The third and final stage took the participants through the limestone platform of the west of Menorca and the south of Ciutadella. Gerard Minoves and Marta Torà sealed their victories in MountainBike, and Miquel Ensenyat and Silvia Serafini have done it in TrailRun.
Menorca (06/11/2022).- The ARTIEM Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º celebrated today its third and final stage between Camí del Pilar and Cala Galdana. The route led the 350 participants to discover the limestone platform that makes up the west of Menorca and the south of Ciutadella; A sea of rocks with low vegetation that forced them to use technique and concentration to avoid last-minute mishaps.
MTB: A stage full of strategy
The MountainBike challenge started at eight in the morning from the Camí del Pilar. From there, they connected with the Camí de Cavalls to travel in the opposite direction of the first day. Gerard Minoves put his strategy into practice from the first moment: stick to the wheel of Aaron Genestar and thus preserve that minute and a half of advantage in the general.
After about ten first and very comfortable rolling kilometers to Ses Fontanelles, the terrain changed radically. The rock was going to be the main protagonist of a film that would last until the end of the stage. Aaron Genestar and Gerard Minoves were in the lead along with Toni Pascual, passing through Cala Morell. The latter lost a few seconds compared to the leading duo in Punta Nati and a couple of minutes in Pont d’en Gil.
When arriving at Cales Piques (km 24.4), a neutralized section of about 16 km was opened to save the urban fabric around Ciutadella. In that section, Toni Pascual first and Sönke Wegner and Jesús Sastre later joined the leading group.
With the race launched again, the quintet remained together in the most exposed area until Cap d’Artrutx (km 45.2). Already bordering the south of the island, Aaron Genestar tried again, imposing a strong pace. Jesus Sastre, Sönke Wegner, and Toni Pascual stayed, but not Gerard Minoves, who endured his pace at all times.
The final attack of the local cyclist allowed him to take the partial stage victory, the under his belt, although he barely was able to distance Gerard Minoves, final winner, by five seconds.
In the women’s category, Marta Torà completed three of three. The Catalan has been concerned today mainly to maintain the mechanics and not lose concentration with the stones to ensure the final victory.
Team MTB
The finish of Cala Galdana also was attentive to the victories of the race in the team classification of two members. In the men’s category, the Trideporte Club (Ferran Escura and Lázaro Cardell) took the final victory after winning the three stages. In the mixed team category, the E2 Isqui (Gerard Blanch and Alba Lara) climbed to the highest step of the final podium.
Michael Ensenyat doesn’t forgive
The heat today was the main enemy of the runners of the TrailRun modality, in a route with many kilometers without shadows and demanding a great concentration so as not to twist an ankle by stepping poorly.
The leader Miquel Ensenyat, who yesterday ran the entire stage with Pep Vidal, has decided today to make it his race. Setting his own pace, he has distanced himself from the rest of the competitors from the beginning. His lead grew gradually, reaching 25 minutes at the finish line. In the fight for second place, Mikel Domènech imposed himself on Pep Vidal.
In the women’s category, Silvia Serafini was the only rider to reach the end of the three stages. The Italian, despite having accused the accumulated effort and the technical difficulty of this last stage, has finished among the best in the absolute classification.
Team TrailRun for Melis Team
Finally, in the team participation within the TrailRun category, Melis Team (Rubén Bobillo and Iván Canet) stood out. After winning all three stages of the event, they clearly took the victory. In addition, their times place them just behind the individual podium and show their enormous rapport in competition.
Álex Urbina and Mari Allés win in distance Experience
The reduced version of the ARTIEM Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º, the Experience modality, had as final winners two local runners. Álex Urbina was the winner in the men’s category, while Mari Allés won in the women’s category.
For teams, Torner Team (Juanjo Torner and César Torner) was the fastest in the men’s category; Ultralovers (Eva Orives and Pedro Linares) finished first in the mixed category; and of the Canary Islands, Mojo Picón (Elena Pérez and Mirian Alfonso) were the winners in the women’s category.
End of party at the ARTIEM Audax hotel
The ARTIEM Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º 2022 closed with the awards ceremony and the final race party, held at the ARTIEM Audax hotel in Cala Galdana, which was the main center of the event and the scene of the last two stage finishes.
The ARTIEM Epic Camí de Cavalls 360º 2022 is an event sponsored by the Fundació Foment del Turisme de Menorca, with the collaboration of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government of Spain, funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU and the Tourism Strategy Agency of the Government of the Balearic Islands.