THE TOP RUNNERS FROM THE TOR330 – TOR DES GÉANTS® AND THE TOR450 – TOR DES GLACIERS HAVE ARRIVED. THE TORX® PREPARES TO CELEBRATE ITS “GIANTS”
The first three runners from the four TORX® races have been confirmed, and the wait continues for the arrival today and tomorrow of all the other competitors, the true protagonists of the event. Tomorrow will see the last appointment, the TOR30 – Passage au Malatrà
Following the victory of Franco Collé (with a race record) and the second place of the Swiss Jonas Russi, the arrival of the Swedish Petter Restorp, third with 76:36, the men’s podium for the TOR330 – Tor des Géants® has been confirmed. For the women, a brilliant victory - as was widely predicted - by the Spanish Silvia Trigueros Garrote, who came 13th overall just a few minutes before 4 a.m., with a final time of 89:57. The Basque athlete has earned her place among the greats of the TOR, achieving the impressive slam of three consecutive wins, which no-one had ever managed before. In second place, the Bergamo-born Melissa Paganelli (93:35), with a positive performance despite a difficult final run complicated by extreme fatigue. Third place has gone to the English Nicky Spinks with a time of 101:16.
The positions have also been confirmed for the top three places on the podium for the TOR450 – Tor des Glaciers, with joint first place going to the Swiss Jules Gabioud and the Italian-born French citizen Luca Papi, who led the race since the beginning. The duo, who never lost their good humour and the desire to share their efforts, arrived in Courmayeur hand in hand with a time of 138:18. Behind them, overall third and the first woman to arrive, was the Canadian Stephanie Case, with an incredible race run in solitude. “It is amazing what the body can do. I raced on a par with the
men, and I hope that I have encouraged other women to realise that they can do it too”, was her comment immediately after the race.
The final appointment in the event is the most recent addition to the TORX® programme, the TOR30 – Passage au Malatrà, with more than 500 runners ready for the start, tomorrow morning at 10 from Saint-Rhémy-En-Bosses.
Above all, between now and Saturday at 6 p.m. (the deadline for completion of the races), the wait will be on for the arrival of the true heroes of the TOR; all the other competitors, who represent the true soul of this one-of-a-kind sporting and human adventure, men and women who are extraordinary in that they are not super-athletes and who deserve to be celebrated - each and every one - as winners, as they are driven solely by their passion for the mountains and by their desire to compete in a unique sport. Long live the TOR!