Norwegian Anders Löersen and Finn Riita Liisa Roponen won the 46th Engadin Ski Marathon. Löersen led over the last few kilometers and prevailed in the final sprint against Frenchman Jean-Marc Gaillard and Davos Toni Livers. Last year's winner Riita Liisa Roponen won in 1. 38:39, ahead of Chur Bettina Gruber and German Katrin Zeller. Roponen also won the FIS Marathon Cup.
“The race only starts five kilometers before the end,” stated winner Anders Gløersen at the finish line. “I had surprisingly already left a gap there and I was just trying to keep it.” Gløersen, who had watched exactly these last kilometers on Saturday, felt Jean-Marc Gaillard on his neck as he entered the finish stadium and had to rely on his speed. The Norwegian's lead in the end was 0.7 seconds over the Frenchman and 1.3 seconds over Toni Livers from Davos.
“It was a tough race because I wasn't in top form and didn't know if I would make it again,” said Riitta-Liisa Roponen at the finish line. Last year's winner had actually set herself a new record time, but she was unable to do so due to the prevailing headwind. Chur Bettina Gruber was 18 seconds behind the Finn in the end, but she did not realize this in the middle of the men's field. At the finish line, she first had to ask if she had won. German Katrin Zeller finished third, just 0.2 seconds behind Gruber.
Roponen also won the overall FIS Marathon Cup standings with the Engadin Ski Marathon: “But victory in Engadin outweighs overall victory in the FIS Marathon Cup,” she beamed.
The second-largest field in history
The large amounts of snow this winter had made it difficult to form ice on the lakes and prepare the trails. As a result, the start in Maloja had to be moved from the lake to the fixed land. The “pit start” introduced at short notice went smoothly and the trails across the lakes also withstood the huge onslaught without any problems. With 13,391 runners registered and 12,277 runners started, 2014 brought the Engadin Ski Marathon the second-largest field in its history.
The start mode will probably be something to talk about again in 2015: In order to combat backlogs on the track, the start will be made in fourteen blocks from 2015 instead of the previous seven.
gartmann.biz manages the media operations of the Engadin Ski Marathon.