After four hours of kiting in the ninth edition of Red Bull Ragnarok, Florian Gruber of Germany secured the victory with a margin of just two minutes down to last year’s winner and fellow German Felix Kersten. In the difficult wind conditions, only three out of the 350 kiters completed all 105 km within the time limit. More than 350 kiters from 30 nations all around the world had come to Hardangervidda, Norway to battle through 105 km of kiting on skis and snowboard within a time limit of five hours. Even though this year’s course was almost 30 kilometers shorter than last year’s, the changing and challenging wind made it a hard race on the sunny mountain plateau. After four hours and one minute, Florian Gruber crossed the finish line as the overall winner and winner of the men’s ski category, just two minutes ahead of last year’s winner Felix Kersten. This is Gruber’s second win, he also took home the victory in 2016. © KYLE MEYR / RED BULL CONTENT POOL “Amazing, I think this is the hardest time, it’s my third time competing here, and for sure the hardest one. We had at first good wind, smaller …
peter martel
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Red Bull Ragnarok 2016
350 kiters from over 30 countries were gathered on the icy mountain plains of Hardangervidda in Norway, to compete in the world´s biggest and toughest snowkite competition. In just a few hours the weather went from sunny and windy, to cloudy with no wind at all, until it finally picked up again. Choosing the right kite and strategy was the key to success, and Peter Martel (CAN) was the first male snowboarder to pass the finish line after five laps – finishing the course of 100 kilometers in four hours and 49 minutes. ”My start was really rough, I had to run and walk in kneedeep snow, and was really sweating and struggling. I managed to take lead, but then my steering line broke during my final lap, and I fell behind again, and had to tie a knot and use my lines in the best way. It was the most challenging race I’ve ever been in” says Peter Martel. This years edition of Red Bull Ragnarok is the sixth, and the competition is growing each year. 350 participants stands as a new record, gathering kiters from all over the world, with 30 different nationalities from all continents. ”I love …
