The sevenths edition of the European Aquabike Championships will take place in Pamplona this Saturday. Well, actually the race will start about 40 km outside the Capital of the Navarra region in northern Spain. For the first time we will have a point-to-point race in an international aquabike championship. 281 athletes have signed up for the aquabike race – if all of them will be competing, this will be the biggest European Aquabike Championship yet. A title currently held by Pamplona’s neighbour city Bilbao, where 268 athletes started the race in 2022.
The Swim
The race will start in the Embalse de Alloz, a lake about 40 km southwest of Pamplona with a one-lap clockwise swim. The water of the lake is usually very clear, with a visibility of several metres under water. You will swim towards the sun on the way back. But with the start in the early afternoon and the sun standing high at this time of the day, sight and orientation should not be an issue.
But this is also for another reason: The first wave of aquabike athletes will start only 20 minutes after the elite triathletes. With all age group triathletes in between. So no matter how fast of a swimmer you are, you will always have plenty of athletes in front of you to follow (or pass).
The water temperature is currently under 20°C – so it will be a wetsuit legal swim.
The Transition
In the athlete guide the run from the swim exit to T1 is described as “about 220 metres of concrete/asphalt with 20,2 mts elevation […] Maximum gradient 49,2%”. OK, I sincerely doubt that the 49,2% is reliable information – unless there are some stairs. Nevertheless this is certainly a bit of an uphill run that might be quite challenging for aquabike athletes suffering from injuries. The map of the transition zone provided by the race organizer doesn’t show the flow though T1 quite clearly but doesn’t look like a too long run – I would say maybe another 200 metres.
The Bike
The athlete guide describes the bike course as “Rolling with good pavement.” It’s probably safe to say that “rolling” in Navarra has a bit of a different meaning than for example in the UK. Because the bike course actually looks quite challenging with not too many flat sections. With all athletes starting in a rather short time window this is actually good news. The selective course should make drafting and blocking less of an issue. However, about 2.5 km into the bike course there will be a rather technical descent. At that point the field of athletes will of course still be pretty dense. So be careful there – this is certainly not the part of the course where you can win the race. The first climb starts after 8 km, followed by other climbs, all on rather wide roads with no technical sections for the next 45 km. There will be another technical descent then – but at that point the field should be stretched out quite a bit.
The Finish Line
According to the athlete guide, the finish line for aquabike athletes will be about 50 metres before the dismount line. This actually does not 100% comply with the 2025 Word Triahtlon Competition Rules which now requite the aquabike finish to be between 100 and 200 metres before the dismount line. However, other than in previous international championship races in Spain this should not be an issue in Pamplona. Because the last 600 metres of the course are uphill, with gradients up to 9%, also with no corners or roundabouts. Even if we have sprint finishes, there certainly will not be any high speed sprints. So other than in previous races we should not have any safety issues here.
The Weather
If you are coming to Pamplona a few days before the race, the weather gods will probably not welcome you very kindly. However, the forecast for Saturday looks perfect for a race day. Sunny with some broken clouds, about 22°C in the afternoon and only very light winds from the east.
The Favourites
The Men’s Race
Despite defending champion Tommy NIELSEN missing on the start list, the men’s field will probably be the strongest we had yet at European Championships. However, there is little doubt about who will be leading the pack after the swim.
Reigning standard distance champion and former Olympic swimmer Filip ZABOROWSKI will tackle the European Championships for the first time. In Torremolinos he showed that he is also quite a good cyclist. However, on the challenging course in Pamplona, he will have a harder time holding off the super strong field of his chasers.
First to name here is certainly uber-biker and last year’s runner-up Mathieu DUMONT. His performance in another race in Spain in early April indicates, that he will come to Navarra in great shape.
The athlete with the most “balanced” performance in both disciplines amongst the favourites is certainly Cesar Pereira Del Pino. In 2023 he missed the overall win in both world championships by just 20 seconds. He hasn’t competed in any other aquabike race since then, but I’m sure he’s coming to Pamplona to race for the top podium spots.
An athlete who is definitely coming in good shape is 2022 runner-up and newly crowned British aquabike champion Kris Whitelaw, taking phenomenal win in the inaugural British championship race last Sunday.
Two other strong aquabikers will travel to the European Championships from the other side of the Pyrenees. Jean-Marie Le Borgne came in 6th overall at last year’s race in Coimbra, while Paul Vanotti will be competing in an international aquabike championship for the first time, but showed impressive performances in big races in France last year.
Men to watch from the host country are Carlos GARCIA RUFO and Fabian BADIA VICENT who came in second and third to main favourite Mathieu DUMONT at the Infinitri 113 Triathlon Peñíscola in early April. Fabian is also the winner of last year’s Spanish Aquabike Championships on the same course, where young gun Eneko LOPEZ DE LAS HUERTAS ORMAZABAL followed only 28 seconds behind – certainly another athlete with the potential to fight for the top ranks.
And last but not least, the man who is holding the #1 position in the Aquabike.World Ranking for 594 days now will – of course – also be competing in Pamplona. Frank Erk completed last year’s podium in Coimbra and started this season early in New Zealand, where he took a 3rd place against strong competition at the Challenge Wanaka.
The Women’s Race
Last year’s champion Victoria Rothwell will come to Spain to defend her title. Despite some big names missing on the women’s start list, she won’t have any easy time to repeat her overall win. At last year’s standard world championships Elke Schönhardt came in only 12 seconds down on Victoria. She was actually a few seconds faster, but lost about half a minute through transition. So we can expect another close head-to-head race between them in Pamplona.
In Torremolinos there was actually another German athlete a few more seconds ahead. Though at last year’s European championships Kai SACHTLEBER finished 7th, about 10 minutes behind the winner. For the strong swimmer it will be hard to hold off the two strong cyclists on the demanding bike course.
Other strong competitors from the British Island are Adele Mcaleer who won the Gordieman last year, and Toni Senior, the best of the women’s field of last weekends British championships, where she finished 7th.
Other competitors to watch out for on Saturday are Ainara Benavente Babace and Gabriele Keck – both with top 10 places in former European Championships.
Especially in the women’s competition there a quite a few young athletes who have not yet competed in any aquabike race. So I would not be surprised if we see some new names in the top ranks there.
Good luck to all aquabike athletes competing in Pamplona! I hope you all have a great time in Navarra and enjoy the race.
Some helpful links:
Half Triathlon Pamplona – Iruña 2025 – European Aquabike Championships Race Details