Europe Triathlon

Rachel Klamer (NED) stormed to a convincing victory to delight the home support at the Premium European Cup in Holten. In the Mens Elite, Mitchell Robins of Australia secured victory by a narrower margin.

As expected due to the history and prestige of Triathlon in Holten, there was a great atmosphere amongst the large crowd. Despite the overcast conditions the temperature remained at a comfortable level in the early twenties all day and the water temperature was 19 degrees.

Elite Womens Review

The first race of the day was eagerly anticipated and after the opening swim it was Czech athlete Radka Vodickova who exited first after two laps in the Domelaar. Celine Schaerer (SUI) was next out with Klamer in the group behind. It was a small pack that emerged and out of the water and that group largely controlled the race on the bike.

Klamer and Vodickova arrived into T2 ahead of the main pack. This was a decisive transition; Klamer left in first place and never looked back. She excelled on the run and extended her lead over her rivals to win the race. Vodickova was second and Kerry Lang (GBR) finished third.

Elite Mens Review

An impressive swim saw Belgian Willem Brems exit the water first. Brems had a small gap over Marco Van Der Stel but both men together held a bit of a gap over the large chasing pack.

On the bike course, that chasing pack closed up any gaps and despite some jostling for position no great changes occurred. As the athletes exited T2 it was clear that a strong run and finish would make all the difference. Simon de Cuyper (BEL), Mitchell Robins (AUS) and Franz Loeschke (GER) broke away together and held a significant gap of 18 seconds over the rest of the field. It was clear these three would make podium but in what order was anyone’s guess heading into the final lap.

In the end it was the Australian Robins who pushed on he crossed the line victory by six seconds ahead of de Cuyper with Loeschke crossing in third.

Junior Race Review

There was double joy for France in the Junior mens race as Raphael Montoya and Sebastien Court crossed the line to make it a French one-two. It was anyone’s race up until the run as all the athletes entered T2 in a large group but a stunning run from Montoya propelled him to victory. Wian Sullwald (RSA) made up the podium.

The Junior womens race was dominated by Lucy Hall (GBR). Hall absolutely blitzed the swim, exiting the water over a minute ahead of the field. Out on her own for much of this race, she was in total control and comfortably finished first. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) and Renata Fuchs (HUN) finished second and third respectively.