Over the last two weekends the top ranks in the Aquabike Ranking Europe got completely mixed up – the men´s ranking as well as the women´s. Main reason of course was the World Championships in Samorin. But there were also some big points to grab at several National Aquabike Championship races. And: the serial winners of the season in England also accumulated some more points in races on the island, climbing up the ranks step by step.
The Men´s Rankings
After not being able to start in Samorin to defend his title, Adam Lambrechts lost quite some ranks. Which means that we have a new #1 in the men´s ranking for the first time since we started calculated the rankings. With his win in the Belgian Championships he climbed back up, now sitting in third position. In the two top positions are the only athletes finishing in the top ranks of last year´s European Championships (which are still counted since this year´s European´s are yet to come in Bilbao in September) as well as this year´s World´s. After a 4th place in Walchsee and a 10th place in Samorin, German Oliver Rau is currently in second position, only 68 points behind the leader. The 11th place in Walchsee and the 15th place in Samorin certainly would not have been enough to take the lead. But with his early season win at Challenge Riccione it is Austria´s
Peter Schott
who is the new #1 in the men´s aquabike ranking! Congratulations Peter!
However, chances are good that there will be a new leader after the European Championships in Bilbao later this month. After his third win of the season in a middle distance race Nathan Morgan is currently in 4th place, only 100 points behind the leader. And he´s on the startlist for Bilbao. With the three athletes in front all having points to defend at the Europeans, and the next athletes behind him not being on the startlist for Bilbao Nathan certainly has the potential to be the new leader in a few weeks time.
And of course it is also worth noting that the most successful aquabike athlete of the year Mark Yeoman finally made it into the Top 10. After his 9th victory in a standard distance race in England he is now sitting in 7th position.
» see full Men´s Auquabike Ranking Europe
The Women´s Rankings
In the women´s ranks Hannah Paull could keep her lead after the World Championships, although she wasn´t racing in Samorin. However, she lost some big points from her last year´s win at the New Forest Middle Distance Triathlon, where she didn´t compete this season. As a result she fell out of the Top 20 in the women´s Aquabike Ranking Europe. Sitting in third place is an athlete, who also won´t be up there for very much longer. Miriam Aigner from Austria didn´t compete in an aquabike race this season yet. She´s holding points from two races from last season which are both coming up this weekend. So she won´t be able to defend her points in both of them. Sitting in second place is now Germany´s Eva Marie Hering. She raced neither at the European nor at the World Championships but showed strong performances at the Challenge Riccione and Challenge Sankt Pölten, both in May this year. But the well deserved new #1 in the women´s ranking is
Maria Powell
runner up of the World Championship race in Samorin and winner of the Long Distance Aquabike race at the Ironbourne this year.
But also in the women´s rankings it´s quite likely that we will see quite some changes after the European´s. None of the current Top 3 in the Women´s ranking are on the startlist for Bilbao. But the three following athletes are. The British trio of Susie Peart, Nicki Broad and former #1 Amy Sole will all be competing in Bilbao. And since none of them was able to race at last year´s European Championships in Austria due to travel restrictions, they have no points to defend from there. So chances are good, that the next #1 in the women´s ranking might also be British.