Paloncý And Marvanová Go For Corona Of The Himalayas
Press Release / 19.04.2021
120,000 meters of elevation gain, over 3,000 kilometers, many hours of riding on a road bike. This is the new project of well-known Czech ultra-athletes Pavel Paloncý and Markéta Peggy Marvanová.
After their Everesting Challenge last autumn, when they climbed on their bikes the height of Mt. Everest (8848m), the couple has decided to go even further. And it's not just about performance. Their project will be accompanied by research and a charity.
"So far, I have mostly raced my own shorter projects so this is something new for me. We will be here for a few weeks," explains the well-known ultrarunner from The Czech Republic. The pair will ride in the rhythm of 1 + 2, i.e. one day of ride will be followed by two days of recovery, transfer and preparation for the next climb.
"We really enjoyed last year's ‘Everesting’, but we wanted more, and that's how it turned out. I just love climbs so much," laughs Peggy. There really will be no shortage of climbs. A pair of ultra-athletes decided to extend this challenge to 14 iconic alpine climbs.
Fans Voted Where The Adventurers Will Go
"We pre-selected 38 Climbs in the Alps and the Dolomites. They are all the famous climbs. I wonder where the fans will send us," said the two-time finisher and winner of the famous Tour Divide across the USA. "In the end, we will select 14 climbs after looking at what the fans think and order the climbs so it makes sense logistically. After all, there won't be much time to move between the climbs and we will also need to relax a bit in between,” adds the Czech ultra-runner and three-time Spine Race winner.
"We will also have to look at what climbs are closed due to snow and when they will open, so we will start with Zoncolan,” said Pavel after the final 14 climbs were picked. "I'm most looking forward to Stelvio, but due to its height, we will probably ride it sometime at the end of our project," added the tiny Czech mountain biker.
Given the current situation, it seems that travel restrictions will not affect the event. However, what will significantly affect us, is the night lockdown in some countries and regions. "We'll just have to go hard to make it," says Peggy. "However, it can change a lot in the meantime," Pavel continues, "everything can change during the event, after all, our project will take 6 weeks."
Not Only Performance, But Also Research And Charity
The history and focus of both athletes are reflected in the project. It will not be only extreme performance, but the project will also have a charity element. "The idea of associating every big event with charity has been with my activities from the very beginning," said Peggy, who has been behind several successful charity collections. The idea is simple. "People who admire our performance can support us by supporting people in difficult life situations through us."
For this project, the endurance athletes teamed up with charities Good Angel, Pink Bubble, the Via Foundation and the Axon Neurorehabilitation Clinic. The goal is to raise CZK 10.000 EUR (250.000 CZK) and support five children who have a chance to improve their health and recover from their illness thanks to this money. The collection will take place on the Darujme.cz portal and will be launched on today – at the same time as the athletes start their first climb.
"I would still measure something and then drill down through the data. Even though I'm an adventurer by heart, I'm still a physicist by education. And I'm very interested in how the human body and metabolism works in these extreme conditions. We can't miss such an opportunity," Pavel continued enthusiastically.
"We will continuously measure performance, heart rate and many other metrics provided by sport-testers. However, our main interest is not the performance itself, but we asked ourselves the question: “How does the human body manage energy during such a performance?” Thanks to modern blood glucose sensors, we will be able to monitor this value 24/7. For the whole 42 days – both during exercise and recovery. I wonder how the body's behaviour will change during this event?” Pavel Paloncý added.
Why Corona of the Himalayas?
Climber, who conquers all 14 8,000-meter peaks, earns the crown of the Himalayas. "After Everesting, we decided to do it on a road bike," Peggy continues. "And without the coronavirus pandemic, this probably would never have happened. When else would we find 6 weeks in one stretch? We would be racing somewhere in the world for sure," laughs Pavel.
"I don't actually do much road biking, I prefer mountain bike," adds the leading Czech ultracyclist. "And I'm mostly an ultrarunner, maybe I'll add some running to the project," the Czech Machine said." Anyway, it will be something new for both of us, we will go into the unknown again.”.
Follow The Corona of the Himalayas
Start: April 19, 2021
Duration: 42 days (6 weeks)
Event website: https://www.koronahimalaje.cz/en/
Basic information: https://www.koronahimalaje.cz/en/o-korone-himalaje/
Map – where you can vote for the climbs and where you can follow the riders online: https://en.follow.me.cz/tracking-2/koronahimalaje/?embedded
You can vote here:
https://www.facebook.com/ARPalonc/posts/129833712484859
Follow the Athletes as They Share Updates
Pavel Paloncý:
Pavel Paloncý is a mountain-lover, adventurer and known in the world as "The Czech Machine". His domain is adventure racing and ultra-running. He won the Spine Race in 2014, 2015 and 2018 and has raced in all natural conditions and environments.
www.instagram.com/palonc.adventure
Markéta Marvanová:
Markéta Peggy Marvanová is Czech a endurance ultracyclist, the youngest conqueror of the American Great Divide Tour 2015 (4,418 km) and its winner in 2017. She often combines her performances with charitable collections. Peggy has written two books about her experiences of extreme racing (The Road to Happiness and The First Footprint – so far only in Czech).
https://www.facebook.com/marketamarvanova.cz
https://www.instagram.com/peggy.marvanova/