World Cup Preview Part Three: Canfranc-Canfranc
We’re welcoming some old favourites to the World Cup this year, but we’re also embracing some races which are new to us. One of these is Canfranc-Canfranc, a race which we’re certain is going to make a big splash!
Canfranc was due to be in our 2020 World Cup, but as we all know, 2020 didn’t work out as we planned, so we had to wait a little bit longer for its debut. Canfranc did take place in 2020, with careful COVID protocols, and only runners from Spain and France were able to get there but they certainly had a top class field and records fell!
Canfranc-Canfranc takes place in Canfran-Estación, a small mountain town in the province of Huesca in the Aragonese Pyrenees. The town is at 1,200 metres but all around are peaks of over 2,500 metres. The weather is pretty perfect for running in the summer, normally between 20 and 30 Celcius, and the Winter enjoys heavy snowfall.
The area is also perfect for running, with hundreds of miles of trails marked out as part of their impressive Trail Space Project. Some of Alex Varela's, race director of Canfranc, favourite trails are Paso Del Sarrio, La Moleta and Ibon De Ip, if you want some tips for your trip.
Canfranc is obviously a new destination for the World Cup. Why haven’t we been there before? As Alex says “Ten years ago mountain running in Canfranc was not so common. But now there are more and more people running up the mountain. What we have here is a long tradition of people of a very high level in Spain who have come here to train for a long time, such as Luis Alberto Hernando, who lives in Jaca (a city located 20 kilometers from Canfranc-Estación) for many years.”.
If you decide to make the trip to Canfranc-Canfranc you won’t be disappointed. Incredible mountains all around, the historic Canfranc train station and the area is famous for its gastronomy (Alex’s top tip is ‘a plate of ‘migas’ and rack of lamb’!).
Find more information about the race and the surrounding area here: https://canfranccanfranc.com/