Werner Marti, left, claimed the senior men's vertical race victory at the ISMF European Championships in Boí Taüll ©Getty Images

Switzerland's Werner Marti and France's Axelle Gachet Mollaret won the gold medals in the vertical race in the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) European Championships in Boí Taüll in Spain.

Marti crossed the line in 22min 55sec to take a vital victory in the second day of the Championships.

Alex Oberbacher of Italy followed 23 seconds later to secure the silver medal and Belgium's Maximilien Drion Du Chapois rounded out the top three with a time of 23:24.

In the women's event, Mollaret who took the spoils in the Pyrenees, winning in 25:58.

Current leader of the ISMF World Cup season Tove Alexandersson of Sweden finished in second, clocking in 26:46.

Austria's Sarah Dreier posted a time of 27:25 to bag the bronze medal.

Aurelien Gay and Ludovic Lattion pulled off a Swiss one-two in the men's under-23 race with times of 23:39 and 23:44, respectively.

France's Julien Bernaz made up the podium in 23:53.

Italy also secured gold and silver in the women's under-23 as Lisa Moreschini and Samantha Bertolina crossed the line in 30:18 and 30:44.

Perrine Gindre of France settled for bronze in 31:19.

Switzerland's Thomas Bussard and Caroline Ulrich took gold in the under-20 men's and women's competitions, while France's Jules Raybaud and Norwegian Ida Waldal claimed the under-18 victories.

The action is due to continue on Saturday (December 12) with the individual race in all four categories.