Yesterday at the Ultra Cavalls del Vent it happened the best it could be expected: the race was not shortened due to the rain, we could see some of the best runners of the world at their best and our beloved mountains got their long awaited share of water after months of drought.
The weather forecast was really bad for today. It was expected continued rain the whole day and temperatures dropping. At the very last moment, just minutes before the start, race director confirmed that the race was not going to be shortened. According to the organization, 1,000 runners started the race, but we think that there were much less than this figure since we know that many didn’t showed up at the starting line due to the expected heavy rains. At the time of this report, it is said that between 600 and 700 runners DNF.
In addition, you can find our full play-by-play of the race as well as a collection of our pre-race interviews and preview on our Cavalls del Vent Live Coverage page.
As usual, we’ll be updating this article with additional results as well as links to Cavalls del Vent-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports.
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2012 Cavalls del Vent Men’s Race
The race started at 9:00 am with no rain and temperatures around 55F, pretty good expectations ahead. But just an hour later, a heavy rain started to fall at the same time that race leaders entered high mountain terrain. The massive climb to the highest point of the loop kept all the leaders packed. Rain, a thick fog, but luckily no strong winds welcomed first Kilian Jornet and Tòfol Castanyer at the top. Anton Krupicka and Dakota Jones were about ten minutes behind along with Miguel Heras.
Kilian Jornet running Cavalls. Photo: Koala’s Team
On the long ridgeline ahead, mainly a downhill, Anton and Dakota shaved around 5 minutes, in spite of Krupicka getting lost in the final stretch leading to checkpoint (CP) 3.
Rain kept pounding while top runners were dealing with easy terrain towards CP4. Differences with the leaders where shortened here by the Americans and Heras. Kilian and Tòfol entered CP4 first, and just a couple of minutes behind, Krupicka ran in like mad followed by Heras and Jones. Heras didn’t stop here and Krupicka stopped less than 20 seconds to refill water.
The toughest section was the next course stretch, a long rocky ridge very exposed to the rain and the wind. Three of the leaders paid here the mountain’s toll. Heras broke just before CP5, right after the long descent from the ridge his body said enough. He was dealing with hypothermia. The same happened to Castanyer that entered the next mountain hut with really severe hypothermia and was rapidly assisted by the medical unit. Dakota lost 10 minutes here, but kept a very decent pace. From CP5 began the fight for the first position between Kilian and Krupicka.
Anton Krupicka chasing Kilian Jornet late in the Cavalls. Photo: Koala’s Team
Before leaving CP5 Kilian needed to get an extra layer to keep his body warm enough to face the crossing of the range, a stretch at high altitude. Krupicka caught Kilian in this section and they entered together CP6. Kilian took his time here and Krupicka left first, they ran shoulder-to-shoulder the fast sections to CP7 and CP8. CP8 is located just before the final climb of the race. This demanding slope would decide the race. They both started together but Kilian kept an insane pace that Krupicka couldn’t respond to and at the top of the climb, CP9, Krupicka had lost around 7 minutes that he could not shave in the long but easy downhill to the finish line.
Kilian broke the course record as did Krupicka, Dakota got the third position 36 minutes behind.
2012 Cavalls del Vent Men’s Official Results
- Kilian Jornet (Salomon) – 8:42:23
- Anton Krupicka (New Balance) – 8:49:47
- Dakota Jones (Montrail) – 9:26:17
- Manuel Merillas – 9:49:24
- Philipp Reiter (Salomon) – 9:50:58
Kilian Jornet leading late in the 2012 Cavalls del Vent. Photo: Koala’s Team
2012 Cavalls del Vent Women’s Race
This girls are very tough, they all three got into the top ten overall, no hypothermia, no long sleeves most of the time, no rain coat in many places… incredible. They ran just minutes one from each other almost all the time, with Emelie Forsberg leading early and Nuria Picas at the end. The emotion here was high at the very end when they were so close to each other that any of them could be the winner. Picas was leading with Anna Frost 15 seconds behind at the sight of the village of Bagà, where the race ends, and Picas could get some extra seconds in the streets leading to the finish line. Emilie finished third four minutes later. Awesome, all three under women’s course record.
Nuria Picas winning the 2012 Ultra Cavalls del Vent. Photo: Jordi Saragossa
2012 Cavalls del Vent Women’s Unofficial Results
- Nuria Picas (Buff) – 10:34:38
- Anna Frost (Salomon) – 10:35:18
- Emelie Forsberg (Salomon) – 10:39:46
The Tragedy of the 2012 Ultra Cavalls del Vent
There was no prize ceremony yesterday at Bagà, just a minute of silence at the square of the village. A female runner, Teresa Farriol, died yesterday at dusk while crossing the range at high altitude. It was snowing hard and windy at that time. She died at the hospital of hypothermia. She was a great runner with a strong spirit and a good friend of us. Rest in peace.
2012 Cavalls del Vent Articles, Race Reports, and More
Articles and Photo Galleries
- Carreras de Montana article
- Skyrunning’s articles re the results and the tragic death
- Ian Corless’ photos
- Ian Corless’ article
Race Reports
- Anton Krupicka (2nd)
- Anna Frost (2nd)
- Dakota Jones (3rd)
- Joe Grant (DNF)
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Xavier Martorell for this results report and the Koala’s Team for their amazing coverage of the 2012 Ultra Cavalls del Vent!
