Next Sunday the 8th edition of the European Aquabike Championships will take place in Banyoles, which is near Girona in Catalunya. After last year’s race in Pamplona, it’s now the fourth time the race will be hosted in Spain. The previous editions always left some room for improvement. Let’s hope that the event will run smoothly, but unfortunately the bike course design once again doesn’t look ideal. But first things first…
The Swim
Athletes will swim in the Banyoles Lake (Estany de Banyoles) which hosted the rowing competitions at the 1992 Olympic Games. It’s a one lap out and back swim. With the return swim going towards south about three hours before noon, sighting against the sun might be a bit of an issue, especially if you are usually breathing to the left. The ‘good’ news: because of a pretty tight schedule you won’t get into the situation of having no swimmers in front of you, no matter where you start, or how fast you are swimming.
Elite triathletes will start their race at 8:00 in the morning, followed by Para athletes. The first agegroup wave of triathletes will start at 8:10 – with six more waves starting before the first aquabike wave. Which is only ten minutes after the first triathlon wave. With 439 registered agegroupers, the triathlon field is not huge. Though there will definitely be quite some traffic in the water for the faster swimmers of the aquabikers.
The Transition
From the swim exit it’s only a very short run of less than 100 metres to the transition zone, which is located in the Banyoles football stadium. The transition definitely looks very aquabike friendly, also with only a very short run out of the stadium to the mount line.
The Bike
While I mentioned traffic might be an issue for the good swimmers, this will probably apply even more for the good cyclists. The original course was a big loop – though on narrow roads, but all in one direction. The now final course looks quite different. It’s a 42-kilometre lap which is basically a series of out and back parts, with thre U-turns (six in total of the two laps). While in the second version of the bike course two of the U-turns were approached coming from a downhill section, it’s now only one, which is definitely an improvement. The first one, which was originally after a fast downhill section, is now a bit later, after the road goes a uphill again for a bit. Still, some of the roads seem to be quite narrow – especially for having triathletes and aquabikers going both ways.
With a total elevation gain of about 800 metres, the course is quite hilly. But it also has some flat sections and no super steep climbs. So should be pretty smooth to ride on the TT bike.
The Finish
If you followed us for a while and read other race previews of previous European or World Championship, you might know that the location of the finishline often was a major point of concern, especially at races in Spain. Regarding the aquabike finish in Banyoles, there is absolutely nothing to criticise. Because there is absolutely no official information. The only information regarding the aquabike finish is this image in the course maps pdf:
This might seem clear on the first look. But what is marked as finish line in this image will most likely not be the finish line of the race. Maybe the race organizers aren’t too aware of the World Triathlon Competition Rules, which clearly say that “Athletes will finish the competition at the finish line located between 100 meters and 200 meters before the dismount line.” Europe Triathlon might not necessarily have to apply the World Triathlon competition rules. But usually they do and the event page also refers to World Triathlon Competition Rules about some other topics.
However, IF the competition rules are applied, the finish should be rather on the save side, compared to some other finishes at World or European Championships in Spain. Because the last 500 metres before the finish line are pretty much straight. Though the road doesn’t look super wide though. If two sprinting aquabikers approach a bunch of triathletes who are preparing for transition, it still might get a bit tight on the road. I really love how the race organizers in Spain always tell the aquabikers to not be in the way of the triathletes…
The Weather
Well, we are mid-summer in Spain, so you know what to expect. Weather forecast says up to 37° on race day. There is a bit of a chance of rain and thunderstorms those days, but that’s usually more likely in the later afternoon at a time when all athletes should have finished their race. There are no heavy winds expected and with most of course apparently being rather protected from the wind, it shouldn’t play a big role really. Feel free to bring your disc wheel.
The Favourites
With almost 300 aquabike athletes on the start list, the race in Banyoles is about to become the biggest ever European Aquabike Championships. And there will definitely be a super strong field of competitors in both, the men’s and the women’s race. So let’s take a closer look.
The Men’s Race
The leader of the men’s Aquabike.World ranking Frank ERK had a super strong race last year in Pamplona, but wasn’t too happy with his latest performance at the Ch’Triman in France. But he likes the heat, so the conditions should suit him well and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if he’s also amongst the podium contenders this year.
After a mechanical former World and European Champion Mathieu DUMONT had to settle for fourth place overall in last year’s race. The strong cyclist will be back racing in Banyoles and will certainly be in the mix for the podium.
Another regular on the podium in the big championship races is Tommy Nielsen. He skipped the Europeans last year but was second at the long distance World’s in Pontevedra.
Igor FRANKO was the winner in Pontevedra – like in the other three aquabike races he competed in. The unbeaten Ukrainian will certainly be the man to beat in Banyoles. Though there are few more super strong competitors in the mix.
Another athlete from the Ukraine to watch out for will be Yevgen Slavniy, who showed a strong performance in last years long distance Nationals in Spain, where he missed the win by only a few seconds.
The two Frenchman Paul Vanotti and Jean-Marie Le Borgne placed 6th and 7th at last years race in Pamplona and will be back in Spain for this year’s event.
While the international lineup for the race is super strong, some of the strong guys from Spain, who performed well in previous championship races, are missing. Fabian Badia Vicent should have biggest chances to mix up the field on home soil. After a 10th place in Pamplona last year, he took the overall win in the Spanish Nationals at the same location two months ago.
As usual also the British team will come with some strong competitors. Multiple agegroup World and European champion Kris Whitelaw was 9th in Pamplona and is coming to Banyoles after a 4th place in this year’s British Championships. Another one to watch out for will be Simon Woodcock, who won no less the 15 aquabike races in the UK since 2021, including this year’s Grafman, where he showed a strong performance. Ben TULLOH will have his first appearance in an international aquabike race after some strong performances on the island.
Another athlete worth mentioning is Lukas Casanova from Switzerland. In 2024 he was fifth overall at the European Championship in Portugal and is back on the international aquabike stage for Banyoles.
Dark horse of the race might be Belgian young gun Brecht ROELANS. In his two starts in aquabike races the 21-year-old was 2nd and 3rd overall in this year’s and last year’s Belgian national championships. While two podiums in Belgian nationals might not sound super impressive, I should add that this race was the most competitive on the race calender for the last three years, with a higher Competition Score than all World and European Championships. Brecht is a super strong swimmer and is certainly a candidate to lead the field after the swim. Looking at his bike performances in Belgium, the strong cyclists won’t have an easy time to catch him. Though the terrain and the temperatures are certainly quite different to the races in Belgium. The race will show, how he get’s along with that.
The Women’s Race
As always in the women’s race, the biggest group of favourites comes from the British island. First of all, a big shout out and good luck to Georgia Hamblett. She’s doing an amazing job supporting Aquabike.World especially with the social media work. She came in 5th at the British nationals less than two weeks ago and is travelling to Banyoles for her first international appearance since her 5th place overall and the Standard Distance World’s in Torremolinos in 2024. Good Luck Georgia!
You might also keep an eye on Hayley Davis, who finished in the top five of all three big international aquabike races last year. Both of them are super strong swimmers and should be amongst the first women to come into T1. Though with her 5th place at last year’s European championships, Hayley was only #4 amongst the British girls. From the three faster ones Claire MARTIN and Toni SENIOR will also be competing for the top ranks in Banyoles.
Travelling all the way from Iceland is former long distance world champion Katrín Pálsdóttir. With temperatures predicted to be up to 37° on race day, which you don’t experience too often in Iceland, it will show how well Katrín can handle those maybe unfamiliar conditions.
Two other girls from the northern parts of Europe that I should mention are Annette Rask Thomsen from Denmark, who came in third at this year’s nationals, and Daphné Polleunis who finished 6th in the highly competitive Belgian championships last year.
And as usual there will also be some strong athletes from Germany in the women’s race. Gabriele Keck and Dörte Fehse-ehlert are two regulars in the top 10 in international championships races. Though the race’s main favourite is new on the stage of international aquabike racing. Kristina Bühler won all six aquabike races she competed in since 2024, with the last one being the most impressive. Less than three weeks ago she won the highly competitive aquabike race at the Ch’Triman in France, putting more than seven minutes into her closest rival. She won’t be amongst the first athletes out of the water, but the stronger swimmers will have a hard time holding her off on the bike course.
The race in Banyoles will not only be the biggest, but most likely also the most competitive European Aquabike Championships since its introduction in 2018. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the narrow roads and the maybe not ideal course design will not have a major impact on the outcome of the race.
Some helpful links: