After 12 days of physical and mental effort, Canadian Max Fanderl finished the most extreme race on the planet from Salzburg to Monaco in 13nd place on Friday.
Armed with nothing more than a paraglider and hiking boots, the 43-year-old from Invermere (British Columbia) completed a total of 781 kilometres across Europe’s highest mountains during 12 days non-stop racing. Only two of the thirty athletes who left Salzburg managed to reach the finishing line in the Mediterranean principality.
Fanderl spent 11 hours in the air, ran for 142 hours and had no recovery time whatsoever for 12 whole days as he pushed his body and mind to the limit: “I fought my way through and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. It is impossible to describe in words just how tough the race is.”
The Canadian’s toughest opponents on his odyssey across Europe were the towering mountain peaks of the Gaisberg (AUT), Watzmann (GER), Grossglockner (AUT), Marmolada (ITA), Matterhorn (SUI) and Mont Blanc (FRA) – the final turnpoint, Mont Gros in France, proved a bridge too far. For almost two weeks, Fanderl had to cope with weather conditions including torrential rain, fierce storms and extreme heat, cover thousands of vertical metres on foot over rough terrain despite bleeding blisters, and fly for hours with his paraglider on almost no sleep.
While the winner, Switzerland’s Christian Maurer, made extreme sport history by finishing a whole two days ahead of the field – even defying fatigue and pain to congratulate his fellow countryman. “My body is totally exhausted; I won’t move a meter over the next few days. I was on the edge during the whole race, but since landing in the water I feel better than ever – mentally, at least!”
Swiss athlete Alex Hofer finished in second place, and American Honza Rejmanek had a brilliant race and finished third on the podium - the best ever result by a non-European at Red Bull X-Alps and a magnificent achievement. The finishing area was officially closed 48 hours after winner Maurer’s arrival, with the position of the athletes still on the course used to calculate the final standings.
Comments
Add a comment