With the European Championships and North American Championships behind us, you’d be forgiven for thinking maybe Hyrox (at the top level) would quieten down a little until Worlds.
However, this past weekend, we had the best time of the season broken on the Pro Men’s side (twice in 24 hours!) and we had a nail-biting Pro Women’s race in Houston; with Camilla Massa and Belle Macfarlane setting the 19th and 20th fastest times of the season – within 1 second of each other!
We were keen to speak with Alexander Roncevic, Men’s Pro Winner in Vienna and holder of the fastest Hyrox time of the season, and Camilla Massa, Women’s Pro Winner in Houston and Elite 15 regular, about their races and how they’re feeling after such impressive performances!
Alexander Roncevic
Alexander Roncevic used to be known as ‘Mr Consistent’, for his consistent podium finishes. However, this season, Alexander has really stepped it up a notch and is looking to establish himself as the fastest man in Hyrox. Alex’s Hyrox times in 2023 have been nothing short of incredible. He has ran a 57:26 and a 56:13 within the last few months!
Here’s our interview with Alex shortly after his win in Vienna:
How was your training going into this event?
I felt a bit weak after the race in Chicago, so I focused on strength the last two weeks. The 5 weeks of traveling and competing were just hard and it’s not easy to maintain endurance and strength without specific work over such a long period of time.How does it feel to win such a special event?
It was my fourth Vienna race and my third win. It’s always very special to race at Home in front of my family and friends because a lot of them don’t see me racing that much! Winning and having everybody I love around me is just amazing. It was like the whole venue was cheering and carrying me through the course😅You could have taken it easy today. You have already qualified for Worlds and raced two Championship events in just a few months. What pushed you to get such an incredible time?
Easy is never a option for me. I want to learn and I want to improve, so I have to go all out and hard every time to see on which parts I have to work later. Moe was telling me my splits at the rower and that helped a bit to finish the race strong. He told me that I’m on to beat Ryan Kent’s time from the day before and even finish somewhere around Hunter’s World Record!What’s the plan for you now?
Now I’ll start to prepare for Manchester. I have a big training block ahead with lots of strength endurance specific work and of course a lot of non-specific sports with friends.Words of wisdom to other athletes
You need to love what you do to be really good at it.
Camilla Massa
Camilla Massa saw huge success in Hyrox last year, where she climbed from Open to Pro and eventually placed 10th at World Championships. Camilla has continued her success through this season, qualifying for the Elite 15 race in Chicago a few weeks ago and finishing 9th. Since that race, Camilla has taken to social media to say she’s not satisfied with Top 10 finishes and is ‘hungry and more focused than ever.’ She has set the wheels in motion to sure up a few weaknesses and become a contender; saying it’s time to ‘go to the next level’ and ‘find out what I am capable of’.
Here’s our interview with Camilla shortly after her win in Houston:
How was your training going into this event? Anything new or different that led to the result?
My training going into this event was a little different than what I did before Chicago. Chicago showed me some weaknesses I need to work on, but I’ve just started.I am doing more strength related training, working on my lower body twice a week, and I am continuing to work on my speed with longer threshold intervals.
How does it feel to win such a big event?
I am happy for the win even if my goal is time based. Right now I am 19th in the Top 15 ranking and my goal is to be inside that Top 15 for Manchester.Any observations about the race?
The race was well organized, but too crowded. I think we lost quite a bit of time having to dodge a lot of people in the course, as you can see from the livestream.The sleds are still really heavy, but no excuses. I need to be faster and stronger.
What’s the plan now?
My next race will be Dallas and then I will go to Europe for a little vacation and I will race there, trying to get a faster time.Message to the community
I am so happy to be part of this community, everyone is so kind and supporting and I love all the amazing women I compete with.
Head over to Instagram and give Camilla and Alexander a follow. Thank you to them both for taking time to share their thoughts with us 🙂