Spain, protagonist in the 22nd World Cup Mountain Racing 2020

The World Mountain Running Association today presented the 22nd edition of the original and most prestigious mountain racing circuit in the world. In 2020 the competition grows to host 12 races to be held in 9 iconic locations, venues spread across Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and the USA. The WMRA 2020 World Cup has three modalities: Vertical Mountain Race (3 events); Classic Mountain Race (5 appointments) and Long Distance Mountain Race (4 appointments)

WMRA Mountain Racing History: 1985-2020

The WMRA created the first World Mountain Racing in the history of sport. It was in 1985, with the Vertical Mountain Race held in the Italian town of San Viglio di Marebbe on a route of 14k / D + 1,080m. Since then, each WMRA World Cup has been the annual highlight for mountain runners. The 35th edition held last November in the iconic K42 Patagonia was also the debut of the Spanish team RFEA that won three medals in the Long Distance mode (22-42km), with gold for the men's team, silver for the women's team and individual bronze for Oriol Cardona. By 2020, Spain will host the headquarters of the 36th World Cup, to be held at Haria Extreme Lanzarote from November 14 to 15 with the Vertical and Long Distance modalities.

As the development of the World Championship progressed, the need for a stable circuit for the best mountain runners to compete with each other during the year became evident. To respond to this need was born In 1999 the WMRA World Cup was born. Since then, the best mountain runners in the world always fight to win this competition. From the legendary Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand, which added no less than 8 titles (and is now the current president of WMRA) to icons such as Italians Marco de Gasperi, the Kenyan Lucy Murigi, the Austrian Andrea Mayr or the Eritrean Petro Mamu .

The highlights of the 2019 season included victories in the Scottish World Cup Andrew Douglas and Irish Sarah McCormack, as well as the historic duel in the Swiss test of Sierre Zinal between the Spanish Kilian Jornet and Petro Mamu, which ended in victory of Kilian and finally left us a new record that improved the legendary Wyatt brand in 2003.

This 22nd edition of the World Cup will go further than ever: For the first time it will stop in Spain. And also for the first time it will put into play titles for the three usual modalities of the WMRA World Championship: Vertical Mountain Race, Classic Mountain Race and Long Distance Mountain Race. The great final title will be the Combined one, where they score the results achieved in the three modalities, in order to crown the most complete mountain corridor in the world.

THE WORLD CUP CALENDAR 2020:

After considering all the nominations, WMRA is proud to achieve a unique combination of mountain races that will form the 2020 World Cup, allowing not only that the best mountain runners in the world compete together, but also that popular runners follow in their footsteps. and enjoy some of the best mountain views and events in the world.

Spain starts the series with the Basque passion for flag racing. This will welcome mountain runners from all over the world in Zumaia Flysch Trail Mendi Maratoia on May 3. There will be a Long Distance with 42k / D + 3000m, and also a Classic with 14k / D + 425m ascent. http://www.zumaiaflyschtrail.com

Then we travel to northern Italy to live the Vertical Nasego and Nasego Trophy. On May 16, the Vertical race will take place, about 4.2k / D + 1000m and the next day the Classic race about 21.5k / D + 1.336m. http://www.trofeonasegocorsainmontagna.com/

After making his debut in 2019, we will return to Broken Arrow Skyrace in Squaw Valley, California. A great event that covers 3 days, from June 19 to 21, but is the Long Distance 26k / D + 1700 m ascent, which will be part of the World Cup Series, while hosting the National Championship of U.S. The race describes itself as "an alpine-inspired mountain race, characterized by an off-road fight, by technical terrain and large snowfields." Most of the route runs at more than 2,000m of altitude in the Squaw Valley Olympic ski resort. https://www.brokenarrowskyrace.com

The next two races are already veterans of the circuit: We return to Grossglockner Berglauf in Heilenblut, Austria, on July 12 for the next Classic race. The runners will face the 13 km race with 1265 m of ascent (without descent) against the impressive backdrop of the ascent to the highest mountain in Austria. http://www.grossglocknerberglauf.at/berglauf.html/

The highest level mountain race in the world will be the following event: The iconic race of Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland, it celebrates its 47th edition with more than 4,000 numbers at stake. The 2019 edition will be remembered for many years by the double record recorded by Jornet and Mahtys. This 2020 will run on August 9, 2020 on its classic 31k / D + 2,200m layout. https://www.sierre-zinal.com

Then we will travel to the north of the Czech Republic for Krkonossky Half Marathon. This race is only one week after Sierre-Zinal and will be the next Classic, on a 21k / D + 1,200m track http://www.maratonstav.cz

The last Long Distance and Classic mountain race on the circuit will take place back to Espàña, in the spectacular setting of Alto Aragón that offers the Canfranc Canfranc with its two tests climbing up to almost three thousand meters in the middle of the Central Pyrenees. The tests will take place on September 12 and 13 and riders can choose between the Long Distance mountain race of 45k / D + 3910m or the Classic sober 16k / D + 1195m. https://canfranccanfranc.com

Just one week later, the World Cup is heading to Nordkette Vertical in Innsbruck, Austria, which is described as "the jewel of the Alps". This uphill Vertical race takes place on September 19 and actually has a spectacular ascent of 6k / D + 1400m

Finally, we completed the 2020 World Cup with the final Vertical test on October 4: the Kilometro Verticale Chiavenna-Lagunac in Italy. This classic of the Italian mountain races has already been a race affiliated with WMRA and is known as the "vertical record race"With a 3.2k / D + 1,000m trace its conditions are perfect for beating the world record itself. http://www.kilometroverticalelagunc.it

Therefore, this 22nd edition will be tougher and more extensive than ever, with Spain playing a key role in hosting 4 of the 12 possible races to choose from. All the updated information on the World Cup website http://www.wmra.info/world-cup and on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to stay updated.