Back to Back European Champion | Ironman Frankfurt

I’m taking you through my race in Frankfurt, Germany where I won again

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Filmed by Roj Ferman

Hello everyone and welcome back to another race recap from this time around from the Arman European Championship in Frankfurt as well as a little This video is sponsored by the videographer Rush who is also Pokemon geek. So I was just going to see if I’m getting some big um what do you call it? Top hits. Top hits as well. So, is this like a 3,000 euro car? Is it good? You actually got a good card. Wow, that’s actually a good one. What does that mean? Okay, last pack magic. I do this. Do this. And then we go. I’m just waiting for respond to rush thing. Ooh. Okay. It’s an EX card, which means it’s better than a normal one, but it’s not as good as something like this. Okay, but anyway, back to the race. [Music] [Music] charming up the European Championship in Armen uh which was in Frankfurt. It’s now 10 days ago. So um yeah, second time in Frankfurt. It was a race I also did last year under very different conditions. Uh last year it was pouring down, rain, cool temperatures, but uh this time around we saw already like two three weeks out from the race that uh it was a heat wave coming in over Germany and uh yeah it was like 30 35° uh Celsius in Frankfurt like in the weeks leading up to the race. So uh sort of almost panic training a little bit with the heat training here in Bergen as uh the plan was to go into Frankfurt as late as possible. So u that was like one of the things I was a bit nervous for before the race. The fact that uh uh I hadn’t done like uh a race simulation outdoors in the condition that I was facing on race day. I’ve only done like the prep inside with the core sensor and uh uh wasn’t sure how the body would uh yeah uh deal with the temperatures on race day. So um that was one of the unknown factors. Another thing because of the stacked field like you had Patrick Langa who didn’t race in Texas due to an injury he would be back German on home soil can be can always be dangerous as well as Mongus Ditlav on the bike who basically broke me apart in Kona last year. uh so having to deal with sort of his tactic as well and uh yeah it was a race I was really looking forward to in one way with a feel I was really looking forward to race as well. So uh I felt the training was going well going into the race. I felt that the run training we did in Bergen was really going well. Like we did uh I think two specific weekends of uh like prep where we both did 3 by 9K on the run at intensity and both of the days I finished off the last 9k at uh under 320 pace and without feeling smashed. So I really felt that I had the run under control. Uh the only question mark was like if I would be in a good position coming off the bike. So yeah to start from the beginning uh swim course was like a sort of two loops but two different ones. So first like one shorter one at 1500 m before we went on to like an or onto land again with like an OC exit and then onto the second bigger loop. And uh uh I think one of the mistakes I did in the morning were that I wasn’t aggressive enough for the first two to 500 m in the water. So I was yeah I guess I was just assuming that the field would come together and I would be in an okay position on the way back again from the turning boys. Uh but uh as I was turning around on that first short loop on the swim and on the way back again we had I had the sun in my face and uh so up and I realized that yeah it’s uh already been a gap opened up and it’s probably 20 seconds up and I thought that that would be a massive um effort to bridge up if I if I would be able to do it. I’m not even sure if I would be strong enough to catch up. Uh so then I was basically from the turning point of that first lap on the way back again and for the whole second lap I was just swimming in the feet of Gber and uh trying to just uh save as much uh energy as possible. So yeah after 1500 meters I think we were like 45 seconds behind the leaders. So the way I was like looking at it was like as I was looking up and trying to see when the first guys was coming up on land, I tried to look at my watch and seeing when they were coming up. And then as we were doing the al exit myself, I also had to look at the watch and yeah realized it was like 45 seconds. And uh the same I did on the second lap on the swim like every time the front group was like bending around boy. I tried to look at my watch and taking the time and see like how much time we lost. And um uh I think we were like close to 2 minutes behind the front guys coming out of the water. So further back than uh preferred like ideally I should have been in that first pack and uh the only one I was sort of worried about were how close Mongus would be to me on the swim because I was planning to put on the calf sleeves again in T1. So the bike course as well in Frankfurt is uh like in first a little small a short section maybe of 20k or so maybe maybe 30k into the loop and then it’s like a two big loops on the bike and uh already on that first loop I lost one of my bottles of nutrition. So, I was planning to have uh I had 320 gram of carbs in my frame uh into that leather uh inside and then had two bottles of 160 g of double mix uh 320 morton in both of them. And uh early on the bike I lost uh one of the bottles. So, uh, I realized that I had to rely on a lot of energy gels and trying to catch as many Morton J as possible on course. Um, as well as I was like just drinking through nutrition. And I realized that after like two and a half hours, I was basically empty of uh all of uh the sports drink that that I had with me. So for the last uh 90 minutes of the race, that was about the same time we were catching the front guys except Ken Hugenhog who was then like 8 to 9 minutes in front of us. Um I was then very short on Cubs uh and had to just basically just rely on water on on course. tried to grab a few Morton gels uh and also had a few of them spare gels on the bike, but uh yeah, I went through them very quickly and uh just felt for the last hour when I was basically just riding on water that yeah, I just needed something more sugary and went through again the same gels that I already have taken before just like trying to get that second chance of getting those few extra grams down. Uh so yeah, felt uh quite desperate there for the final hour of the bike and uh also the muscles felt uh crap like u yeah not not sure why but uh I just found the bike course which should have been with the power riding a pretty easy one but uh yeah my legs was just smoked and uh uh I thought that as long as I can get into T2 together with a group. Uh I should be fit enough on the run to be able to recover on that first lap and just take down like the calories I have in T2. But uh yeah, that was a struggle and uh at many different occasions I was actually like basically been dropped from that pack and some of the guys behind me had to sort of come around me and then bridge up again and they they were like sort of bringing me back into the pack. So um yeah, a more challenging bike course than it should have been. Uh I also realized after the race that the seat post had dropped by like a cm or so. So I don’t know if it’s down to the lack of carbohydrates or it was lack of well the fact that the seat was a little bit lower or just the fact that I’m in a terrible bike shape. But uh yeah, the bike the 180k bike was or 176k bike course was brutal in the end even though it shouldn’t. And it’s a bit funny like the whole last lap. I was just thinking that I’m actually very I’m really appreciating the fact that the bike course in Frankfurt is those 4K shorts because that was helping me mentally for that whole last lap. Uh but yeah um somehow I managed to get into T2 with uh with that um main pack and uh uh had a quick transition again as I had already put on the socks in T1 and grabbed that uh uh 0.5 L of double mixed Morton as well and just started early on just trying to pour it down. So yeah, that was really helping the fact that I was able to get that blood sugar back up again. And I think I started to run uh basically I had Christian Hugenhog like 9 minutes up front and then Magnus was maybe 30 or 40 seconds and then Casper Storess was uh like 15 seconds. So I was uh and also I was just coming coming out of the transition together with Gustav. Uh so I was catching up to Casper uh within 2 or 3k I think and uh we were running together for a bit. Uh and uh Mongus was then like for the first 15k I think like those 15 to no 30 to 20 seconds ahead of us as well as we we were still running like 330 pace perk and I thought that the pace is pretty good. I’m feeling pretty good but there is no need to sort of start stressing already like I felt that the the gap to hugenhog up front was sort of coming down quite comfortably. So uh I didn’t know at that point that one of the minutes we were catching was due to his penalty. But I think we had like two minutes on lap one and then two minutes on that second lap. And so I felt like the math was adding up and uh the legs was then adding up. Uh so I was running together with Casper for the first lap until he sort of gave me those five to 7 m of uh yeah gap. Uh but then I just felt it was so annoying to be sort of chased down from behind. So, as I felt a bit of discomfort as well on my uh timing chip, I had to I thought, okay, it’s better to just readjust it now early in the race rather than getting those uh nasty mark that can sort of uh irritate the Achilles and sort of give me some uh sore uh for the second half of the run. So, I just stopped quickly, fixed that, sorted that one out and start running again. And uh uh yeah, just waited until that third lap when I made my move after like 25k uh a little bit because uh I felt that uh the gap to Christian Hugenhug up front was maybe not coming down as quickly as I was uh expected. So instead of waiting uh waiting until it was too late, I just increased the pace a little bit, dropped Casper uh comfortably, who was then running in third, I was then in second and um yeah, basically catching Hugenhog comfortably on the final lap early on. I think it was like with like seven or 8k left of the race and uh yeah stoked to be able to bring it home and also to be able to run such an even pace throughout the first uh uh yeah throughout the first 10k until the last 10k. I think I had like a maybe a minute difference or I think I did 14 minutes or so for the first 21k and then 16 minutes or so for the final uh 21k. So it’s not it wasn’t even like a massive difference between the first and second uh half. So I felt um really pleased with how the run leg was paying out even though I was smoked or smoked after the bike. Any questions? Well, my question is, okay, so you lost a bottle of nutrition, but how was your nutrition that day? Did you What was your routine? Okay, so my routine, the plan was to do as I did in uh Texas. So, 160 g per hour. Um, and I did that on the maybe a little bit higher on the bike until I run out of carbs. So then it was uh probably like 170 grams per hour until it was like 10 or 15 grams per hour for the final 90 minutes. And then on the run I I used that one bottle from uh T2 and then I was was relying on uh like the Morton gels on every second aid station. So I took a lot of uh like water and coke and everything that like they’re serving on course just to get the liquid the amount of liquid down. But then I took like for every second eight station which was maybe every 3k I took a gel as well. So um if you think taking uh of the 160 gel I was maybe consuming half of it though because like I was just taking like a quick uh sip or bite of it and then uh yeah adding some water in just to get it easier down. And I also had two uh bottles uh in the pro special needs aid station on the run. But as Casper didn’t go in there on that second lap when I was together with him or not even on the third lap um I didn’t do it either. You think you made up some time because of that? No, I don’t think I made up much more like it is more like the great thing with the eight stations in Armen is that they are serving morton gels and that’s also what I’m training and it’s very easy for the stomach. So, uh the only thing is like if you want to have more volume of liquid, it might be difficult to get it through the cups. But uh yeah, the volunteers on course was were doing a great job and made it really easy to get down the both the calories I needed and also the the liquid and the same like I I actually basically did the same routine as I did before and tax and ocean. So did the two plasmade gels uh in the morning. So basically in transition and as well doing it after the race. So yeah, I just enjoy the way I feeling like with the breath. I feel like more controlled and also it’s feel it’s helping me recover after the race. But even though or I must say that uh I really had to dig deeper in Frankfurt compared to what I did in in uh Texas. So uh uh I really felt it uh basically for five or six or maybe seven days after the race that the the legs wasn’t really the normal or they didn’t respond as well as they did straight after Texas. So um um yeah it was a much tougher one but again pleased to take the win, pleased to not lose and uh it was as well it was a good uh wakeup call I would say going into N like uh it’s two months now or two yeah just over two months until the world championship in N and uh it’s uh enough time to do a lot of work on the bike get a lot of hours in and uh getting the threshold up again and control of the pedal stroke and um uh yeah sorting out that part of it so I can be stronger and fitter and faster for N because the the hard brutality is that even though the start of the season I have has been great it’s all about that one day Indies the guy who was winning Indies is the guy who takes the crown for the season in my opinion. Any questions outside of my Pokemon new hobby? New hobby. Um, thank you for watching. Oh, another thing I can say as well like we we saw both the bike power of Yuna Schamberg Hugenhog I guess will be stronger in in in East than what he was showcasing in Frankfurt. I would say I was a little bit surprised that he wasn’t stronger on the bike. Uh Sam Lelo is back again. Martin Fanre is going to be aggressive probably on the bike course. Uh so yeah, it’s a it’s a a tough one in this as well. The German Patrick Ganga at the world championship. I didn’t believe on him uh before Kona last year, but uh this time around I definitely believe he’s a guy to watch out for. And also pretty cool to see that um Gustav and Casper is uh uh performing so well uh as well like uh Gustav did his best race probably since Kona in 2022 and Casper was uh I would say he was riding better than what I did. He was definitely swimming better than what I did. he was making it into the first pack and uh yeah, if he gets another Arman under his belt, he can be as well a dangerous press for the podium. So, it’s cool that we’re now having three Norwegians who is podium contenders for the world championship as well as having two other Norwegian who is uh been able to qualify. Uh Ken and Yundal. So, five Vikings from Norway in the World Championship as well as uh I don’t know how many days there will be, but uh yeah, it’s definitely a Scandinavian uh sport for now or Yeah.