The elite field for the 73-kilometre Transvulcania ultramarathon has now assembled in Los Llanos de Aridane, with race day on Saturday May 9 closing in across La Palma. The 17th edition of the volcanic island classic carries the same brutal arithmetic it always has — 4,350 metres of cumulative ascent on a route that climbs from sea level at FuencaliÉnte to the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente before plunging to the finish on the Atlantic at Tazacorte — but the strength of this year's start list is what has organisers describing the 2026 edition as one of the deepest in race history.
On the men's side, Spain's Pablo Villa heads the betting after his win at the Mozart 100 in Austria last summer and an eighth-place finish on La Palma in 2025. He is joined by compatriot Mario Olmedo, fourth at the Transvulcania Marathon last year and third at the Penyagolosa MiM in March, and by Ionel Manole, the Romanian based in northern Spain who took the Ultra-Trail Xiamen 100k in China two months ago. Poland's Bartlomiej Przedwojewski, a former Golden Trail World Series staple who has stepped up in distance over the past two seasons, is the wildcard. Race insiders are tipping a gathered front group through the long descent off the Roque de los Muchachos rather than a hard early move on the technical lava trails of the south.
The women's race centres on Ekaterina Mityaeva, who races as a neutral athlete and finished 18 minutes behind the winner here last year. Her recent record — runner-up at the Chiangmai Thailand 100k in late 2025 and third at the 2025 Mont Blanc 90k — suggests she has narrowed the gap. The dark horse is France's Manon Bohard, returning to long-distance racing after an injury-shortened 2025, and the wildcard is Britain's Holly Page, recently moved to the island for altitude training and entered late after a successful Madeira Island Ultra-Trail. Spain's Maite Maiora, recovered from a knee operation last autumn, completes a women's podium hunt that promises to remain unpredictable until the final descent into Tazacorte.
Conditions look helpful by Transvulcania standards. The Spanish Met Office is forecasting cloud cover at altitude through Friday and into Saturday morning with temperatures topping out in the low 20s Celsius on the lower slopes. The Calima dust event that disrupted the 2024 edition is not currently in the forecast, although organisers reminded competitors at Wednesday's briefing that conditions on the Roque can change in minutes. The Vertical Kilometer takes place on Friday afternoon and the Half Marathon on Saturday morning ahead of the ultra; both have served as a useful gauge for course conditions in past editions.
For Transvulcania, the 2026 race carries an extra weight beyond the start list. As one of seven counters in the World Trail Majors series, the result will reshape the season standings ahead of the Mont Blanc Marathon in late June. Race director Aurelio Garcia said on Wednesday that an estimated 18,000 spectators are expected on the course, with the largest concentration as ever at the El Pilar aid station and on the Caldera rim. Live tracking opens at 06:00 local time on Saturday with the gun set for 06:15. The forecast, the field, and the buzz on La Palma all suggest a race that, even by this island's standards, is likely to deliver.