So it all comes down to this as the finest trail runners in the world head to Ascona-Locarno, Switzerland for the Grand Final from 17th to 20th October.
For the elites it’s all about two races to see who will be crowned the women’s and men’s champions – a 7km prologue with 400 metres of vertical elevation and then a 23.5km race with 1,400 metres of climbing. Read on to find out more…
How to watch live
If you missed Sunday’s men’s final then you can read about it here – and watch it via the embed below.
If you missed Saturday’s women’s final then you can read about it here – and watch it via the embed below.
GTWS Grand Final
start list
Here are the top 10 women and men heading into the final showdowns:
Women
- Joyce Njeru (KEN – Atletica Saluzzo): 600 pts
- Mădălina Florea (ROU – Salomon): 564 pts
- Maude Mathys (CHE – Asics): 532 pts
- Malen Osa (ESP – Salomon): 500 pts
- Judith Wyder (CHE – Hoka/Red Bull): 487 pts
- Theres Leboeuf (CHE – Compressport): 478 pts
- Miao Yao (CHN – Salomon): 476 pts
- Anna Gibson (USA – Brooks): 470 pts
- Sylvia Nordskar (NOR – Hoka): 457 pts
- Marta Martinez Abellan (ESP – La Sportiva): 444 pts
Men
- Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR – Nnormal): 600 pts
- Patrick Kipngeno (KEN – Run2gether/On Ag): 588 pts
- Philemon Kiriago (KEN – Run2gether/On Ag): 552 pts
- Rémi Bonnet (CHE – Salomon/Red Bull): 520 pts
- Daniel Pattis (ITA – Brooks): 488 pts
- Bart Przedwojewski (POL – Salomon): 478 pts
- Roberto Delorenzi (CHE – Brooks): 476 pts
- Joey Hadorn (CHE – Salomon): 456 pts
- Alain Santamaria (ESP – Salomon): 420 pts
- Marcin Kubica (POL – Salomon): 418 pts
There are a maximum of 400 points up for grabs this week – 100 points for the prologue and 300 points for the final race.
Notable runners
Route
Both the 7km prologue and a 23.5km race take place on the picturesque trails of Cardada.
And they are run on “flower format” routes, featuring a start, finish and several passages through the Fan Zone, the beating heart of the event, where the public can fully enjoy the spectacle.
Analysis
Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR – Nnormal) and Joyce Njeru (KEN – Atletica Saluzzo) top the rankings heading into the final – can they maintain their advantage?
We’ve been chatting to both in the build up – click here for the Elhousine interview and click here for the interview with Joyce.
And Kenyan duo Patrick Kipngeno and Philemon Kiriago tried to formulate a strategy to beat Elazzaoui last time at Mammoth, with the war of words over that controversial sprint finish hotting up ahead of Sunday’s final showdown! Click here to find out more.
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