Transvulcania VK – May 2017

The island of La Palma today hosted the 2nd Vertical Kilometer® (VK) in the new 2017 Vertical Kilometer® World Circuit.

The series started just last weekend in Italy with with the Trentapassi Vertical, rising 1,000m above Italy’s Lake Iseo with two new race records. Read the report HERE.

To clarify, a VK is a uphill mountain race that climbs for 1,000m over a course that is less than 5 km in length. Certain courses on the circuit do obtain special dispensation – Transvulcania one case in point.

The route here in La Palma covers over 1200m of vertical gain over a distance of 7.6km and re-traces sections the Ultramarathon course along the GR131 and concludes at the forest lookout tower at an altitude of 1600m with stunning views of the Aridane valley and the north east of the island.

The VK circuit is a Skyrunner® World Series spin off – previously, the Vertical Kilometer® discipline was included in the SWS, it now has its own category that will allow more races in an ever increasing market. In 2017 there are seventeen races in eight countries.

Featuring  the world’s shortest and fastest races, the first and only triple VK, some 20-year-old classics and some exciting new ones, the 2017 Vertical Kilometer® World Circuit will produce some very exciting races.

From sea to sky, up cliff faces, volcanoes, mountain summits and ski runs, this gravity-defying sport is for anyone ready to push their limits – today in La Palma, Transvulcania provided a wonderful showcase for the sport as runners departed from Tazacorte Puerto.

The line-up for the VK was impressive with Stian Angermund, Saul Padua, Ferran Teixido, Remi Bonnet and Ondrej Fejfar heading up a world-class field. Transvulcania Ultramarathon champion Luis Alberto Hernando, also toed the line along with Arley Luque, Jose Manuel Leon, Daniel Garcia, Diego Simon, Joan Freixa and many more.

Stian Angermund dominated with a strong and. course record performance ahead of Luis Alberto Hernando and Saul Padua. His time of 00:47:22. Hernando ran 48:39 and Padua 50:41.

Yuri Yoshizumi headed up the ladies’ competition with Virginia Perez, Daniella Moreno, Gabriela Sanches, Zuzana Kirchova and Zuzana Urbancova, and a return to racing for Stephanie Jimenez after giving birth to her first child recently.

Christel Dewalle from France was an entrant in the race but withdrew from the competition on Tuesday May 9th. This morning, May 11th, the ISF (International Skyrunning Federation) released a communique that related to a doping infringement by Dewalle under WADA rules that related to the Skyrunning World championships in 2016. Dewalle has received a 4-month ban from the sport effective from May 8th and her results from said World Championships will be removed. See the communication HERE.

Yuri Yoshizumi pushed hard up this long course to clinch victory ahead of Stephanie Jimenez and Zuzana Kirchova, the times 00:59:28, 01:01:18 and 01:04:33 respectively.

Attention now turns to the main event of the weekend, the Transvulcania Ultramarathon that starts in the early hours of the morning on Saturday at Fuencalienti lighthouse. You can read the race preview HERE.