Elhousine Elazzaoui (MAR) just got the better of Philemon Kiriago (KEN) in a thrilling sprint finish to a dramatic Headlands 27K race near San Francisco.
That pair had broken away with Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) and Rémi Bonnet (SUI) early in Sunday’s race and they served up an absolute classic from that point onwards – going shoulder to shoulder on both in the climbs and downhills.
The quartet were still stuck together in the very last kilometre, the decisive moment coming in the sprint to the finish line where Elazzaoui edged out Kiriago by just two seconds!
‘It was so fast’
“It was a crazy race, the craziest race of my life,” said Elhousine at the finish line. “I’ve never ever seen a race like this in trail running. It was so fast.
“I tried to attack, but they didn’t let me get away, so I had to attack even harder in the final downhill. I’m thrilled to finish victorious in this race.”
The win means Elhousine moves ahead of Kipngeno in the overall series standings.
After Sierre-Zinal, Kiriago had to lose out to a sprint victory for the second time in a row (there it was the GOAT Kilian Jornet who prevailed) but the Kenyan was still smiling at the finish.
He said: “The race was very fast. I had a good pace and led the group from the start until the last downhill when Elhousine overtook me. He was the strongest and I’m very happy to finish on the podium of this crazy race.”
Kipngeno rounds out the podium
Kipngeno opted out of the sprint yet still finished very close to his teammate to take third place ahead of Bonnet.
He admitted: “This race was really competitive. To be honest, during the race I didn’t expect to finish third.
“I think I lacked a bit of technique on the downhills; the other three were better than me on the downhills and that’s probably where it counted.”
The Californian dream continues next weekend with the Mammoth 26K at Mammoth Lakes.
Headlands 27K results 2024
Sunday September 15
MEN
- 1. Elhousine Elazzoui (MAR) – 1:55:27
- 2. Philemon Kiriago (KEN) – 1:55:29
- 3 Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) – 1:56:01
- 4. Rémi Bonnet (SUI) – 1:57:48
- 5. Christian Allen (USA) – 2:01:39
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