Seven years after the last edition of Swim & Bike Werbellinsee (see Aquabike History) we finally had the first and long awaited aquabike races in Germany at the Vierlanden Triathlon near Hamburg. Unfortunately the weather was not particularly inviting. With 15,7°C in the water and 11°C and also quite some rain outside many registered athletes decided not to appear at the startline. However, there were still 19 cold-resistant aquabike athletes competing in the middle distance race.
And what a race it was!
Dennis MÖLLER came out of the water first, with Jonas HAFEMANN about a minute behind. But with the fastest transition time, Jonas came out of T1 five seconds ahead of Dennis. Apparently the two of them stayed together over the bike course, with Dennis Möller coming into T2 11 seconds ahead of Jonas Hafemann. But they weren´t leading the aquabike race at that point. Because Frank ERK, who started be bike leg about six minutes behind stormed to the front, getting into T2 five seconds ahead of Dennis Möller. But neither of them managed to take the race win. After also clocking the fastest transition time in T2 it was Jonas Hafemann crossing the finishline first, after getting off the bike in 3rd spot. Chapeau!
This certainly shows it sometimes can pay off to practice transition a little bit 😉
The women´s race wasn´t as close though. Here it was Katja MÖLLER taking the win, about four minutes ahead of Claudia KLOK, with Friederike ROSEMANN following in 3rd place.
Also the Olympic Distance aquabike race saw a bit bigger time gaps. It was Jakob RADAU winning the men´s competition about four minutes ahead of Steffen RADA – who actually didn´t come in second. Because it was the winner of the women´s race Heidi MIKKELSEN, who crossed the line three seconds earlier, taking a clear win in the women´s race, more than 22 minutes ahead of Marina THEES.
Meanwhile in Austria we had two middle distance aquabike races. On Saturday the traditional Linztriathlon could take place the first time after three years, to finally have its first aquabike race. It was Oliver KREINDL winning the race in a superior manner, about 23 minutes ahead of Sascha BICHLER. In the women´s race it was Heike SPORN taking the win, finishing the race about two minutes ahead of Claudia KREUZBERG.
On Sunday the aquabike race at the Challenge Sankt Pölten saw a quite international lineup. 26 athletes from 8 countries finished the race. Winner of the race was Austria´s Mark CAPEK in a remarkable time of 03:01:19, putting more than nine minutes into second placed Dutchman Tim KRAMER. Only 29 seconds behind it was Eva Marie HERING from Germany taking the win in the women´s race, with Zsofia TOTH from Hungary finishing in second place, about five minutes behind.
We also had another middle distance race in Spain on Saturday. The aquabike race at the Triatlón Salamanca started in the afternoon heat at about 30°C. In the rather small starter field of seven aquabike athletes, it was the only woman on the startline who was the fastest that day. Anna NOGUERA RAJA finished the race about five minutes ahead of Guillermo VAZQUEZ BACHILLER, who took the win in the men´s competition.
The first aqubike races of the season in Ireland took place at the Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon. 21 athletes started the standard distance race. Fastest of them was Oran KANE, finishing the race about five minutes earlier than the winner of the women´s competition Aoife TRIHY, while Peter MEANEY and Celine MC PHILLIPS took 2nd place in the men´s and women´s race. The lineup of the sprint distance race was a bit smaller, with Alex SARGENT being the fastest of the six competitors and Aisling BOYD taking the win in the women´s race.
And last but not least of course we also had some racing action again in Great Britain. On Saturday the British Age Group Celebration Cup took place in Kirkby Mallory, near Leicester. The sprint distance race was won by Mark BOOTH with a time gap of about three minutes to second placed Adam D PHILLIPS. In the women´s aquabike race it was Ruth JONES finishing first, 55 seconds ahead of Jodie REDDEN.
On Sunday we had the first triathlon of the season at Box End Lake. Besides the sprint and standard distance races, the first “aquabikus” race took place – the aquabike race of ActiveTrainingsWorld´s roman themed Centurion race series. Unfortunately only two athletes competed in that middle distance race, with Felicity DOLLEYMORE finishing first. Also the standard distance race had only female competitors on the startline, with Felicity LAWLESS taking the win. Paul TURNEY was the fastest aquabike athlete in the sprint distance race.
Clare Crabtree and Adam Lambrechts are still leading the board of the Aquabike Ranking Europe. Though there have been some changes in the Top10. While Peter Schott lost his second place on the podium after losing his points from last year´s race at Challenge Sankt Pölten, we also have a new entry in the Top10. Jonas Hafemann´s win at the Vierlanden Triathlon moved him up to #9, while the 3rd placed athlete of the race Dennis Möller got pretty close to the Top10 and is now in 12th spot. In the women´s ranking Eva Marie HERING´s great performance at the Challenge Sankt Pölten moved her up no less than 39 places, sitting now in second position.
You can find links to all full results at our aquabike race result search.
Chapeau and congratulations to all aquabike finishers of last week´s races!