Stage two of the Marathon des Sables is traditionally tougher than stage one, although with the first day under their belt, the runners will have the advantage of understanding the conditions a bit better.
Today they faced 39km, with another cut off of 11 hours and 30 min. It is actually a very slight downhill but with interspersed hills for around 30km with the finale being the climb to Jebel El Oftal which is a steep affair, rising up 400 metres.
You get a great view from the top and then you have a 20% gradient down over the sands and the last couple of kilometres into camp.
No real surprises in the elite category. Rachid El Morabity, five-time winner of the race, won the stage by over ten minutes and took precedence over his brother, Mohammed who was yesterday’s champion.
Nathalie Sedykh came in first for the women and the top three stayed the same. Disappointing, though, to see Andrea Huser drop out.
Top 3 men and women
- Rachid El Morabity 03:04:01
- Mohamed El Morabity 03:14:36
- Abdelkader El Mouaziz 03:15:16
- Natalia Sedykh 03:56:08
- Magdalena Boulet 04:04:48
- Bouchra Eriksen 04:16:08
