Pirena Advance has bid farewell to the Aragonese Pyrenees with a splendid stage at the iconic location of La Partacua in Piedrafita de Jaca. Once again, Germany's Ullrich Kuhn, competing in his first Pirena Advance, was the fastest, making a decisive difference in the downhill sections where he demonstrated exceptional speed. Germany's Tom Andres (Gaes/Josera) finished 28 seconds behind, as Kuhn extends his provisional lead to nearly a minute. Notable was the third-place finish by Cantabria's Álvaro López Cobo (Advance/Anna Nutrición Sport), who climbs the overall standings to sixth. Navarre's Íker Ozcoidi (Gaes/Ternua) remains in third.
In the Nordic dog category, another victory for the "king of the wolves," Lázaro Martínez (Lazaro’s Team/Prullans.net), who continues unstoppable—three wins out of three. He shared the podium with Switzerland's Sibylle Marthy and Cantabria's Jesús Martínez (Purina Pro Plan).
In skijoring (cross-country skiing pulled by dogs), Switzerland's Pia Rutishauser repeated her triumph, closing the gap on overall leader Jana Porubska (Gaes), who finished third in this third stage but still enjoys a comfortable provisional lead of over 2 minutes ahead of the Swiss competitor. The podium was once again 100% female, with Germany's Karin Gruber-Pestel (Happy Dog) taking second place.
As for the Spanish competitors, debutants Víctor Carrasco (Tuga Active Wear/Nordic Esport), Erik Fuhrmann (Freemushing Ecoimpress), Beñat Zubillaga (Sanydent), and José Manuel Varela (Ferventia) continue accumulating kilometres and experience. The Canarian, based in the Basque Country, remarked:
"Very satisfied with my dog Neo’s performance, even though this Pirena is our first skijoring competition experience. I’d tried canicross before, but this was the first time Neo and I have been on snow together."
Tomorrow brings the fourth and fifth stages (Baqueira Beret / Pla de Beret)—the first day in Catalan territory. The Pirena Advance caravan arrives in the Vall d’Aran, one of Spain’s most prestigious ski resorts. Pla de Beret, ideal for maximum speed, favours the fastest dogs. The start will be at 10:00. In the evening, a night stage begins at 18:00 in Pla de Beret.
