{"id":1712,"date":"2025-09-25T16:58:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2025-12-05T17:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T17:07:09","slug":"larraca-crowns-remi-bonnet-and-nina-engelhard-in-the-uphill-at-the-canfranc-pirineos-2025-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/2025\/09\/25\/larraca-crowns-remi-bonnet-and-nina-engelhard-in-the-uphill-at-the-canfranc-pirineos-2025-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Larraca Crowns Remi Bonnet and Nina Engelhard in the Uphill at the Canfranc-Pirineos 2025 World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Swiss runner Remi Bonnet and Germany\u2019s Nina Engelhard have been crowned world champions in the Uphill race on the opening day of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, taking place until this Sunday in the town of Canfranc, in the Spanish Pyrenees.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

REMI BONNET DETHRONES TWO-TIME CHAMPION PATRICK KIPNGENO<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the men\u2019s category, two-time champion Patrick Kipngeno was aiming for a third consecutive title\u2014an especially difficult feat, as the race proved. Swiss runner R\u00e9mi Bonnet came into the event with notable confidence, on a course that perfectly suited his vertical racing strengths. He was already in the lead by a clear margin at the halfway control point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chasing him were Richard Omaya, Bonnet’s teammate, and Kipngeno himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Remi Bonnet left no room for doubt and claimed the gold in 37:50, setting a new course record. Silver went to Kenyan Richard Omaha with 39:04, and bronze to his compatriot Patrick Kipngeno, the dethroned champion, who still proved his worth with a time of 39:20 and a spot on the world Uphill podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the finish line, Bonnet said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy to win here. My training style\u2014combining ski mountaineering with trail running\u2014made me feel very confident. It\u2019s never easy to beat the top Kenyan runners in an Uphill race, but today I managed to do it. I\u2019m really pleased with my performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Runner-up Richard Omaya commented:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPast the halfway point, I saw that Remi had opened too big a gap, so I focused on running my own race to the finish. I’m also really happy with the excellent result achieved by our Kenyan team today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former champion Patrick Kipngeno added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom around kilometer 2, I realized the dream of a third title wouldn\u2019t be possible today\u2014Remi and Richard were just too strong. As for the course, I really enjoyed it. I love these landscapes and the overall atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Results:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gold: Kenya \u2013 22 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silver: Switzerland \u2013 34 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bronze: USA \u2013 41 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NINA ENGELHARD TAKES WOMEN\u2019S GOLD: THE EUROPEAN QUEEN RULES AGAIN<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Young German athlete Nina Engelhard came in as the reigning European champion in both Uphill and Classic (2024) and once again showed her immense talent by taking a brilliant world title in 45:33, smashing the previous course record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silver went to Finland\u2019s Susana Saapunki, who fought all the way to the finish, coming in at 45:59. The third spot on the podium was earned by the USA\u2019s Anna Gibson, thanks to a gritty run that saw her finish in 46:07.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the finish, Nina Engelhard said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI gave it everything I had\u2014my legs are still destroyed. It\u2019s been a wonderful day, with an amazing course and scenery, but I\u2019ll need several days to recover from this effort. The course was mostly runnable, except for the final ridge, which left me barely able to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susana Saapunki said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt really good, although my legs were killing me in the final section. From kilometer 3, I thought maybe I could take the lead, but that final ridge made it impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Gibson, who claimed the bronze, reflected:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe final section was so tough I couldn\u2019t even think about gaining positions. But in return, the warmth of the crowd, my friends, my teammates… it was a fantastic atmosphere. I\u2019m especially proud of the team spirit and support among all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Results:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gold: Italy \u2013 31 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silver: France \u2013 36 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bronze: Canada \u2013 41 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uphill: From Santa Cristina to Larraca<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canfranc Uphill race started in front of Hotel Santa Cristina, right alongside the Camino de Santiago. From there, runners faced a straight ascent of 6 km to the summit of Larraca (2,278 m), with a total elevation gain of 978 meters\u2014without much rest. A route that perfectly encapsulates the Uphill philosophy: maximum intensity over minimal distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course combined forest tracks in the opening stretch with a rocky singletrack in the middle section, before tackling the final switchbacks leading to the iconic summit near the Ast\u00fan ski resort. The last kilometer was especially brutal: a steep alpine slope of grass and rock, where running turns into a rhythmic climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPCOMING EVENTS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Uphill race has crowned the first world champions at Canfranc-Pirineos, kicking off what promises to be an unforgettable weekend, bringing the best of the Aragonese Pyrenees to the world stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short Trail<\/strong>: Sept 26 \u2013 8:00 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Trail<\/strong>: Sept 27 \u2013 7:00 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classic and U20 races<\/strong>: Sept 28 \u2013 From 8:15 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
PICTURES<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swiss runner Remi Bonnet and Germany\u2019s Nina Engelhard have been crowned world champions in the Uphill race on the opening.. Read more<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1712"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1717,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1712\/revisions\/1717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}