Andreas Reiterer made it onto the podium. © pm

Reiterer is back at the forefront

In the second race of the Berglauf Ultra Trail World Tour on the Canary Island of La Palma, Andreas Reiterer made it onto the podium again. With a show of strength, he secured third place on the 75 kilometer long route with an altitude of 4.735 meters. Tobias Geiser completed the South Tyrolean squad and came ninth.

07 May 2023

From: pm

Two South Tyroleans once again took part in the second race of the Berglauf Ultra Trail World Tour. Tobias Geiser from Mölten and Andreas Reiterer from Avelengo. After his victory in the opening race, the latter was allowed to start the race this time with starting number 1 as the current leader in the overall standings. The “Ultra Transvulcania La Palma” race track is considered one of the most difficult tracks in the world. Runners have to deal with extreme conditions during the competition. On the mountain at around 2.500 meters it is usually very cold with strong gusts of wind. In the plains, however, there is high humidity combined with mid-summer temperatures.

As expected, the race started at a very high pace. And right from the start, several runners tried to break away from the peloton. But it was only after around 10 kilometers that a group of three – led by Reiterer – managed to break out of the peloton. At kilometer 30, the Haflinger had to let the American Dakota Jones and the Frenchman Damien Humbert go. The stomach problems that had already occurred before became too severe.

Reiterer shows his fighting heart

Both athletes were able to bring the lead they had fought for to the finish and the day's victory went to Jones in 7.02,16:XNUMX hours. Reiterer's physical problems did not diminish and so he had his hands full managing the shrinking lead over the chasing group. In the end, however, he showed his fighting side and dragged himself to the finish in third place. Geiser also showed a strong performance and placed in the top ten for the first time this season.

Andreas Reiterer in action. © pm

Reiterer was a little disappointed, but still satisfied after the race: “I'm currently in good shape and feeling good when I started, and I also felt great during the first few kilometers. Unfortunately, I suddenly had a stomach ache that forced me to slow down. Without food for the remaining 40 kilometers, the race became torture for me. I fought hard and am glad that I still made it onto the podium. There would have been more, but that's fine. Now we’re looking at the next races,” he concludes.