The constant snowfalls that hit the peninsula in the weeks leading up to the championship were a determining factor. These conditions forced the leading runners to expend considerable extra effort to break the trail through a significant depth of fresh powder snow.
The chosen venue for the event was the Larra-Belagua Nordic Centre, in Navarra. Due to the accumulated snow depth, the initial route had to be modified, finally opting for a circuit of 5.5 kilometers and 150 meters of positive elevation gain, which runners had to complete twice, totaling 11 kilometers and 300 positive meters.
“"The effort to advance off-trail was very great, perhaps I sinned by going too hard at the beginning to be able to navigate and move at my own pace, which with large snow depths was surely faster than the group."
This additional fatigue weighed heavily on the second lap, even though the terrain was already more trodden. Bernades was unable to maintain the pace set by the runners who would ultimately compete for gold, but he was smart enough to recover strength and overtake a couple of rivals at the end, securing a commendable fifth position.
The race victory went to the Catalan David Prades, who managed to change the pace coolly in the final meters, opening an eight-second lead over the second-place finisher, José Antonio Bellido from Madrid, and sixteen seconds over Alberto Agúndez, who completed the podium.
