General
rankings Men
1. Lahcen Ahansal (Morocco)
2. Mohammed Ahansal (Morocco)
3. Lhoucine Akhdar (Morocco)
4. Samuel Bonaudo (France)
5. Mustapha Ait Amar (Morocco) Women
1. Simone Kayser (Luxembourg)
2. Virginie Thévenot (France)
3. Isabelle Degrand (France)
4. Sophie Satrin (France)
The final sprint on this twentieth edition
of the Marathon des sables certainly lived up to its promises. The
race got off to
a magical start with runners escorted by chevaliers and camel-riders
all in costume. Right from the beginning the top four in the general
rankings make a clear break. Moroccans Lahcen and Mohammed Ahansal,
Ait Amar and Akhdar are joined by this year’s revelation
Frenchman Samuel Bonaudo. They cross a series of henna plantations
together then rocky zones rich in fossils. During the following
few small dunes the brothers leap ahead, motivated by the prospect
of arriving in Tazzarine. Samuel comments: « I was right
up there with them on the flat, it was great. But as soon as there’s
sand they get the advantage. It’s impressive”. As predicted
then, Lahcen and Mohammed cross the finish line first in Tazzarine,
hand in hand and the Moroccan flag in the other. The townspeople
couldn’t have asked for more.
Lahcen clocks up his 8th victory… Simone Kayser her second.
She’d quietly looked on while Sophie Satrin battled hard
to snatch third place in the general and be up on the podium. It
was a beautiful performance but in vain… the women’s
rankings remain unchanged.
