Dutch athlete Stefan Nieuwendijk was in a commanding solo lead in the 60-kilometer EcoTrail Funchal Madeira race, holding a lead of over 20 minutes on his pursuers as they passed Pico do Areeiro.
With a time of 04:24:38 at the control point, Nieuwendijk was, as of 10:45 AM, the only participant in the main distance event to have reached that stage. The race, which started from Funchal at 6:00 AM, included an accumulated positive elevation gain of 2,560 meters by Pico do Areeiro (km 29.9).
In the women's classification at Largo das Babosas (km 14.4), France's Le Julie was leading with a time of 02:20:18. The longest race of the day concludes at Avenida Arriaga in Funchal, with an expected finish time of 8:00 PM.
