The Annecy 2024 European Off-Road Running Championships began in snow and rain but brought sunshine smiles to the faces of the winning athletes. Competitors from Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and from host France dominated the senior and U20 Classic uphill races.
Steward shows the way
In the men’s race, Britain’s Joe Steward led at 2.4km, 14 seconds clear of Swiss runner Roberto Delorenzi, living up to his role in the group of pre-race favourites.
Steward was able to extend his lead, with his compatriot and 2019 European mountain running champion Jacob Adkin, rather than the tiring Delorenzi, his closest rival.
By the finish his advantage was 1:18 and Steward was cheering in the rain as he crossed the line at the end of 7.6km of attritional running on narrow paths with stony sand muddy surfaces underfoot in 42:37.
“The whole group got off to a very fast start,” said the Steward, “and I stayed in the lead group. About a quarter of the way through, where the toughest section is, I attacked and opened up a gap. My lead then increased as my plan was to go hard from the halfway point.”
''Last year I finished eighth at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Austria, so I was really hoping to win a medal and knew that with a good run I could be right up there.”
“The weather conditions and the muddy parts of the course suited me and the other British athletes, I personally love rain and mud!”
Behind Steward and silver medallist Adkin (43:55), Germany's 19-year-old Lukas Ehrle (44:23) finished third, with Delorenzi fading to fourth (44:41). For Ehrle, it was a second successive medal at the event, two years ago he won gold in the U20 event in El Paso, La Palma.
Great Britain (Steward, Adkin and 10th-placed Kristian Jones, allied just 13 points) to win the team competition ahead of Switzerland (Delorenzi, Jonathan Schmid, Jonas Soldini, 21 points) and hosts France (Frédéric Tranchand, Theodore Klein, Quentin Meyleu, 24 points).
Engelhard surprises herself with gold
The women's race followed a similar pattern to the men's. After a brisk start, Germany's Nina Engelhard and Great Britain's Scout Adkin took the lead.
After about two kilometres, the unheralded Engelhard overtook her rival and was never headed with 1:35 separating the two in the end, the German finishing in 50:08 on the 7.6km climb.
It meant the Adkin, fourth in this same discipline two years ago siblings both came away with silver in the senior races. Romania's Monica Madalina Florea finished third in 52:33.
Engelhard said: “I was going to take my time and see how the race went, but suddenly I was alone in the lead; from then on it was very lonely and felt a bit like a tough training run. It's my first international start, so it's a success for me just to be there, and the goal was to have fun.
“I don't like wet and cold weather, I prefer running in the heat and in the dry. So I can say that the package I put together was a complete surprise. But what a surprise!'
The team title was won by France, with Christel Dewalle fourth, Elise Poncet fifth and Marie Nivet ninth packing well for a total of 18 points), followed by Great Britain (Adkin, Sara Willhott, Scarlet Dale, 22 points) and Switzerland (Judith Wyder, Selina Burch, reigning champion Maude Mathys, 34 points).
Swiss dominate U20 men's race
The big day for Switzerland had begun with the men's U20 race, the opening race of the championships, over a 5.6km course climbing 830m. Matthieu Bührer and Loic Berger teamed up and led at the halfway point.
The two kept up the pace in the second part of the race to maintain the lead they had gained. Bührer, arguably the pre-race favourite, had the stronger finish and secured gold, 21 seconds clear of Berger in second place with 36:09. Jules Mongellaz of France finished third in 37:06.
“After winning an individual bronze medal in the U20 mountain race at the World Championships in Innsbruck last year, my declared goal was to finish on the podium here,” said Bührer. “Tactically, our race went well, Loic (Berger) and I knew that we were the two strongest in the field.''
“I won't be doing the Up and Down race on Sunday because I want to continue my training for the Junior Orienteering World Championships, the Up and Down doesn't fit in, it's too hard."
The team competition was won by Switzerland (Bührer, Berger, fifth-placed Fiorillo Camesi) with just eight points points ahead of France (Mongellaz, Noe Descombe, Simon Bibollet, 18 points) and Great Britain (Edward Hobbs, Thomas Hilton, Alexander Poulston, 20 points).
Siblings success in the mountains
As well as two silver medals for the Adkin siblings, there was another family affair in Annecy.
When Lukas Ehrle celebrated his third place in the men's race, his sister Julia was the first to throw her arms around his neck. “What place did you achieve?”, her brother asked her. “I won,” she replied smiling bright.
Julia Ehrle, just 16 and whose track speed may see her wearing a German vest at the Banska Bystrica European Athletics U18 Championships in July, stayed well adrift of the early leaders of the women’s U20 race, but as the going got steeper at about the two-kilometre point she took the lead, and never relinquished it until the finish line which she reached in 41:50. Eve Whitaker of Great Britain, a silver medallist in the U20 up-and-down race two years ago at the first edition of the championships, was second in 43:40 while Lili Beck of France was third in 44:19.
“I did really well today, I was able to follow my strategy as planned,” said Ehrle. “I'm incredibly happy with this win and can't really believe it. It's unbelievable that we could win medals as sister and brothers, it's something very special."
France won the team classification (Beck, Margot Dajoux, (5th), Luna Beck (9th), 17 points) ahead of Great Britain (Whitaker, Isla Hedley, Lauren Russell, 18 points) and Italy (Licia Ferrari, Anna Hofer, Silvia Boscacci, 35 points).
Favourites toil in slippery conditions
The bad weather and low temperatures may have favoured some, but may have disadvantaged others. Some of the bigger names toiled in the conditions.
In the senior men’s race, Italy's defending champion and world silver medallist Cesare Meastri was down in 41st place while 2022 bronze medallist Daniel Osanz (Spain) was 29th and the prolific winner on the off-road running scene, Austria's Hans-Peter Innerhofer, finished 25th
In the senior women’s race, four-time winner Maude Mathys was not quite at her best, finishing 17th and over six minutes adrift of the individual medals; their attentions now turns to Sunday and an opportunity for revenge and redemption in the up-and-down races, as the trail runners take centre stage in Saturday’s races over 57km through the mountains to the east of the host city Annecy and alongside Lake Annecy.
Full results here.
Egon Theiner for European Athletics
Photos courtesy of Alanis Duc and Gwendal Hamon (FFA)