Road to Dements: Sobrescobio Skyrace® & 2 Peaks Skyrace®

26 de October de 2025

A double mountain festival closed the “regular season” of the circuit before the Skymasters — one in Spain, one in Korea, Europe and Asia — and the grand youth final at the U23 Esteban Olivero Trophy.

Almost all the athletes who will compete in the grand final in two weeks split between the two races, aiming to improve their overall standings and increase their chances of winning the MSWS crown.

2 Peaks Skyrace®
Ultra Trail Nine Peaks, UTPN, asian festival mountain races, 5 Distances for all types of runners, with the Peaks Skyrace® as a scoring event for the MSWS.

On Saturday, October 25th, in the Yeongnam Alps, South Korea, the 26 km course with +/-2130 m of elevation gain crossed two iconic peaks: Yeongchuksan (1059 m) and Simbulsan (1209 m). A relentless route, linking continuous short climbs and descents, requiring full focus to ensure a competitive season finale.

A small group of brave runners completed the Asian mini-tour, after racing Kinabalu in Malaysia the week before. Men: Gianluca Ghiano (ITA/Brooks), Nico Molina (ESP/La Sportiva), Pascal Egli (SUI), and Morgan Elliot (USA/Merrell). Women: Marcela Vasinova (CZE) and Anastasia Rubstsova (Bivium). Also present: Natalie Beadle (GBR/Belgrave) and Svetlana Tkachenko.

Conditions were tough: rain all night and a slippery course.

In the men’s race, the three Europeans dominated. After summiting together, Nico Molina broke away, finishing one minute ahead of Gianluca and just three seconds ahead of William Boffelli. Morgan Elliot and Pascal Egli completed the top five.

In the women’s race, Anastasia was unstoppable, finishing sixth overall, 20 minutes ahead of Natalie Beadle and 30 ahead of Svetlana Tkachenko. Marcela was fourth, and Kihae Shin (KOR) fifth.

Sobrescobio Skyrace®

That same Saturday, hours later, the spotlight was on Spain’s fifth circuit race: Sobrescobio Redes Trail, in Rioseco, Asturias. A demanding 32 km course with +/-2100 m in the stunning Redes Natural Park.

Top overall contenders not in Korea raced here: Naiara Irigoyen (ESP/Open Team), Patricia Pineda (ESP/La Sportiva), Ohiana Zubillaga (ESP/Euskal Selekzioa), Elena Karanfiloska (MKD), Rosalía Zegarra (PER/Team Wild Mate), and local runner Greta García (ESP/Asics). In the men’s race, a clash of MSWS 2025 winners: Frederic Tranchand (FRA/Merrell), Manuel Merillas (ESP/New Balance), Martin Nilsson (SWE/VJ Sports), Alain Santamaria (ESP/Open Team), Damien Humbert (FRA/New Balance), Dimas Pereira (ESP/Asics), and Oier Zubeldia (ESP/Euskal Selekzioa).

The race lived up to expectations. Merillas led at the start, but Tranchand and Santamaría caught up with him and overtook him in the final kilometres. Frederic won with a course record, six minutes ahead of Alain and eight ahead of Manuel. In the women’s race, Naiara dominated from start to finish, with a time of 3:23, followed by Patricia Pineda (+7 min) and Greta García (+10). Ainara Alcuaz and María Martínez completed the top five.

Now everything is ready for the grand final in Eslida and Aín.

Our final overall ranking after the regular season, based on Skymasters registration data:

Total uncertainty, everything will be decided in our beloved Serra d’Espadà!

Six men and six women with a chance to win the world series. Everything will be decided over the 42.5 km and +/-3808 m of the Maratón de los Dements, in the Serra d’Espadà.

U23 Final Esteban Olivero Thropy

On Sunday, over a 17 km course with +/-1100 m of elevation gain at the Sobrescobio Speed Trail, the young runners took center stage. With a very tight classification, everything was decided on a route combining runnable climbs with demanding descents. After the Mourne Skyrace®, the U23 Esteban Olivero Trophy seemed set to be decided, in the women’s field, between Claudia Corral (ESP/Scarpa) and Carrodilla Cabestre (ESP/Open Team), and in the men’s field between Tom Spencer (GBR/Inov8), Ibai Larrea (ESP/Euskal Selekzioa), and Findlay Grant (GBR/Scarpa).

And at the thirteenth race came the breakthrough, and the championship was decided, with the two winners of the final ultimately taking the trophy. Claudia proved untouchable, followed by Carrodilla, who felt the impact of the injuries that had accompanied her throughout much of the season. American runner Rachel Hebaus closed the podium. Tom Spencer and Ibai Larrea swapped positions compared to the Mourne Skyrace®, with the British runner prevailing this time, and Marcos Villamuera closing the podium.