GTWS race two 2024 – Four Sisters men’s results: Kipngeno makes it two out of two

Patrick Kipngeno made it two wins out of two at the start of the 2024 Golden Trail World Series with a dominant victory in the Four Sisters Mountain Trail.

The athletes had made the relatively short journey from Japan last week to China – but the result in the men’s race was the same as the Kenyan was a class apart.

Read on to find out how the race unfolded and click here to hear how Joyce Muthoni Njeru made it a double for Kenya by winning the women’s race.

Kipngeno goes all in early on

There was a remarkable similarity early on as the Kobe Trail 1-2-3 of Kipngeno, Joey Hadorn (SUI) and Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR) filled exactly those three spots at the first checkpoint.

Starting at 3,300 metres above sea level, facing the athletes was a challenging 22km race with 1,530 metres of climbing.

But Kipngeno asserted from the off on the tough opening 7km climb.

He reached the first checkpoint in 49:18, more than four minutes ahead of Hadorn, who was running alongside Elazzaoui. Daniel Pattis (ITA) and Philemon Kiriago (KEN), who fell when going well last week, were next.

And in truth Kipngeno wasn’t threatened thereafter, with his lead up to five minutes and Elazzaoui now leading Pattis and Kiriago in the chase pack.

Kipngeno dipped under two hours to cross the line in 1:59:13, with Elazzaoui surprisingly losing further ground on the final descent as he took second in 2:05:40, just 15 seconds ahead of Pattis.

Change in conditions suits Kipngeno

Kipngeno had been dreading the muddy and snowy conditions from earlier in the week so was thankful the sun completely dried out the course in just a few hours.

He is now comfortably at the top of the overall ranking with two wins from the two stages in Asia and he saud. “I’m thrilled with this second win in a row.

“This season, I’m injury-free and this changes everything for me, I feel like I can compete at my best. Last year, I really suffered at the end of the season, that’s why I took a complete break for two months so I could come back stronger.

“Now, I can’t wait for Sierre-Zinal. I know that Rémi Bonnet will be there and I’m really looking forward to our head-to-head.”

More post-race reaction

Elazzaoui was no match for Kipngeno’s speed, either going up or coming down, and he admitted: “I’m a bit disappointed because I really wanted to win this race, but it was really tough, especially up to the 6-km mark because of the altitude.

“But I fought hard because I wanted that second place. The season isn’t over yet, there are more races to come, and I know there will be more good results!”

Third place was hotly contested for a long time but it was Pattis who grabbed the final podium spot, and afterwards he said: “I didn’t really know what to expect on this race, especially with the altitude; I felt good all week, but I know that doesn’t mean anything.

“I was both excited and nervous at the start line because I wanted to do really well after the result in Japan. In the end, the race went really well for me and I’m thrilled with this podium spot.”

2024 GTWS race two – Four Sisters Mountain Trail, Saturday April 27, 22km

MEN

1. Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) – 1:59:10
2. Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR) – 2:05:39
3. Daniel Pattis (ITA) – 2:05:51
4. Philemon Kiriago (KEN) – 2:08:08
5. Joey Hadorn (SUI) – 2:08:20