Emanuel Buchmann displays TDF form by breaking Everest Challenge record
May 31 2020 01:44 am CET
Photo of Emanuel Buchmann (c)Bora-hansgrohe / VeloImages
Bora-hansgrohe's Emmanuel Buchmann has broken the unofficial record for the Everest Challenge in seven hours and 28 minutes.
The German rider took the challenge with the main objective of raising money for the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk (German Children's Fund). In the end, he completed 162 kilometres and did 8848 metres of climbing in seven hours and 28 minutes, showing once again talents in the ascensions.
"That was one of the hardest things I have ever done," Buchmann explained. "I didn't think it would hurt so much towards the end. At the beginning I found a good rhythm and then decided to push hard. After 7000m of climbing completed, I started feeling my muscles. I am not used to this amount of workload and it started to hurt a lot. The last 1000m have been cruel. But there were also some fans out there and their support pushed me toward the finish. It's a great feeling now to have broken the record here in Ötztal (Austria).
"As a pro, normally there is no time to do such crazy things, somehow, I enjoyed it. This is not comparable to racing at all, but I think it was still a strong performance and it definitely shows we are on track for the Tour. But it is also important to me that people don't forget why I did this – the charity. I have now done my part and would like to encourage the donation of further funds to the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk (German children's fund). The project will therefore remain online."
Dan Lorang, Head Coach, praised the rider for the work he did in this challenge. "During the last few days, we decided that if the conditions are good, we'll try to set a new record," he said. "If not, we'll do it for the charity. The weather was just right, the course here in Ötztal is perfect, and Emu is in good form. Therefore, after the first two hours, he said that he would go for it.
"It was a great experience, something extraordinary in our sport. From a performance perspective, there is not a lot to add, the numbers tell the story. Even without any special preparations, Emu put in a brilliant ride and proved that he will definitely be ready for this year's Tour de France."
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