Leonard Chemutai from Uganda pushed through ahead of Kenyan Ombogo Kiriago Philemon and German Filimon Abraham, who surprisingly finished in third place in a gripping 15-kilometer Mountain Classic. Patrick Kipngeno, World Champion in the Vertical came in fifth, while Martin Mattle, as the fastest Austrian, finished in 57th place.
The penultimate race at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai neither lacked suspense nor twists. Isaac Kisbet from Uganda flew away from the field shortly after the start, which proved to be the wrong tactic, as he fell behind after starting off at a pace that was much too fast. This made way for a three-way fight between Uganda, Kenya and Germany. In the first downhill back to Innsbruck, German runner Filimon Abraham took the lead but was overtaken by Ombogo Kiriago Philemon. While Abraham was still able to keep up at the beginning of the second climb, he had to give in to the Kenyan eventually. Shortly after, he was passed by Chemutai as well, resulting in an African duel for the title, which Chemutai managed to win after a strong performance.
Filimon Abraham aus Deutschland hatte die ganze große Sensation vor Augen, konnte am Ende mit den Afrikanern nicht ganz mithalten aber den sensationellen dritten Platz ins Ziel bringen – noch vor Eliud Cherop (UGA)vor Vertical-Weltmeister Patrick Kipngeno, vor Alejandro Garcia (ESP/6.) oder auch Josphat Kiprotich (KEN/7.)
For the Austrians, the race didn’t go according to plan. Manuel Innerhofer, who had big plans after the Vertical, tumbled after about six kilometers and sustained a laceration on his head that needed stitches. Martin Mattle finished in 56th place with a deficit of 9:16 minutes, while Martin Enzenberger came in 62nd with a deficit of 9:52 minutes.
