Classified as a long mountain race at 24 kilometres with around 1,700 metres of ascent, a total of 307 runners from eight countries participated in the season opener.

Italy's Alice Gaggi and Morgan exchanged the lead in the women's race, but it was the 2018 world long distance running champion who claimed the win in 2 hours 46min 03sec.

Gaggi was just over a minute behind, while Poland's Iwona Januszyk was third.

Italian Lorenza Beccaria was a comfortable fourth with a big gap back to Czech Republic's Lucie Marsanova and Poland's Katarzyna Jakiela-Rzadkosz.

In the men's race, young home favourite Kubica - who has competed at three World Championships and two European Championships as a junior - led from the early stages to win in 2:18:51.

He was chased by compatriot Piotr Lobodzinski, who was 90 seconds back; while Henri Aymonod of Italy was more than a minute further back in third.

Italians Martin and Bernard Dematteis were fourth and fifth respectively, while Hungary's Sandor Szabo was sixth.

The next leg of the WMRA World Cup is set to be Grossglockner, in Heiligenblut in Austria on July 11.