19 January 2012 at 19:08
Just as they did a hundred years ago, the Norwegians have shown their dominance in polar racing as Norwegian Team FRAMdrift have won the EWR Centenary Race to the South Pole.
Norwegians Erlend Gray, 28, Harvard Svidal, 35, and Mathias Seim, 23, were able to maintain a consistently impressive pace towards the finish line holding a commanding lead throughout the race and have completed the race comfortably ahead of the other teams competing.
In what is the Centenary year of Captain Scott’s epic journey to reach the South Pole, Team Framdrift have successfully covered the gruelling race across Antarctica, beating the remaining five teams including Welsh team Mercury and English team Centrepoint (team patron HRH Prince William).
Tony Martin, CEO, says their victory is well deserved; ‘Taking immense mental and physical strength to maintain a steady pace towards the finish line and complete the race comfortably ahead of our remaining teams, what Team Framdrift have achieved should not be underestimated – this is not called the ‘toughest race in the world for nothing!’
The finish is a new Extreme World Races record, smashing the previous South Pole Race 2008/9 time by 1 day, 23 hours and 27 minutes.
Second, third and forth place is still all to play for with Team Mercury, Team Centrepoint and Team Mission Possible continuing to push themselves in what has proven to be a phenomenal season in Antarctica.
Pictures to follow!
Posted in 2011. Race to the Pole. Scott v Amundsen Centenary | Extreme Races | 2010 Race to the Pole. Austria v Germany | Press Releases | 3 Comments »
22 March 2011 at 11:09
- The South Pole memorial marks the ceremonial South Pole.
German broadcaster ZDF began transmitting its ‘Wettlauf zum Südpol’ (Race to the South Pole) show on March 8th 2011. The spectacular five-part series followed competing teams from Germany and Austria as they raced each other to the South Pole in a challenge organised by Extreme World Races.
German TV viewers followed the epic race across the ice on March 8th, 15th and 22nd March at 8:15pm and on March 13th and 20th at 11:35pm.
Austrian broadcaster ORDF began its transmission on February 24th but the final episodes were shown simultaneously to ensure that viewers in both countries did not find out which was the winning team ahead of the final episode.
TV presenter Markus Lanz and extreme sports competitor Joey Kelly are members of the German team, along with marathon runner Claudia Beitsch and triathlete Dennis Lehnert. They are competing against an Austrian team which includes former professional skier Herman Maier.
Viewing figures for the German broadcast are estimated to have hit 14% of audience share.
Tags: germany vs austria 2010 | zdf | ordf
Posted in 2010 Race to the Pole. Austria v Germany | Extreme Races | No Comments
06 December 2010 at 13:11
Next year's EWR Centenary Race to the South Pole will see teams from Britain and Norway going head to head for national pride in a re-run of the famous Scott and Amundsen race of 1911.
This year's race, however, has its own international challenge. The 2010 Race to the South Pole sees teams from Germany and Austria competing directly against each other across the Antarctic plateau.
The German team is led by TV presenter Markus Lanz and ultra marathon runner and extreme sportsman Joey Kelly. They're joined by Claudia Beitsch – a Bio-Scientist – and Dennis Lehnert of the Air Force. Their Austrian opposition is led by legendary skier Hermann Maier and radio presenter Tom Walek. Making up the Austrian team are Sabrina Grillitsch – Austria's only female mountain infantry soldier – and Alexander Serdjukov, who is a Husky racer.
Choosing the teams
Finding the final two contestants for both teams involved a series of three arduous training camps. Specialists from Extreme World Races (EWR) joined the team leaders to decide which contestants had what it took to make the trip.
In the first round, two camps were held in Germany and Austria. There were originally 9,000 applicants. Of these, only 60 contestants were invited to each of the camps. Through the course of 36 hours, contestants performed tasks to prove not only their team skills but also their endurance: did they have the will coupled with the raw ability to really go for the Pole when they reached Antarctica?
Only 10 people were selected from the initial training camps to compete in the final, which took place on the glacier at Kitzsteinhorn near Kaprun in Austria. Here, the contestants were confronted with conditions that were closer to what they would face in Antarctica. Cold winds and heavy snowfall at an altitude of 3,000m challenged them while they learned how to perform a rescue from a crevasse or to build a tent when snow covers everything within minutes.
Everything was done under the close watch of the EWR team and the team leaders. Finally, after another 36 strenuous hours, the two members who had made it onto each team were called forward. They knew now that they were heading for the adventure of their lives but also weeks of tough preparation before their departure to Antarctica.
The final training
In the first week of November, the teams travelled to Hjerkinn in Norway for the training that would teach them everything they needed to know to survive in the hostile environment of Antarctica – both in theory and in practice. Three days of classroom training about cold weather injuries, food in Antarctica, equipment preparation, and other pertinent issues were as vital as the 3 day mini-excursion that followed, where the emphasis was on team skills and the ever-important tent routines.
Training is over and race day is approaching fast. Today – December 5th – the teams left for Cape Town. After a few more days of preparation – getting kit and supplies sorted out – they will carry on to Antarctica itself on December 9th. After another week of acclimatisation and travel onto the Antarctic plateau, the race will start on December 20th.The winning team is expected to arrive at the Pole just after New Year's Day.
Watch it on TV
German and Austrian TV crews are following the race, with the event to be broadcast in Germany by major station ZDF and in Austria by the main broadcaster ORF over six episodes in March 2011.
Tags: antarctic | race to the south pole | germany vs austria 2010 | antarctica
Posted in Extreme Headlines | 2010 Race to the Pole. Austria v Germany | Extreme Races | No Comments
16 July 2010 at 17:02
Filmed for German and Austrian television by Loop Films to go out on the terrestrial channels, ZDF and ORF, the South Pole Race 2010 / 2011 sees a German celebrity team led by TV personality, Marcus Lanz, race against an Austrian team led by legendary skier Herman Maier and pop celebrity Tom Walek.
A national public competition will find two people to join each team and they will then race each other across crevasse fields, onto the Antarctic polar plateau and to the South Pole at temperatures as low as- 40 C
Race distance: 320km
Calendar of dates: Race 10th December 2010–10th January 2011 / Training 5th–12th November 2010
Posted in 2010 Race to the Pole. Austria v Germany | Extreme Races | No Comments
