Austrian double crown for Christian Stern and Esther Fellhofer at KAT100 by UTMB, with rain refusing to dampen spirits as the event makes its UTMB World Series debut KAT100 by UTMB® made its debut on the UTMB® World Series stage over 3-5 August, with ra
KAT100 by UTMB® made its debut on the UTMB® World Series stage over 3-5 August, with rain refusing to ruin the fun as runners took on the famous Kitzbühel Alps of Tyrol, Austria. Pre-race favourites, Christian Stern (AUT) and Esther Fellhofer (AUT) were triumphant on home soil, taking the tape in Austria’s longest Ultra trail race.
Having suffered a DNF at Dacia UTMB® Mont-Blanc in 2022, Stern was looking for redemption over the 100-mile distance. Storming the course, Stern established over a 50-minute lead on second-placed Andris Ronimoiss (LVA), with Mario WEIß (AUT) rounding out the podium in third.
In the women’s race, Esther Fellhofer was in a league of her own to establish an incredible five-hour lead on her closest competitor, Yasuko Natsume (JPN). Romana Horatschek (AUT) completed the podium in third.
Despite her impressive performance, which earned her 10th place overall, Fellhofer didn’t feel great in the second half of the race. She said, “The first part was really good, I felt so strong and had a great time in Kitzbühel but then the second part was very tough, I had no energy and could only run downhill.
“This win means a lot to me! It is my home race, and these are the trails where I train. I am proud to show people from all over the world this area,” added Fellhofer, who will now prepare to line-up for the TDS® at Dacia UTMB Mont-Blanc later this month.
Anders Kjaerevik (NOR) celebrated a major win over the 100K Endurance Trail, providing a confidence boost on a tough course and ahead of the upcoming UTMB World Series Finals.
“It was a rollercoaster of a day! I struggled with stomach problems and then the Chinese athlete [Guomin Deng] was applying the pressure. But on the uphill I felt really good and the last 20km was amazing!”, said Kjaerevik.
Kjaerevik and Guomin Deng (CHN) traded places throughout the race, with Deng gaining back places on the flatter sections before eventually dropping to 8th place after Kitzbüheler Horn in the final kilometres. Having sat in third for most of the race, Alexander Hutter (AUT) gained a podium spot to take second place, with Cristofer Clemente Mora (ESP) in third.
In the women’s race, Claudia Tremps (ESP) took a commanding win, with Michaela Pilat (AUT) and Ildikó Wermescher (HUN) joining her on the podium in Fieberbrunn.
In the 50km Marathon Trail, it was a Polish 1-2-3 with Bart Przedwojewski taking the top step after opening a gap on the first downhill out of Wildseeloderhaus. With just over 5 minutes between the top three, Marcin Rzeszotko and Michal Rajca applied the pressure until the very end to round out the podium.
In the women’s race, it was a close battle between Isabell Bichler (AUT) and Emmiliese Von Avis (USA), with Bichler taking the win by just four seconds in front of a home crowd. Katarzyna Wilk (POL) took third to round-out the podium.
Maxim Chane (FRA) took the win in the 20km Speed Trail, pushing himself far outside of his comfort zone on the technical trails to stay ahead of a chasing Vlad Ixel (AUS) who finished just 11 seconds behind, and Falk Fischer (GER) a further one-minute back.
“The course was completely crazy; it was rainy and cold, and it was steep and technical in parts. This is my first time in Austria and especially a place like this, so it is nice to discover a lot of nice places and different corners of the world with the UTMB World Series,” said Chane.
Laura Hampel (GER) had a storming race to take the win, finishing 7th overall in the process and celebrating her birthday in style. Dominika Zupancic Valant (SLO) and Anna Dulko (CAN) rounded out the international podium, with them both finishing within the top 15 of the overall standings.
Despite rain making conditions challenging, it was a successful debut on the UTMB World Series for KAT100 by UTMB runners who came from across the globe to experience the very best of the Kitzbühel Alps.
With the UTMB World Series Finals just around the corner, all eyes will now turn to the Mont-Blanc valley for the iconic bucket-list event and the chance for amateur and elite runners to compete at the ultimate final over 28th August – 3rd September.
See all results here.
