24 Hours KO Ironman OK … German racer Alex Hofmann (28) has endured a busy and turbulent few weeks with disappointment at the Nürburgring 24 hours turning to unexpected jubilation in a Swiss Ironman competition. Hofmann did not even make it to the start of the Nürburgring event in his 299-horsepower Astra OPC after one of his team mates made an unfortunate off-track excursion, which resulted in a high-speed crash, irreparably damaging the car. “I was waiting for my turn during night practice, and was ready to get some more laps under my belt, when the bad news came over the radio,” said Hofmann. The crew were unable to fix the car in time for the starting grid, ending Hofmann’s chance to shine on four wheels. “I was so disapointed”, said the Aprilia Factory Test rider. “I felt like a small boy waiting for Christmas and finding there were no presents! Not that I haven’t seen it all in racing, but this one hurt a lot as I was so looking forward to being a part of this race. I will keep coming back until I have made it to the finish – that much I can promise!” It was also Hofmann’s birthday during the 24 hour event, so he decided to celebrate instead out at the track in amongst thousands of fans. Coming back to the pits in the early hours of the morning, there was a new challenge waiting for him. “Earlier that night, my friend Manuel Reuter (Ex German Touring Car Champion and Winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours) told me about an Ironman contest that was taking place in my home town in Switzerland” explains Hofmann. “I don’t remember exactly what I said to him, but I guess my mouth was a little loose, because the next morning he told me that I was signed in for my first ever Triathlon.” The Ironman 70.3 in Rapperswil was to pose new and demanding challenges to Alex, pushing him to the limits in the three stages of swimming, cycling and running. It was to be a survival of the fittest. “I had to get through this somehow,” noted Alex. “It was too late to start specific preperations, so all I could do was to get the necessary equipment for the event a wet suit for the 15° degree cold lake in Zurich, time handlebars for my road bike. I don’t know what I was thinking of, looking at the demands of the half Ironman distance a 1.9km swim, 90km on the bike and topped off with a 21.1km run. I must have been mad! But by Sunday morning, at 9am, I was in the water for the toughest race of my life.” “I survived the swim somehow, but it was a fight against elbow kicks and orientation in the open water,” reflects Hofmann. “Once I was on my bike the event really started for me. I improved in my category from 91st to 58th position during the bike ride and tried to save some power for my first ever half-marathon. The weather was beautiful and the spectators closer than I ever have seen them in an event. That was probably why I started my run a little too fast, the last 5kms I had to fight really hard to keep running. The whole experience was great I enjoyed it a lot and my time was a lot better than expected. This wasn’t my last triathlon that’s for sure. But next time I will take the time to prepare myself.” Hofmann’s Ironman debut in Numbers Total time of 5h04m58s Splits – swim 38m47s, bike 2h41m, run 1h39m49s. Alex finished 51st in his category and position 340 overall out of 1228 male starters. The winner of the pro category Ronny Schildknecht from Switzerland finished in an amazing time of 3h51m. Thankfully Alex had enough time to recover before he rejoins testing aboard his Aprilia RSV-4 next week at Valencia.