News

Dec. 13, 2008 - Sion, Switzerland

Hilary "right on target" in Sion

The season of competitive "corridas" in Switzerland came to an end Saturday night in Sion with festive lights, enthusiatic fans and outstanding athletes that all made for a fantastic farwell to the 2008 year.

Course de Noel is the last in the series of road races that are famous for their "bull race" courses, consisting of small loops within the city centre, cobblestone streets. They feature various races for all ages and promise to be fun for the whole family. However, when it comes to the elite races, it is serious stuff.

Sion featured athletes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Italy, Canada, Czech and Switzerland. As in Geneva, this included double Olympic gold medalist Derartu Tulu and the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist in trialthlon, Magali Di Marco, among other talented athletes.

After losing in last week's sprint finish to Tulu, Tsige Worku used different tactics in Sion and pushed the pace early, pulling away from everyone for a well-deserved win. The race spread out from there and Hilary worked hard to stay with Kenya's Emily Biwott. The two battled for the entire race, until Biwott got a 50m gap with about 1km to go. Hilary reeled her back in by the end, but couldn't quite pull it off to beat her in a race to the line that resulted in just a one-second spread.

Hilary ended up 6th overall, but just five seconds out of 3rd place. She explained that this race, as well as Geneva, are just what she needed. "I'm really pleased with my results from the last two races, both served their purpose: to give me a hard effort, remind me what racing feels like and give me an indication of where my fitness is. I feel I'm right on target and look forward to 2009!"

Hilary will not race again until the beginning of February when she plans to run a few indoor races in Europe.

See full results of Sion here.

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