Rachid El Morabity wins the 1st stage

The Moroccan Rachid El Morabity won Sunday the first stage of the Marathon des Sables which took place between Borj Irdi and Tisserdimine over a distance of 32.2 km.

El Morabity won this first stage with a time of 02h 31min 57s, followed at a distance by his younger brother, Mohamed at 02h 42min 28s, while Aziz Yachou came third (02:42:36).

In a press statement at the end of the 1st stage, El Morabity indicated that he started this race with the idea of surprising his competitors by adopting a high pace from the start, but in particular after the passage to the 2nd checkpoint.

He stressed that the heat was one of the biggest challenges of this stage, adding that thanks to his management of his effort he managed to widen the gap even further with his close pursuers.

The route of this inaugural stage was strewn with stony plateau interspersed with wadis and camel grass, small dunes. The runners also had to face an ascent and descent of stony and rugged terrain and sandy terrain.

Here are the rankings of the 1st stage of the 35th edition of the Marathon des Sables, contested on Sunday over a distance of 32.2 km between Borj Irdi and Tisserdimine:

– Stage classification:

-Men:

1- Rachid El Morabity (Morocco) 02h31min57sec

2- Mohamed El Morabity (Morocco) 02h42min28sec

3- Aziz Yachou (Morocco) 02h42min36sec

4- Abdelkader El Mouaziz (Morocco) 02h43min37sec

5- Merile Robert (France) 02 h45 min00sec

6- Mathieu Blanchard (France) 02h45min57sec

7- Aziz El Akad (Morocco) 02h54min16sec

8- Patrick Kennedy (United Kingdom) 02h55min08sec

9- Pierre Meslet (France) 02h58min47sec

10- Hammou Moudouji (Morocco) 03h00min01sec