “I’m really disappointed for Stian, he confided at the finish line. He actually took a wrong turn and to get back to the right track he had to jump over a wall, and he fell down pretty hard. I just hope he’s ok. For myself, I still can’t believe it! It was really a horrible race for everyone, and I just did what I could in these conditions. It was really very hot, and the race was very technical. Thibaut wasn’t far behind, but I think it was my lucky day! This is my first victory this season and I think that I chose the right moment to play my card!”
Thibaut Baronian (Team Salomon, France) also managed his best result finishing in second place. “I have been feeling really tired lately, and at the bottom of the first downhill I thought it really wasn’t my day. But I held on, and my mojo came back! I started climbing up the ranks and I could even see Stian and Francesco. We did the third uphill all three of us together, but then I had a slump, and they made a 45-second gap. Then in the downhill I went past Stian who had stopped. So, I hung on to grab this second place. I’m thrilled with how I managed my race, I couldn’t have done any better!”
Anders Kjærevik (Team Bergen Running, Norway) completes the podium “I had so much fun! It was really tough, especially for the legs in the downhill. The road sections were also really hard to manage too. In the end it was the steep uphills that I enjoyed the most. Bizarrely, the heat wasn’t a problem for me. I’ve already run with these athletes 4 or 5 times and I’m always 20 minutes behind them, but not this time! I couldn’t be happier!”
Maude Mathys and Stian Angermund win the 2021 GTWS
Remember that the points won in this Grand Final are doubled and that the results could possibly change. However, in the women’s the podium at the finish line has remained the same. So, no surprise to announce that Maude Mathys wins the 2021 Golden Trail World Series. Although, on the men’s side, due to Stian’s fall, who in the end finished 6th place in this race, Francesco Puppi’s victory and the move up the ranks for Thibaut Baronian completely changed the final rankings. That said, Stian Angermund was too far ahead before the race start to have any chance of someone catching him, and his direct pursuers’ lesser performances enabled him to keep his first place in the overall ranking and therefore win the men’s Golden Trail World Series 2021.
The Grand Final 2021 El Hierro Results
MEN
1 – FRANCESCO PUPPI (ITA – NIKE TRAIL): 03:58:17 (+200 pts)
2 – THIBAUT BARONIAN (FRA – SALOMON): 04:00:05 (+176 pts)
3 – ANDERS KJAEREVIK (NOR – BERGEN RUNNING): 04:09:35 (+156 pts)
4 – FRÉDÉRIC TRANCHAND (FRA – SCOTT): 04:09:53 (+144 pts)
5 –JAN MARGARIT SOLÉ (ESP – LA SPORTIVA): 04:10:37 (+136 pts)
WOMEN
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (SUI – SALOMON): 04:05:30 (+200 pts)
2 – NIENKE BRINKMAN (NLD – SALOMON): 04:10:56 (+ 176 pts)
3 – ANAÏS SABRIÉ (FRA – MATRYX): 04:24:41 (+ 156 pts)
4 – ODILE SPYCHER (CHE – SALOMON): 04:37:44 (+144 pts)
5 – DANI MORENO (USA – HOKA ONE ONE/RABBIT): 04:39:00 (+136 pts)
Check out The One Race El Hierro 2021 full results here.
Photo: GTWS.
GTWS 2021 OVERALL RANKING
MEN
1 – STIAN ANGERMUND (NOR – SALOMON): 430 pts
2 – FRANCESCO PUPPI (ITA – NIKE TRAIL): 397 pts
3 – BART PRZEDWOJEWSKI (POL – SALOMON): 374 pts
4 – THIBAUT BARONIAN (FRA – SALOMON): 374 pts
5 – REMI BONNET (CHE – SALOMON/RED BULL): 337 pts
6 – FRÉDÉRIC TRANCHAND (FRA – SCOTT): 320 pts
7 – JAN MARGARIT SOLE (ESP – LA SPORTIVA): 314 pts
8 – ROBERTO DELORENZI (CHE – LA SPORTIVA): 299 pts
9 – JOHANN BAUJARD (FRA – TEAM MATRYX): 268 pts
10 – ANTHONY FELBER (FRA – TEAM MATRYX): 268 pts
WOMEN
1 – MAUDE MATHYS (CHE – SALOMON): 500 pts
2 – NIENKE BRINKMAN (NLD – SALOMON): 464 pts
3 – ANAÏS SABRIÉ (FRA – MATRYX): 410 pts
4 – BLANDINE L’HIRONDEL (FRA – HOKA ONE ONE): 352 pts
5 – DANI MORENO (USA – HOKA ONE ONE/RABBIT): 335 pts
6 – ODILE SPYCHER (CHE – SALOMON): 327 pts
7 – ELISE PONCET (FRA – TEAM MATRYX): 321 pts
8 – MARCELA VASINOVA (CZE – SALOMON): 315 pts
9 – SARA ALONSO (ESP – SALOMON): 312 pts
10 – NURIA GIL (ESP – SALOMON): 295 pts
Check out the Golden Trail World Series 2021 overall ranking here.
ABOUT
The Golden Trail World Series stands out in the modern sports world respecting unique values like parity, equity, transparency, and honesty. The races have been chosen to highlight the most iconic events in this sport today. The Series aims to promote professional trail runners as the world-class athletes that they are, to showcase and protect the awe-inspiring nature and environments where we play and compete, and to acknowledge the amazing, passionate fans as an essential ingredient in the sport. Each of the six races in the Series has been specifically selected because of the scenery, challenges, history and atmosphere that they offer to both the runners and the public. These are the races that every runner wants to experience and some of the first written on any runner’s bucket list.
