VOTW: Red Bull XRow 2011 in Switzerland



This week's VOTW comes to us from Switzerland, where the 2011 Red Bull XRow covered 18 kilometers on the water, as well as 7km on land, broken up into six stages (three rowing, three running)–the added twist is that the eight-man crews must carry their boats across all the running stages (note the foam padding lining the gunwales expressly for this purpose–and don't try this at home). The course runs from Zug, south across the Zugersee to Immensee, overland to Küssnacht am Rigi, south along the Vierwaldstättersee to Meggen, overland to Wartenfluh, and then west on the Rotsee to Luzern (Lucerne), before a final mad dash off the water and up the hill to the finish. All together, it makes for quite a spectacle, as well as an intense training session for the athletes involved, as they expand and develop their aerobic base over the course of the Fall season. This year, competitors included members of the Swiss national rowing team, André Vonarburg among them.

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-RR

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