Warm in a sauna on the island of Reunion where he lives, Ludovic Chorgnon drips with sweat while enquiring tens of kilometers on his static bike.

Providing intense and long physical effort in very high temperatures has been his daily life for several months.

The 50-year-old Frenchman is preparing for an extreme challenge without assistance, the first of its kind: to complete an ultra triathlon - 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling, 42 km of running - on the hottest site of land, Death Valley in Nevada.

"The Valley of Death, I have already crossed it once by running. It was the thing that scared me the most in my life. I went far with my body, I no longer remembered my last name, not even the first name of my wife who was 3 meters away from me! I was in survival mode on the side of the road", he recalls for AFP.

Ludovic Chorgnon trains in a sauna on June 17, 2022 in Reunion, to prepare for the extreme heat that awaits him as he prepares to attempt an ultra-triathlon in the Valley of Death in the States States Richard BOUHET AFP/Archives

From the Arctic Circle to the Nevada Desert

This first journey took place in 2007. He then traveled 217 km non-stop, from Bad Water (the lowest point, -85.5 m) to Mount Whitney (highest point, 4,418 m) in 44 hours during of the Bad Water Ultra Marathon.

Since then, Chorgnon has gone even further in the quest for the extreme, with in particular a record that has made a strong impression: in 2015, he had managed 41 Ironman in 41 days, in tribute to his birthplace, the Loir -and-Cher.

Insatiable, he embarked on a challenge a year ago, that of being the first athlete to sign ultra triathlons in "plus-plus" mode.

In August 2020, he completed the first ultra triathlon with the most elevation gain (12,000 m of elevation gain).

Last February, he validated the coldest ultra triathlon, 20 hours of effort swimming in almost frozen water, pedaling on snowy trails and then running a marathon in the dark night, in Finland.

"A month later, I resumed training! When there is nothing special in my program, I train two to three hours a day, integrating days of ten to twelve hours of sport, the weekend or even at night," he says.

"Very painful"

In a Nevada overwhelmed by the heat, Chorgnon, whose obsession is to suffer, knows that he has an appointment with himself.

Ludovic Chorgnon trains in a sauna on June 17, 2022 in Reunion, to prepare for the extreme heat that awaits him as he prepares to attempt an ultra-triathlon in the Valley of Death in the States States Richard BOUHET AFP/Archives

"It will be more complicated to do it when it's hottest. With the cold, you can imagine adding layers, protecting yourself, but not when it's hot. The experience in the sauna made me realize that sometimes it becomes very painful, your body does anything".

Chorgnon will start with swimming with 152 lengths to be lined up in the swimming pool of the Oasis hotel, one of the two hotels in Death Valley, requisitioned for the occasion and whose water temperature is around 33 degrees.

He plans to swim about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Then he will go on a bike, by far the most complicated test according to him because of the posture to adopt on the bike and that he has worked a lot in the sauna.

He will make three round trips on a 60 km long journey, in 8 hours, he hopes.

Then will come the time to run, on a 7 km loop, to be done six times, all in about 6 hours.

An international judge, the French Thomas Mantelli, will follow the triple feat of Ludovic Chorgnon for an approval of his performance with Guinness World Records.

The start will be given Tuesday at 4:00 a.m. (local time, 1:00 p.m. Paris time), estimated end around midnight (local time, Wednesday 9:00 a.m. Paris time).

© 2022 AFP