Multisport: Born to Suffer

Published: May 2, 2004 Updated: Feb 24, 2022

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Multisport: Born to Suffer
By Todd Balf

John Stamstad’s taste in cycling events is simple: the longer and more weather-whipped, the better. The Iditasport, a 235-kilometer marathon pitting cyclists against cross-country skiers in Alaskan blizzards each February, qualifies on both counts. And while this year’s field was stacked with bigwigs, including former Race Across America champion Bob Forney, Stamstad proved
that nobody can suffer like he can. He won easily for the second year in a row, this time in 20-below temperatures and 60-mile-per-hour winds that forced almost half of the 37-rider field to scratch. With the North-ern Lights cascading overhead, Stamstad crossed the finish line in 15 hours and 56 minutes, nearly five hours ahead of runner-up Rocky Reifenstuhl. Forney finished
third.

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