Norway’s Allan Hovda successfully defended his 2014 title in fast, chilly conditions at the Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in Eidfjord, Norway, on Saturday. He took 9:43 to cover the epic point-to-point course, overhauling countryman Lars Petter Stormo on the run to come home the winner with six minutes to spare. Third place went to another Norwegian, up-and-coming youngster Lars Kristian Vold, who was another five minutes in arrears.
“It’s been an extremely rough day,” Hovda said atop the mountain. “Henrik Oftedal biked like crazy.” Hovda said at times he thought he’d lost the chance to keep his title, but he and his team stuck to their plan and it paid off.
Hovda’s team on Saturday included legendary Danish professional Rasmus Henning, who joined Hovda as his support crew for the last section of the run – which begins with the long uphill drag at 25km on the road known as “Zombie Hill” and finishes at the top of the rocky Gaustatoppen mountain.
“He’s done his planning for this race, and that’s what panned out,” Henning said later. Hovda knew that if he could keep the gap to Oftedal to 10 minutes off the bike he’d have a good shot at the win – and he wound up being only about five minutes back.
He was also able to beat back Stormo, who’s come out on top every other time they’ve faced each other this year, in part because Norseman’s course plays to Hovda’s strengths. “There’s a lot of uphill, which is where Allan is stronger,” Henning said. “He’s lighter. It’s something he’s really good at.”
The women’s race went to Kristin Lie of Norway, who finished in a handy 11:50 that included a 4:36 run up to the top of Gustatoppen mountain. She didn’t get there without a fight, though – she had to battle Norway’s Line Foss to the end, finishing nearly three minutes ahead. Third place went to Line Marie Langseth in 12:13.
The key to Lie’s success? The Norseman first-timer said it was hot chocolate in her Camelbak given to her at the top of the climb to the plateau, where temperatures were in the small single digits and patches of snow still cling to the mountainsides.
“I think the race was awesome,” she said. “The organisers, the crowd – everything was amazing. I felt I had control the whole time. I just kept smiling. My support gave me clothes, they gave me food – I was really prepared for a really cold bike ride. When we were at the top of the mountain, it's cold. I had really huge gloves and a really huge warm jacket, so I was enjoying myself.”
Although it was Lie’s first Norseman race, it wasn’t her first time to the top of Gaustatoppen.
“When I was one year old my father carried me to the top,” she said. “I was there four weeks ago to climb the mountain by myself with my own feet. I was using a lot of time up the mountain [in the race] because people were cheering for me and hugging me, so I was just enjoying everything.” She kept her radar on for Foss, and knew if she heard her coming she could break into a run because she had energy to spare.
The race saw 249 athletes from around the world tackle the spectacular, and spectacularly challenging, landscape of the Hardangervidda plateau and the rocky finish atop Gaustatoppen mountain, 1870 meters above sea level.
Among them was Jeff Glasbrenner from Golden, Colorado in the US, here to tackle the race for the second time. A below-the-knee amputee, he narrowly missed the cutoff to continue up Gaustatoppen mountain and claim a coveted black T-shirt – but he was more than happy with the day and gaining a still hard-earned white T-shirt to join his 2013 one, the first year he raced here.
“I woke up every morning at 3:30 and trained really hard,” he said. ”It was a little disappointing not to make the cut off, but it's an incredible feeling just to be at the finish line of the world's hardest race.”
The three-time Paralympian for wheelchair basketball keeps a busy schedule – Saturday’s race was his 25th iron-distance triathlon, and in January he climbed the 6,960m Andean peak Aconcagua in Argentina.
“I like this fun stuff,” he said. “I love a challenge and I love meeting new people and seeing new places.”
Fast times were recorded on the day in part because the swim was shortened to 1900 meters in the interest of athlete safety – the water temperature at the Hardanger Fjord was measured at 10.5 degrees Celsius on Friday. It was the first time in the race’s history the swim has been shortened.
Norseman competitors must complete the race with a support crew, and the prize to the winner is the same as to the last to finish at the top of the mountain: a fabulous black T-shirt. The first 160 athletes to reach the mountaintop are awarded with a treasured black T-shirt, whilst the remainder receive white T-shirts and finish at Gaustablikk hotel grounds, 1000 meters above sea level.
Norseman is owned and organized by Hardangervidda Triatlon Klubb, whose members are the main crew for the event. They are mainly either active triathletes or locals from the Eidfjord and Rjukan community and are joined by like-minded volunteers to deliver the event. The race was born 13 years ago when 21 athletes jumped off a car ferry and started one of the world’s great endurance challenges in one of the world’s most breathtaking locations.
For more results and race information, visit the website at www.nxtri.com.
Results
Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon
Eidfjord, Norway; 1 August 2015
(1.9km/180km/42.2km)
Men
1) Allan Hovda (NOR) 9:43:46
2) Lars Petter Stormo (NOR) 9:49:43
3) Lars Christian Vold (NOR) 9:54:27
4) Graeme Stewart (GBR) 10:04:36
5) Henrik Oftedal (NOR) 10:22:09
Women
1) Kristin Lie (NOR) 11:50:48
2) Line Foss (NOR) 11:53:32
3) Line Mari Langseth (NOR) 12:13:42
4) Kari Flottorp Lingsom (NOR) 12:21:46
5) Silje Rafaelsen (NOR) 12:44:03