STAGE 2 – LEAD RACE: THE MOROCCANS NECK TO ELBOW

Aziza EL AMRANY wins solo, like yesterday, on the second stage of the 38TH MARATHON DES SABLES LEGENDARY; On the men's side, it's a trio who cross the line first: Mohamed and Rachid EL MORABITY, and Aziz YACHOU.

After a very fast first stage, the speed decreased a little today. The reason: a longer and rougher route with more sand and elevation, and of course the long stage tomorrow. The racing conditions remain very favorable with a temperature of 17°C at the start at 7 a.m.

WOMEN’S LEAD RACE

Like yesterday, Aziza EL AMRANY (D7-MAR) imposed her rhythm on her competitors. Laurence KLEIN (D160-FRA) tried to lead the race at the start of the morning, but Aziza quickly took the lead again, and consolidated her lead throughout the course. She crossed the finish line tired, but satisfied with her performance of the day.

Aziza RAJI (D9-MAR) crossed the finish line twenty minutes after her compatriot, and like yesterday Adriana MOSER (D850-NED) completed the podium.

MEN’S LEAD RACE

Very different pattern from yesterday for the elite men: after the observation phase, today the EL MORABITY brothers, Rachid (D3-MAR) and Mohamed (D1-MAR) and Aziz YACHOU (D10-MAR) raced together and even finished this second stage hand in hand.

Mohamed: “Today I ran really calmly, I am preparing for the long stage, tomorrow the strongest will win the stage.“

Aziz: “I’m happy. We ran together. I opened the road on the flat. The course was very nice. Today a little sandy, uphill, no wind, it’s cool. Tomorrow I will race in force.“

Rachid: “The three of us decided to run together. We saved the energy for tomorrow. Tomorrow everyone has their own strategy, I think that 80% of the marathon will be decided tomorrow. Every year I wait for the long stage to make the difference.“

Like yesterday, the Top 5 of the stage is entirely Moroccan, and John DEWEY (D219-GBR) is the first European. But on the French side, today Mérile ROBERT (D33-FRA) enters the bivouac first: “I had a lot of fun in the first part and at the end I accelerated well, I took two other runners over the last few kilometers.“

And in fact, the final part of the stage was particularly difficult to manage mentally since it was a straight and flat line of around 10 km.

Roberto MASTROTTO (D830-ITA): “The last ten kilometers were really very hard, this straight, flat line that never ends. The finish line seems very close but it never, never arrives. But I'm super happy. The first part was very hard but magnificent. Lots of sand and ups and downs, and as I am a mountain runner I was comfortable. Tomorrow I'm going to go very carefully. It’s a distance that I like but here it’s much harder.“

Stéphane RICARD (D30-FRA): “This final straight line is endless! You go there stone by stone, sometimes you wonder what the hell you're doing there. I think I left too quickly this morning, and I don't have enough to eat. At the 28th kilometer, I had a hypo, it was hard, it pushed me to its limits.“

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF WOMEN AND MEN

Among the women, no change at the head of the race: Aziza EL AMRANY largely consolidates her position with 46 minutes ahead of Aziza RAJI. The gaps are also widening between the following positions. But in the MARATHON DES SABLES LEGENDARY, we know very well that nothing is decided until the final finish line is crossed.

No change on the men's side either, the leading trio having been neutralized on today's stage. On the other hand, the gap is widening between these three men and their pursuers, with already 34 minutes between Aziz, 3rd, and his brother Hamid YACHOU (D11-MAR), 4th. Mérile ROBERT (D33-FRA) is the first Frenchman; he is classified 8th overall with 56 minutes behind Rachid.

RANKINGS STAGE 2

5 first women*

5 first men*

GENERALRANKINGS AFTER STAGE 2

5 first women*

5 first men*

*Provisional rankings