Olmo and Herry win The North Face Ultra-Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc

On 27/08/2006 Marco Olmo from Italy and Karine Herry won the 4th The North Face Ultra Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc.

PlanetMountain

August 2006

The North Face Ultra Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc

Sunday 27 August 2006 turned out to be the edition that beat all records: both Marco Olmo from Italy and Karine Herry from France beat last year's time to win the fourth (incredible) Mont Blanc ultra marathon.

58 year old Marco Olmo from Italy has won the fourth The North Face Ultra Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc in a record time of 21 hours, 6 minutes and 6 seconds. He won the grueling 158 km, 8500m + race between France, Switzerland and Italy ahead of Csaba Nameth from Hungary and the Chamonix racer Vincent Delebarre, winner in 2004.

Olmo, who in 2005 had placed third, stated "I suffered a lot tin past editions but I tried not to think about it. This year conditions were great for me: I race a lot better with cold temperatures. I'm surprised by this victory and really excited." Olmo had trailed Vincent Delebarre up to Champex but from there took the lead and never looked back.

Csaba Nemeth from Hungary placed second with a constant rhythm right up to the finishing line. "It was extremely cold during the night and the icy water hurt my throat; everything was frozen, even the food, but then at dawn things really heated up. I was really tough" confirmed Nemeth who in 2004 had placed fifth.

Vincent Delebarre placed third after having lead the field up to Champex. Here he tired and slowed: "I think I should have trained for a couple of weeks longer. I didn't feel good right from the outset, my legs hurt. I think it's difficult to compete in two good competitions throughout a racing career. During an ideal race you only feel pleasure. That's what I felt in 2003."

The women’s event was won by Karine Herry in a record time of 25 hours, 22 minutes and 20 seconds. Race favourite from the outset, Karine raced through the rain to reach the finish with a smile: "I suffered greatly because of the cold and during the last three rainy hours." Simone Kayser from Luxemburg placed second, an hour behind Herry. Patricia Signorio from France placed third.

by Laura Calevo

THE NORTH FACE ULTRA TRAIL DU TOUR DU MONT BLANC IN NUMBERS
With 3588 partecipants, 192 womend and 48 nations the The North Face Ultra Trail du Tour du Mont Blanc will be remembered as the year of superlatives:
- 2535 partecipants for the 158km race
- 1053 partecipants and 854 arrivalse at Chamonix for the 86km race
- 48 nations and 5 continents represented, more than 800 volunteers

RESULTS
Male
1 Marco OLMO (ITA) 21 hours, 06 minutes, 06 seconds
2 Csaba NEMETH (HON) 21 hours, 37 minutes, 32 seconds
3 Vincent DELEBARRE (FRA) 21 hours, 59 minutes, 29 seconds
Female
1 Karine HERRY (FRA) 25 hours, 22 minutes, 20 seconds (25 overall)
2 Simone KAYSER (LUX) 26 hours, 05 minutes, 58 seconds (36 overall)
3 Patricia SIGNORIO (FRA) 27 hours 45 minutes, 51 seconds (67 overall)

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Photos:the crowd at the The North Face Ultra Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc; Marco Olmo winner of the 4th ultra marathon - Photo arch. The North Face Ultra Trail du Tour du Mont-Blanc.