Janelle Lincks on the stage 3 course. Photo: Golden Trail Series.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\nWomen’s Race<\/h2>\n She wanted it, and she went all out to get it! Anna-Stina Erkkil\u00e4<\/strong> (Team Salomon, Finlande) pushed her body through its limits in the last section to bring home the victory on the third and final stage of the GTNS 2021 Grand Final. “I felt really strong today, she beamed at the finish line. I\u2019d already run a pretty similar stage last year in the Azores and I loved it! I adore these kinds of single tracks between the trees and the technical sections. I honestly didn\u2019t think I\u2019d win the last stage I just wanted to keep in the top 3, but I must admit I had great legs today. I knew Janelle was way too far ahead in the standings to be able to win overall. In the end, we did the whole race together and I won, I don\u2019t know how, leaving her behind on the last uphill just before the end. So, there you have it, I\u2019m qualified for 3 races in the GTC 2022! I\u2019m so proud of myself! I don\u2019t know yet which races I\u2019ll choose, I need to think about which ones are best suited to me, but I can\u2019t wait!”<\/em><\/p>\nJanelle Lincks<\/strong> (USA) finished a few seconds behind the Finn and won the 2021 Golden Trail National Series (GTNS) Grand Final. “I enjoyed the whole adventure these last three days, even though I feel completely drained. My legs are toast, I\u2019m dead! Anna-Stinna was really strong today and Jael too. I\u2019m very happy to win this final and qualify for 3 races next year. I\u2019d really love to do Zegama! For the other two I\u2019ll see but it\u2019s really exciting to be able to compete against other runners on this type of race.”<\/em><\/p>\nDespite a 4th place on this final stage, Eleanor Davis<\/strong> (UK) succeeded in keeping her spot on the podium. “It\u2019s the first time this week that I\u2019ve suffered so much, she admits. I don\u2019t think I ate enough, and I felt drained, I wasn\u2019t hungry and at the end I was losing it a bit. But I also knew that I was ahead of the fourth, so I tried to relax and enjoy it. I\u2019m really happy to qualify for next year. I\u2019d love to do the Marathon du Mont-Blanc and Sierre-Zinal. Then, if there\u2019s a race in the USA, I will probably go!”<\/em><\/p>\nPhoto: Golden Trail Series.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\nMen’s Race<\/h2>\n Abraham Hernandes<\/strong> (Mexico) was already impressive on the second stage on S\u00e3o Jorge, once again he showed his talent on Faial today by finishing more than 4 minutes ahead of his first pursuer. “I\u2019m happy because I ran a great race and caught up a lot of time, but it was tough! My legs are toast from the successive days of running. At least I get my podium spot, which was my main goal because now I\u2019m qualified for 3 races next year, it\u2019s really fabulous for me and I\u2019m thrilled!”<\/em><\/p>\nThanks to his second place Daniel Castillo Fernandez<\/strong> (C.A.A Marathon Crevillent, Spain) secures his qualification in the 2022 Golden Trail Championship, by also finishing 2nd in the overall ranking. “It was a different race from the previous days with a combination of tough volcanic terrain and forest trails that were both fast and technical. I\u2019m thrilled with this result because I want to keep improving and for that, to do international races with elite runners is fantastic! This is an amazing opportunity for me.”<\/em><\/p>\nEven though he finished third in today\u2019s stage, Darren Thomas<\/strong> (Team Salomon, USA) had too much of lead over his competitors to be caught up in the overall ranking. Therefore, he wins the 2021 Golden Trail National (GTNS) Series Grand Final. “It was a completely new experience for me to do a stage race and it wasn\u2019t easy to manage. I knew I had to be strategic but when I saw Juan Carlos shoot off, I was a trifle scared. Fortunately for me, he blew up and I could catch up with him and confirm my first place overall. I\u2019m really pleased with my qualification because this was my first ever race in Europe and next year, I would love to run the legendary races like Sierre-Zinal or Zegama and go up against the world\u2019s best athletes.”<\/em><\/p>\nGTNS Grand Final winner Janelle Lincks (#101). Photo: Golden Trail Series.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\nGTNS Stage 3 Results<\/h2>\n Men<\/strong><\/p>\n1 \u2013 ABRAHAM HERNANDES (MEX): 03:10:56 \n2 \u2013 DANIEL CASTILLO FERNANDEZ (ESP \u2013 C.A.A MARATHON CREVILLENT): 03:15:00 \n3 \u2013 DARREN THOMAS (USA \u2013 SALOMON): 03:16:38 \n4 \u2013 MORITZ AUF DER HEIDE (GER \u2013 ADIDAS TERREX): 03:20:57 \n5 \u2013JORDAN CLAY (GBR \u2013 FREEDOM RACING): 03:24:08<\/p>\n
Women<\/strong><\/p>\n1 \u2013 ANNA-STINNA ERKKIL\u00c4 (FIN \u2013 SALOMON): 03:47:22 \n2 \u2013 JANELLE LINCKS (USA): 03:47:42 \n3 \u2013 JAEL MORALES (MEX): 03:50:30 \n4 \u2013 ELEANOR DAVIS (GBR): 03:57:47 \n5 \u2013 KATARINA LOVRATOVA (SVK): 03:59:23<\/p>\n
Photo: Golden Trail Series.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\nGTNS Overall Ranking<\/h2>\n Men<\/strong><\/p>\n1 \u2013 DARREN THOMAS (USA \u2013 SALOMON): 08:34:27 \n2 \u2013 DANIEL CASTILLO FERNANDEZ (ESP \u2013 C.A.A MARATHON CREVILLENT): 08:38:47 \n3 \u2013 ABRAHAM HERNANDES (MEX): 08:39:33 \n4 \u2013 MORITZ AUF DER HEIDE (GER \u2013 ADIDAS TERREX): 08:42:35 \n5 \u2013 JUAN CARLOS CARERA (MEX \u2013 BUFF): 08:45:41<\/p>\n
Women<\/strong><\/p>\n1 \u2013 JANELLE LINCKS (USA): 10:02:12 \n2 \u2013 ANNA-STINNA ERKKIL\u00c4 (FIN \u2013 SALOMON): 10:06:11 \n3 \u2013 ELEANOR DAVIS (GBR): 10:18:10 \n4 \u2013 JAEL MORALES (MEX): 10:27:07 \n5 \u2013 KATARINA LOVRATOVA (SVK): 10:35:42<\/p>\n
Check out the full race results here: https:\/\/resultados.stopandgo.pro\/643\/Live<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Announcement from the Golden Trail Series supported by American Trail Running Association (ATRA) member Salomon. Photos: Golden Trail Series. Race day was October 24th \u2013 11:30 AM Local Time (1:30 PM CET) \u2013 31 km – 1,350 meters vertical, Faial Island, The Azores, Portugal The longest stage was kept for last, and it was probably… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":93575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13606,13617,13622,13596],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmericans Janelle Lincks & Darren Thomas Win GTNS 2021 Grand Final — ATRA<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n