PELVOUX - VALLOUISE (FRA), 8th FEBRUARY 2012
Kilian Jornet was runner-up in the European championships in Pelvoux after crossing the finishing line with a time of 1:08:30, half a minute behind Frenchman William Bon Mardion with whom he had a neck-to-neck fight throughout the race.
Jornet had a really strong start leading the race from the first climb, followed by a group of racers, with Bon Mardion among them. “I managed to sprint off on the first climb and kept at the head of the race until the third one. I knew I had to get as far ahead of William as possible so that he would not overtake me on the descent, but the distance between us was not enough and he managed to catch up with me on the last descent, which was really long. After that, I concentrated on maintaining the second position until the very end,” commented Kilian after the race.
The individual race, with a total climb of 1450m and a total descent of 1850m, is shorter in comparison with the races in the World Championship. It usually takes athletes an average of 1h30m to complete those races. After taking into account the information in yesterday’s briefings, organizers changed the individual route and cut part of the last climb.
At the end of the race Killian stated that “I’m happy, I felt really good. It was neck-to-neck with William. I hope I can feel just as good in tomorrow’s vertical race,” commented Kilian after the race. Jornet is still in a position to win the combined race, where results obtained in all the competitions are taken into account.
Kilian also congratulated his friend William Bon Mardion. “I’m happy for William. We are friends and we have competed together in the past.”
Individual race classification
1. William Bon Mardion. 1:08:00 h.
2. Kilian Jornet. 1:08:30 h
3. Martin Anthamatten. 1:08:45 h.
PELVOUX - VALLOUISE (FRA), 9th FEBRUARY 2012
Kilian Jornet won the Individual Race European Championship with a victory in Pelvoux, with a time of 38:44m.
Jornet had a neck-to-neck fight with Yannick Buffet, who came in second, until the last stretch of the race, when he managed to get away. “The start was very fast and Yanick and I managed to keep on forcing the pace throughout the race. At one point I saw I was leaving him behind. It was then that I did my best to try to maintain the distance between us, and so this finally enabled me to win the race.”
The Vertical Race ihas a climb of 1,034 m. Referring to this, Kilian comments that “it was a very tough race, with a really steep climb.” “I’m really happy about the victory. I felt really good during the Individual Race yesterday and fought until the very end to attain victory. Today I managed to maintain the pace and win.”
Vertical race classification
1. Kilian Jornet. 38:44 min.
2. Yannick Buffet (FRA) 39:43 min
3. Martin Anthamatten (SUI) 40:10 min
The most complete
With this victory, Jornet has gained first position in the Combined Classification in the European Mountain Ski Championship, where results obtained in all the other team disciplines (teams, sprint, individual and vertical) are also taken into account.
I’m really glad to have won the Combined Race, as it takes into account results obtained in all other races, which is a good sign”, commented Kilian after the race.
Combined classification
1. Kilian Jornet 289 points
2. Martin Anthamatten (SUI) 279 points
3. Manfred Reichegger (ITA) 246 points
Race link:
www.ski-ecrins.com/index.php
Movescount link:
www.movescount.com/members/kilianjornet