Bretting and Langmaier win the 6th Austria eXtreme Triathlon 2021. On June 26 Austria's toughest long distance race went into the 6th round in perfect weather conditions. It was a strong signal that the athletes set with their start after the compulsory break last year. Despite all the difficulties that still exist, they had come from 10 countries to the start south of Graz.
They were welcomed in a quite accommodating manner by the Mur for the river swim leg: With a water temperature of 18 degrees and a moderate current, the conditions were good for the first discipline. After the start at dawn, the entire field had passed the first buoy upstreams after a few minutes and switched to the bike after a total of 3.8 km in the water.
On the 186 km and almost 3,900 vertical meters of the bike course, an exciting race were several changes in leadership unfolded. The two-time Austria eXtreme winner Michael Strasser reached the second transition area by a narrow margin, before health problems on the running track forced him to give up. As the fastest woman, the Hawaii-proven German Nicole Brettingswitch to the running shoes.
With a great running performance over 44 km with another 1,900 meters of altitude, the Austrian Horst Langmaier finished first under the south wall of the Dachstein in 12:59. He was followed by his compatriots Dominik Weigl and Rene Stelzl. Nicole Bretting finished as the fastest woman in 16:00, ahead of the Austrian Katharina Turza and the Dutch Linda Schonewille.
The last few kilometers in high alpine terrain held one last hard test in store for some with a heavy rain shower. Of the 71 starters, 39 reached the finish line before midnight, where unbridled joy and great emotions were given free rein, not least in the face of a large enthusiastic crowd.
The Austria eXtreme Triathlon shows the most beautiful sides of Styria, but it is also part of the international Extreme Triathlon Series, https://xtri-series.com/. And this offers a special challenge: Anyone who successfully finishes the races in Austria, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic and South Africa within three years is a true extreme triathlon athlete – and can then call a special trophy their own. With his finish on the Dachstein, the Czech Jiri Prasek has already brought his fourth race to the finish.
The 7th Austria eXtreme Triathlon, https://www.autxtri.com/will take place on June 25, 2022.