Olympic medalists and world champions battle down the spectacular Ötztal valley. Team Allstars 2 secures victory.

Fans enjoyed a nerve-racking relay race of world-class teams competing against each in teams of seven. The unbelievably strong performance of Christian Hoffmann (AUT) in the discipline ski mountaineering led the team Allstars 2 to victory. They managed to cross the finish line in a record time of 04:48:24. Only 4 minutes later the Challengers Team arrived in the Area 47. The Dainese Team came in third with an overall time of 05:00:12.

From winter to summer, from snow to water, from the mountains into the valley: On April 25, six teams of world-class athletes competed in the seven different disciplines ski mountaineering, ski, mountain bike, mountain running, climbing, road cycling and kayak, before they battled down the notorious Ötztaler Ache river as a team, covering 7,067 meters of altitude:

“It’s unbelievable to see what Christian achieved. He managed to hand me the baton watch 3 minutes before his competitors – a huge advantage for me. The conditions on the glacier were perfect and I am happy with my choice of equipment. The day got even better when we passed the finish line as a team in the raft”, says World Cup Skier Christoph Nösig (AUT).

THE RACE:

Right at the beginning ski mountaineer and Olympic champion Christian Hoffmann (AUT) was able to gain an important lead for his team. He covered his leg within an impressive time. Especially at the very steep parts he managed to leave his competitors behind.

Austrian World Cup skier Florian Scheiber (AUT) started his race in fourth position, but was able to prove his skills in skiing and overtook two opponents:

“The snow conditions were great, which helped a lot at the start. Nösig and I were too far apart, but I’m happy that I was able to overtake Frank Wörndl and Werner Heel.”

Manfred Moelgg (ITA) shortly after his race: “Unfortunately I chose the wrong equipment. My skis were simply too light. I think the mountain bikers will play an important role in this race now. I had an amazing time, it’s a great event!”

Florian Scheiber (AUT) passed on the relay to team member and brother Simon Scheiber (AUT). The local hero used his home advantage and put up a good fight against Daniel Gathof (GER). The experienced enduro-rider Daniel Gathof (GER) eventually was able to win the thrilling battle and pass on the Garmin fēnix 2 relay baton to mountain runner Helmut Schiessl (GER) – only seconds before this competitor.

Helmut Schiessl (GER), who was surrounded by a very young starting field, was the first to head the Niederthai climbing walls. His mountain running experience helped him to cover the 457 meters of altitude within a short period of time. It was essential for all runners to keep moving while their teammates climbed the massive rock walls to prevent them from building up too much lactic acid. The climber Stew Watson (GBR) did a good job and sent Schiessl (GER) off for his second part, still in the lead.

On the road cycling leg Andy Traxl (AUT) went head to head with local cyclist Patric Grüner (AUT), who was right behind him. Big names such as Jan Ullrich (GER) and Gerhard Trampusch (AUT) were not able to make up for their team’s delay although their individual performances where strong. The road cyclist Thomas Rohregger (AUT) was extremely keen to make up for the lost time of his team and handed over the Garmin fēnix 2 relay bat as third athlete on this his college.

Due to the low water level, the kayakers where facing more extreme conditions than ever before. Severin Häberling (SUI) was first to prove his skills, followed by the paddlers Fabian Dörfler (GER) and Max Siech (GER).

In the final rafting stage the entire team then faced the wild water of the Ötztaler Ache and fought a thrilling battle for the victory of Dainese Peak to Creek – however, none of the athletes expected that the things would change that much in this leg. The Challengers Team was able to catch up on the Ötztal Team. The athletes had used up all their power in the individual legs and eventually where overtaken by the top-class Dainese team as well.

Organisers and athletes are looking back at a spectacular race filled with a ton of action and a more demanding race than ever before.

Results:

• Allstars 2  –  4.48:24. Christian Hoffmann (AUT), Christoph Nösig (AUT), Daniel Gathof (GER),  Helmut Schießl (GER), Stew Watson (GBR), Andreas Traxl (AUT), Severin Häberling (SUI)
• Challengers  –  4:52:42. Patrick Innerhofer (AUT), Thomas Dreßen (GER), Wolfgang Eysholdt (GER), Martin Mattle (AUT), Martin Schidlowski (GER), Jonas Endres (GER), Max Siech (GER)
• Dainese Team  – 5:00:12. Daniel Zugg (AUT), Manfred Mölgg (ITA), Alex Stock (GBR), Andreas Rois (AUT), Jorg Verhoeven (NLD), Thomas Rohregger (AUT),  Quirin Haslberger (GER)
• Ötztal Team  – 5:03:57. Armin Neurauter (AUT), Florian Scheiber (AUT), Simon Scheiber (AUT), Martin Scheiber (AUT), Lukas Ennemoser (AUT), Patric Grüner (AUT), Fabian Dörfler (GER)
• Allstars 3  – 5:16:58. Nejc Kuhar (SLO), Frank Wörndl (GER), Guido Thaler (AUT), Johannes Schöpf (AUT), Lukas Köb (AUT), Jan Ullrich (GER), Sven Lämmler (SUI)
• Allstars 1  – 5:24:45. Alexander Fasser (AUT), Werner Heel (ITA), Tobias Woggon (GER), Markus Kröll (AUT), Hansjörg Auer (AUT), Gerhard Trampusch (AUT), Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE)

INFO: Dainese Peak to Creek