Andrea Mayr (© Marco Gulberti/Corsa in Montagna)
World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup action returns this weekend, with two races on the programme in Casto, Italy – first Vertical Nasego on Saturday (4) and then Trofeo Nasego on Sunday (5).
Vertical Nasego is stage seven of this year’s World Cup, with the short uphill race featuring 4.3km with 1000m of ascent. It’s a tough uphill race, which will see the athletes using their hands in the steepest parts, as they make their way up to the finish at 1400m.
Then it’s straight on to Trofeo Nasego for stage eight where athletes will take on this 20th edition of the race, consisting of 21km with 1330m of ascent. This makes it the next classic mountain race in the series. The first half of the race is fast and then at 12km the runners begin their big climb up to Refugio Nasego, before the final steep descent.
Both races always attract a top field and this year’s may well be the best ever assembled. Most athletes will contest both Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego.
Murphy makes European debut in stacked women's field
The USA's Grayson Murphy, the defending world champion who was recently crowned US national mountain running champion, will be racing in Europe for the first time and she is sure to be in the mix with some top European and African talent. She’ll be reunited with her fellow athletes from that podium at the 2019 World Championships, Elise Poncet of France and Britain's Philippa Williams, for starters.
Also on the start line will be Austria's Andrea Mayr, fresh from winning Challenge Stellina, who is also the six-time world champion and record-holder at Vertical Nasego, among many other accolades. She’ll be joined by the reigning World Cup winner Sarah McCormack of Ireland, who won Trofeo Nasego last year.
As ever there will be strong competition from Kenyan athletes. Lucy Murigi, the two-time world champion who is currently lying fifth in the World Cup, will always be one to watch, as will Joyce Njeru, who is having a great season, having won at Grossglockner and Krkonossky. Britain's Charlotte Morgan, the current leader in the World Cup, will also be toeing the line.
But there will be plenty of Italian competition out to win on home turf. Alice Gaggi, currently second in the World Cup, is expected to do well, as are Erica and Francesca Ghelfi, and Lorenza Beccaria, who is also having a good run in the World Cup. Athletes like Susanna Saapunki of Finland, Czech Republic's Lucie Marsanova, Slovenia's Mojca Koligar and Timea Merenyi of Hungary could also feature.
World medallists in action
The men’s race will also bring together podium finishers from the last World Championships as Italy's silver medallist Cesare Maestri will face Czech Republic's Marek Chraschina for a rematch. But can anybody beat Italy's Henri Aymonod in a short uphill race? He is the defending champion and has since won Chiavenna Lagunc and Piz Tri Vertikal. He also won Challenge Stellina last weekend.
Geoffrey Ndungu of Kenya, who won at Krkonossky and is currently lying third in the World Cup rankings, will be a strong contender, as will his compatriot Timothy Kirui, who was second at Krkonossky. Also flying high in the World Cup in second place is Sandor Szabo of Hungary and Slovenia's Timotej Becan, who is currently sixth, could also feature.
This could also be a race where we see some exciting breakthrough performances from runners such as Tiziano Moia of Italy, who came close to beating Aymonod at Piz Tri Vertikal and is proving himself as a short uphill specialist. We could also see Italian rising stars such as Luca Merli, Marco Filosi, Alberto Vender, Lorenzo Cagnati and Daniel Pattis doing well. Zak Hanna of Ireland is another rising star who is working hard and seeing the results from it.
Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics
