Elite 15 mainstay Tomas Tvrdik finished second at the inaugural HYROX Tenerife race at the weekend.
In hot and humid conditions, his time of 57:51 was an impressive result. However, with Tomas needing to defend ranking points before the first Elite 15 race of the season in Hamburg, he had travelled to Tenerife hoping for more.
We asked him about his race, the challenging conditions and what comes next.
How was Tenerife?
Tenerife is beautiful, and this is probably my ninth or tenth time here. Usually, though, I come in winter, so it is a little cooler than it was this time.
How satisfied are you with your race in Tenerife?
In terms of how I felt about my performance, I am satisfied with how I raced. I pushed from the beginning and led for almost the entire race, but unfortunately I probably overheated. The final 10 minutes were hellish!
The win wasn’t far away. Even when we reached the wall balls, I was still very close to Jake. But I was so fucked that I wasn’t able to push or race him. All I could do was finish.
Were the conditions what you expected, and what can you take away from the race?
Now for the honest part: I am disappointed about the conditions. I wasn’t prepared to race in heat like that, and it definitely had a big effect on me.
Not getting the points I wanted is one thing, but that’s sport. Jake was better, and I am OK with that.
However, because of the conditions, I don’t have the data I came for. Heat is such a significant factor and can change everything, so it is almost impossible to evaluate the result and learn from it. If I had known beforehand that it would be like that, I wouldn’t have raced there.
What’s next for you?
My next race will be Oslo. I have never been to Norway so I am looking forward to seeing this beautiful country.
Tomas is one of the most accomplished HYROX athletes of all time with a personal best of 53:18 in the elite 15. He is the world record holder in the 40+ category and aiming to compete in his 5th World Championships in 2027.
