Main menu

DNF – Christoph Strasser had to abandon the Ultra World Championship due to health issues

Tough luck for Christoph Strasser at the attempt to defend his last year’s Ultra Marathon World Championship title. From the beginning the odds were very much against a successful defence of Strasser’s title. Torrential rain and temperatures well below 10°C took its toll from Christoph. To make matters worse he punctured within the first few kilometres of the race, had to struggle back to the lead group and crashed badly on the wet and difficult descent from the Schaidasattel.

“Due to a cold, my form was far from perfect but for tactical reasons I chose to keep that to myself. I knew it would be highly unlikely to defend my title in those conditions,” Strasser admitted after the race. Despite fighting hard up the first climb to Kitzeck, Christoph was dropped by a large group. “I just couldn’t really find my legs that day. My heart rate was unusually high, so I knew that something was wrong. Still I didn’t lose my nerves and was sure that I could regain my form.”

Unfortunately things turned for the worse and half way through the race at km 460 on the foot of the Grossglockner, Strasser had to abandon the competition suffering from a bad cold and signs of pneumonia. What is so remarkable and tragic at the same time is the fact that this was Christoph’s first DNF-result since he started his career five years ago.
“A heavy cold and a stomach flu virtually ripped away Christoph’s form during the last two weeks. His condition deteriorated as the race progressed. His retirement form the competition was just a matter of time. Still the guts that Christoph showed during those difficult hours were remarkable and he proved that he can dig really deep. Mind you, he still rode 460 kilometres! I think for Christoph it is a painful but nevertheless useful experience and he will surely thrive on that,” concluded Thomas Jaklitsch, Christoph’s coach.

While the man in the lead, Daniel Wyss, was approaching the finish line in Unterpremstätten, Christoph was already at home wrapped up in blankets with a cup of hot tea, hoping for better days to come and occasionally checking his clinical thermometer, which was well above 39°C. “I’ll stay in bed for the next couple of days and won’t touch my bike for the next two weeks. After that I will reassess things, define new targets and build up my form again,” a disappointed Strasser concluded.