NAIROBI, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- World champion Lucy Wambui and her Kenyan compatriot Geoffrey Gikuni believe they will withstand the storm and retain the International Hochfelln Mountain Race, the penultimate stop of the 2018 World Cup, in Bergen, Germany on Sunday.
Wambui recently won in the Sierre-Zinal race in Switzerland and will be making her first appearance at this race in Germany.
"It is down to the preparations and training. I believe everyone has entered the race to win, but I have the stamina and endurance to survive the challenge. It is a hard competition and only the strongest survive," Wambui said on Saturday.
At last year's World Championships in Premana, Italy, Wambui won her first world title getting the better of seven-time world champion Andrea Mayr of Austria.
Mayr didn't wait long to get revenge, taking nearly four minutes out of the Kenyan at the Kitzbuheler Horn Race a few weeks later.
The pair will battle it out again at Hochfelln this year, with eight-time winner Mayr looking to avenge her defeat at the 2018 World Championships in Andorra two weeks ago.
"The line-up is always strong each year. The pressure is on the champion to retain the title and I will start the race with that in mind," said Wambui.
The strong women's field also includes Ivana Iozzia of Italy, a two-time winner of the Zermatt Marathon, Challenge Stellina Susa winner Sarah McCormack of Ireland, top Italians Gloria Guidici and Camilla Magliano, 2017 German mountain running champion Sarah Kistner, who has twice finished second in Bergen, and 2016 Sierre-Zinal winner Michelle Maier, currently Germany's top female mountain runner.
In the men's field Gikuni will be looking for another victory to add to his 2018 wins but will face stiff challenge from compatriot Timothy Kimutai and Eritrea's Filmon Abraham.
The 2017 World Long Distance champion Francesco Puppi from Italy, seventh at this year's World Championships ahead of the Kenyan, will also be aiming for the top place of the podium in Bergen. The top German athlete is Toni Palzer.
