After six days in the searing heat, Christian Schiester produced a fantastic performance to finish second in the Sahara Race 2009.
The race was run over a distance of 250kms in temperatures approaching an almost unbearable 55 degrees and entering the final day the Austrian runner was in third position overall behind leader Tobias Frenz and Italy’s Paulo Barghini.
Schiester overhauled Germany's Frenz, but couldn’t quite close the gap on Barghini, who produced a staggering effort to pull away from the chasing pack through the Black Desert to the final camp situated at the top of a dormant volcano.
Unstoppable 49-year-old Barghini crossed the finish lane a little over an hour ahead of Schiester, who held off a late challenge from early favourite Luis-Marcos Silvestre to beat the Spaniard to the runner-up spot by two minutes and 45 seconds.
'It was a tough battle' – Christian Schiester
An exhausted Schiester said: “It was a tough battle. I have never experienced such a hard head-to-head fight before. I think that tactics were perhaps the only difference between the top runners in the end.”
A delighted Barghini said the win was :”The happiest day of my sporting life. It was a great victory in a great race. Now I am looking forward to The Last Desert [Antarctica] in 2010.”
Sahara Race 2009 overall result
1) Paulo Barghini (Italy) 28 hours, 14 minutes and 38 seconds
2) Christian Schiester (Austria) 29 hours, 28 minutes and 2 seconds
3) Luis-Marcos Silvestre (Spain) 29 hours, 30 minutes and 47 seconds
Comments
Add a comment