Local mountain runners triumph on the Ratschings Mountain Trails

The first edition of the Ratschings Sky Trail was eagerly awaited on Sunday. The 27 km long, technically very demanding route with an ascent of 1610 meters demanded everything from the participants under almost cloudless skies and summer temperatures. Before the starting signal, Armin Larch (Mareit), last year's winner of the Ratschings Mountain Trail, and Lukas Mangger (Ridnaun), in sixth place 12 months ago, were considered the top favorites for victory. And the duo did not disappoint expectations.

After the start, Larch was in the lead for a long time. The athlete from the La Sportiva team had gained a lead of almost two minutes over Mangger after eleven kilometers. But then Mangger fired up the turbo in the middle section. While he had already caught up by half a minute at the 15-kilometer mark, over the next eight kilometers he turned the deficit into a lead of over two and a half minutes. In the end, the 25-year-old from ASV Laufenverein Freienfeld triumphed with a time of 2:38.11 hours. Larch crossed the finish line at the Rinnerlift completely exhausted after 2:43.27 minutes, while Patrick Ramoser - also from the ASV Running Club Freienfeld - completed the podium. He also broke the magical 3-hour mark with a final time of 2:59.22. Claudia Sieder is in a league of her own In the women's race, Claudia Sieder celebrated a start-to-finish victory. The 34-year-old from Mühlen in Taufers mastered the 27 km and 1610 meters in altitude climb “three weeks after completely botched Italian championships” (original sound Sieder) with a time of 3:20.24 hours. Sieder, who competes for the LC Pustertal, relegated Edeltraud Thaler – the grand dame of the South Tyrolean mountain running scene – to second place (3:37.30/ASV Telmekom Team Südtirol). Renate Kreidl from the alpinspeed Sarntal team was happy about third place (3:39.04)

The Ratschings Mountain Trail (17,7 km/950 hm), on the other hand, was left by Sarner Andreas Innerebner. The 42-year-old from Durnholz immediately took the lead after the start and gained a lead of around two minutes up to the Klammalm. Innerebner was able to maintain this almost to the finish. In the end, last year's fourth-place finisher, who competes for ASC LF Sarntal, won with a time of 1:25.38 minutes and was therefore around one and a half minutes faster than in summer 2021. Armin Larch's course record (1:22.55) was not in danger. Lukas Messner from Olang took second place. For the SSV Bruneck athlete, the stopwatch stopped after 1:27.17 hours. Orienteering specialist Mikhail Maamlev (Athlete Running Team) took third place. The native Russian, who has lived in Mölten for over a decade and a half, took part in a competition for the first time in five years and made a brilliant comeback that took him from tenth position at the Klammalm to the podium. Maamlev's final time was 1:32.29. In the end it was a Larch victory Alexandra - Armin's older sister - ensured that there was a Larch success in Ratschings. The 26-year-old, who is the mother of two children and has returned to competitive sports after a maternity leave, prevailed after an exciting sprint to the finish line against Lena Laukner (Salomon Running Team Germany), who lives in Innsbruck but comes from Dresden. With a time of 1:45.54 hours, Larch was four seconds ahead of her 21-year-old opponent, who will be competing in the marathon on Mont Blanc next weekend. Manuela Beer, third on the day, also comes from Germany (1:58.06), who has been living in Vahrn for some time.

The Ratschings Mountain Trail could also be tackled in teams of two. In the men's category, the Lothringerhof 1 team (Michael Leiter/Matthäus Berger) triumphed with a time of 1:37.04 hours. As the fastest women's relay team, the karate girls Sigrid Gasser/Sabine Gasser completed the course in 2:52.11 hours. The fastest mixed relay was “Mir zwoa” with Jasmin Volgger and World Cup biathlete Patrick Braunhofer with a time of 1:47.10.

The event was framed by the Mini Trail, in which over 60 children and young people took part and delighted the audience in the finish area at the Rinneralm lift. At the end of the event in the early afternoon, the organizing team, ASV Ratschings, drew a satisfied conclusion. “We saw two exciting and fortunately injury-free races on both tracks. The feedback on the new Ratschings Sky Trail was very positive and we are of course extremely pleased about that. We are already looking forward to the 3rd edition of the Ratschings Mountain Trails, which will take place on June 18, 2023,” said OK boss Hanspeter Schölzhorn in conclusion. The voices of the winners Lukas Mangger (winner Ratschings Sky Trail): “Winning here is just fantastic. I think that Armin (Larch, editor's note) has lost his temper a little today. My form is fantastic at the moment, the slightly longer runs perhaps suit me better and that may have been the deciding factor today. The new route is incredible, the panorama in the middle of our beautiful mountains is simply wonderful.”

Lukas Mangger at his finish. © hkMedia

Claudia Sieder (winner of Ratschings Sky Trail): “I'm super happy, I couldn't have had a better day for a win. The route is incredibly beautiful, the people are in a great mood - what more could you want? Today is the first time I've ever been here in Ratschings and it's certainly not the last time I'll come here. I would like to run the trail semi-professionally this year and maybe I can find a sponsor who would like to support me.”

Andreas Innerebner (winner Ratschings Mountain Trail): “I really organized the race very well and was always able to go at my own pace. I didn't mind the heat, I like it when it's warm - you just have to drink a little more. After being here last year, I just wanted to improve my time this year. I succeeded very well. Will I tackle the longer route next year? Let’s see what happens.”

Alexandra Larch (winner of Ratschings Mountain Trail): “It was a really great race. At first Lena ( Laukner, note d. Red. ) in the front, I was able to overtake her at the Wumblsalm before she caught up with me again at the Rinneralm. Then I thought to myself that I had to step on the gas and I succeeded. It was simply important to me to get a taste of the competitive atmosphere again. I would also like to thank my family for their great support.” The results at a glance: Ratschings Sky Trail (27 km/1610 m) Men: 1. Lukas Mangger ITA/ASV Running Club Freienfeld 2:38.11 2. Armin Larch ITA/La Sportiva 2:43.27 3. Patrick Ramoser ITA/ASV Running Club Freienfeld 2:59.22 4. Alberto Laucirica Garcia ESP/Karpos 3:00.33 5. Stefan Ungericht ITA/Mountain Shop Tubris 3:05.59

Women: 1. Claudia Sieder ITA/LC Pustertal 3:20.24 2. Edeltraud Thaler ITA/ASV Telmekom Team South Tyrol 3:37.30 3. Renate Kreidl ITA/alpinspeed Sarntal 3:39.04 4. Irene Senfter ITA/ASV Jenesien Soltnflitzer 3:41.45 5. Angelika Eckl ITA/South Tyrolean LV Sparkasse 3:41.45

Ratschings Mountain Trail (17,7 km/950 m)

Men: 1. Andreas Innerebner ITA/ASC LF Sarntal Raiffeisen 1:25.38 2. Lukas Messner ITA/SSV Bruneck 1:27.17 3. Mikhail Mamleev ITA/Athlete Running Team 1:32.29 4. Samuel Demetz ITA/Gherdeina Runners 1:32.51 5. David Thöni ITA/ASV Gossensass Skialp 1:33.00

Women: 1. Alexandra Larch ITA 1:45.54 2. Lena Laukner GER/Salomon Running Team Germany 1:45.58 3. Manuela Beer GER 1:58.06 4. Magdalena Ausserhofer ITA/WASV Weissenbach - Teldra Renna 1:59.14 5. Petra Pfeifer ITA/SG Eisacktal 2:01.49

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Local mountain runners triumph on the Ratschings Mountain Trails

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