“There’s no way I’m letting go of this victory,” was how Kilian Jornet described the dramatic final stages of a classic Sierre-Zinal.
It was his tenth win – the first was in 2009. But have any been more memorable?
All looked to be going to plan early on – the trail running GOAT left the rest of the field in his wake on the brutal first climb of the 31km race which features 2,200 metres of climbing.
But a Kenyan trio would cause all sorts of problems. First Josphat Kiprotich would go past before the 10km mark. He would be reeled in by the Catalan legend, but then Philemon Kiriago, last year’s winner, and Patrick Kipngeno would start to close.
The former emerged as the big threat – he overtook with just over 2km to go before Jornet powered back into the lead and then less than two seconds would separate them on the line.
Finding an extra gear
Afterwards Jornet said: “It’s been an amazing day. Very hard. I had cramps so it’s been tough.
“I was feeling good and I started strong. I wanted to make a gap.
It was very hot, but I was prepared for it, yet despite everything, I did end up cramping.
“But I saw that Philemon was catching up and I thought there’s no way I’m letting go of this victory.
“On the last downhill, I found one gear more and could push to the line. So I’m very, very happy.”
Doing “even better 15 years down the line”
Asked if he had everything against him, he said: “That’s what makes me very, very proud and I’m happy to give back to this amazing race that’s given me everything.
“For me it’s more than a 10th victory, it’s being able to do even better 15 years down the line on the same race.”
And did he think he might be beaten? “Yeah, absolutely. The third aid station I was pretty confident. I was just keeping it together. But then I saw that there were three catching me and I thought, it’s going to be a very hard one.
“Philemon passed me and I was thinking, okay, it’s not possible yet [to respond] as I had cramps. Luckily it was then in the downhill and I said, okay, this is where I have my last chance. So I gave it everything.”
And the great news for the fans who were thrilled by the race – both those on the ground as well as the global TV audience, is that the 37-year-old is likely to be back in 2025. Asked if we’ll see him here next year, he said: “Well I haven’t missed many since 2009 so it’s a pretty sure guess.”
Meanwhile Kiriago said: “I’m so proud of myself! Honestly, I didn’t think I could finish on the podium as I’m coming back from an ankle injury. But thanks to careful treatment I have managed to be in good enough shape for this race and to take second place.”
