- Ludovic Chorgnon is a real machine for insane sporting challenges. This entrepreneur based in Loir-et-Cher will be in Haute-Savoie on Saturday for a particular triathlon.
- Five years after having chained 41 Ironman ... in 41 consecutive days, the 49-year-old sets out to complete a triathlon with 11,000 m of elevation gain around Morillon, with the Joux Plane pass by bike on the program.
- This is the first episode in a new series of challenges for "Ludo the Mad", who will seek the world record for the coldest, hottest, and highest Ironman next year.
The Covid-19 got the better of Ludovic Chorgnon's crazy plan to perform next December seven Ironman (3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of bike and 42.2 km of running) in seven days ... and on seven continents ! "Given the context, I had to change my plans", smiles this lover of extreme challenges in triathlon and trail running, who had planned flights in private planes, "with an hour of margin each day". But when this 49-year-old consulting entrepreneur cancels an adventure, it's to initiate another, just as crazy.
The Loir-et-Chérien will start on Saturday, at 3 am in Morillon (Haute-Savoie), in an attempt to set a world record for elevation gain on an Ironman. Where Evergreen 228, around Chamonix, is proving formidable with its 7,500 m of D +, Ludovic Chorgnon has concocted a program of 11,000 m of D +. He will dive before sunrise in the blue lake of Morillon, then he will tackle on his bike, and on several occasions, the imposing Joux Plane pass (1,690 m above sea level), made legendary by the Tour from France, and above which it should only be 3 ° C on Saturday.
A next challenge at -20 ° C "and even -30 ° C if I'm lucky"
“It's going to sting,” he laughs, as he concludes his day with a trail marathon, six round trips to Morillon Les Esserts, for an arrival scheduled for midnight. He invites all those who wish to participate in his challenge to accompany him on 100 terminals (or 100 m) in each of the three disciplines. This "challenge of a lifetime", for which "Ludo le fou" has trained up to 13 hours a day this summer in running and mountain biking, will be followed in 2021 by three other unpublished Ironmans that can be converted to records.
Namely the coldest XXL triathlon in history on the Arctic Circle, with water at 0 ° C and an outside temperature of -20 ° C "and even -30 ° C if I'm lucky" in February. Then the highest in Nepal in April, between 4,300 and 5,000 m above sea level. And finally the hottest in July, with 55 ° C expected… "and 45 ° C at night" in Death Valley (United States).
"My father taught me to swim when I couldn't walk yet"
So many adventures which will notably confront him "with the lack of oxygen" and "with the resistance of bicycle tires in the face of ground at 80 ° C". For the past fifteen years, Ludovic Chorgnon has been carrying out his projects with passion via Défi 41. “I am an Obelix of sport! My father is a lifeguard and he taught me to swim when I could not yet walk ”, confides the person concerned, who has about sixty Ironmans on his record and who will also take part in his 10th Diagonal in October. des Fous, the iconic ultra-trail of Reunion Island.
The man from Roanne (Loire) notably made an impression during the summer of 2015 by becoming the first triathlete to complete 41 Ironman in 41 consecutive days. And this to sign a nod to the number of his favorite department of Loir-et-Cher, while 8,000 people came to the finish line in Vendôme to salute his feat. Then this UFO of amateur sport offered itself in 2018 a triathlon between London and Paris, with 68 km swimming to cross the Channel at stake.
"I'm just looking for things that make me trippy"
"The records mark the spirits but that is never what carries me, assures '' Ludo the madman ''. I'm not overdoing it, I'm just looking for things that make me trippy and that I'm not sure I'll conclude. Quite the profile of this new adventure in the heart of the Haut Giffre Valley on Saturday. But how does Ludovic Chorgnon manage to go the distance, with all these extreme races scheduled for almost 50 years?
"It's more rewarding to complete your own project than a race. You can create the event you want so you necessarily find yourself there." We are looking at the "off" projects of @francoisdhaene, Xavier Thévenard, Luca Papi ... @ 20Minutes #ultratrail # GR20 https://t.co/u0J6cMbPyM
- Jérémy Laugier (@JeremyLaugier) July 9, 2020“The advantage of these triathlon challenges is that they generate a lot of muscle fatigue but no trauma,” he explains. When you jump during the 165 km of the Diagonale des Fous, you pick up a lot more. He would almost succeed in making us believe that an Ironman can be accessible to all.
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