Records tumble in this year's Benalmádena Skyrace

New records were set in Benalmádena on Sunday as the third round of the Merrell Skyrunner World Series came to Monte Calamorro.

Luca del Pero and Patricia Pineda claimed victory in the Calamorro Skyrace, with Del Pero, representing team Scarpa, beating the previous best by over a minute.

The Italian finished the gruelling 731-metre climb in 2 hours 24 minutes and 19 seconds while, in the women's race Spain’s Pineda, competing for La Sportiva, crossed the line in 2 hours 59 minutes and eight seconds, improving on her 2022 time.

The women’s race saw an intense start as Iris Pessey, Denisa Dragomir and Pineda led the field up the steep ascent, closely followed by Marta Martínez Abellán.

A fierce duel between Dragomir and Pineda unfolded after the 9.5-kilometre mark but it was the Andalusian who pulled clear with a decisive move on the final climb. She eventually won by 33 seconds, finishing in 3h.01:51.

The men’s race set off half an hour later from Benalmádena Pueblo’s sports centre. Del Pero broke clear from last year’s winner Roberto De Lorenzi and local hopeful Nicolás Molina on the dramatic Calamorro ridge before pulling away at kilometre 20 to seal the win. De Lorenzi and Molina completed the podium.

Organised by Grupo Alpino Benalmádena since 2008, the race offered 9,700 euros in prize money and remains a landmark event in the skyrunning calendar.