The European Championships over the Olympic distance will take place in Madrid this weekend and the home Spanish team have a number of gold medal prospects.
Leading the way will be Antonio Serrat Seoane, last year’s silver medallist from WTCS Bermuda. On his day, Serrat is one of the best runners in the field. His past two WTCS races in Yokohama and Cagliari did not go entirely to plan, however he did open his season with an 11th place at WTCS Abu Dhabi.
If Serrat can get his swim right, he will be in the hunt for the gold.
One of his closest rivals for the gold will be David Castro Fajardo. A World Cup winner in 2022, Castro also added a 5th place at WTCS Cagliari last October and won an Oceania Cup in Taupo earlier this season. Of the Spanish team, he is probably the best swimmer and he couples that with an outstanding run.
After suffering an unfortunate puncture at the New Plymouth World Cup in March when in a promising position, Castro is overdue a slice of luck in a race. If he can avoid any further unfortunate episodes he should be with the leaders throughout.
Genis Grau is another World Cup winner from 2022 that will start for Spain. He logged his best ever WTCS finish in Cagliari at the weekend by taking 20th place. On balance, it feels like Grau is a little more suited to the Sprint distance right now. Over the shorter race he has a truly lethal kick to close out races. Madrid could therefore be a little too long for him.
On the flip side, Grau is a strong performer in the heat, as his win in Huatulco last year demonstrated. If the mercury rises in Madrid, look for him to exploit the conditions.
Then there is Mario Mola. In the WTCS, he has struggled of late with his swim. This was the case again at WTCS Cagliari at the weekend. However, his win at the opening French Grand Prix race in Fréjus demonstrated that if he can navigate the first discipline he will be a contender.
The youngster David Cantero Del Campo will also be worth watching from the home cohort. That being said, while Cantero is a very good runner, it might be a bit too early in his career to expect much at this level from him.
Among the multiple threats to a Spanish win in the field, one name stands out. Csongor Lehmann, the man that will wear number 1, is on the rise and will be the man to beat.
The 2021 World U23 Champion won a World Cup last year in Karlovy Vary and will head to Madrid with a brand new personal best WTCS finish in his pocket. At the weekend he finished 7th in Cagliari where he showcased all of his best attributes. Over the Olympic distance he balances the swimming and running ability to compete in practically any field.
Madrid seems to be at the perfect point in his career for him to take the next step at the Senior level. The main question over his prospects circles around how much Cagliari will have taken out of him. Moreover he raced at WTCS Yokohama only two weeks prior. While he finished 9th that day and had an impressive performance, a third Olympic distance race in three weeks could well sap his legs and make him vulnerable in the last 5km of the run.
Only Lehmann will be able to answer that on the day.
With men such as Alessio Crociani, Richard Varga and Valentin Morlec due to race, a fast swim can be expected. Should they push the pace in the water, the field could break up a little. As a better swimmer than his Spanish rivals, that could play into Lehmann’s hands.
However, Lehmann is not the sole danger to a home coronation.
The Swiss duo of Adrien Briffod and Simon Westermann will be in the mix. After his 6th place at WTCS Yokohama, Briffod has one of the best results of the field this season to his name. In Japan, he showed he was more than capable of competing with the very best in the sport. Indeed his running ability should give several others on the start list pause for thought.
Similarly his teammate Westermann is growing in stature. Westermann has improved his personal best finish in the WTCS recently and is developing into a consistent athlete. Briffod might currently pose the greater threat to the podium of the two, but as the younger man Westermann is working his way through the rankings and is much more of a mystery. He could stun several of his more established counterparts.
Meanwhile, for Britain, it will be a case of the old and the new. Jonathan Brownlee will look to utilise all of his experience to land on the podium. Finishes of 7th at the European Cup in Quarteira and 34th at WTCS Cagliari suggest his season has not yet caught fire. Yet he has proven time and again that he can step up for the big races.
If Brownlee did not think he could win in Madrid, he would not be there. Judging by his run split in Cagliari, he might have also saved something in the tank for this weekend.
On the younger side of the spectrum will be Ben Dijkstra. The Loughborough athlete recently took a silver medal behind Connor Bentley at the European Cup in Caorle. The run is Dijkstra’s strength and if he can put himself in a position to compete for the medals after the bike, he has the speed to take down pretty much anyone in the field.
With his training partners Bentley and Alex Yee adding wins over the weekend, Dijkstra can be expected to be in a similar rich vein of form.
Then there is the dark horse. After a successful season thus far at the Continental Cup level, Panagiotis Bitados will test himself at his first European Championships. With medals in Nelson Mandela Bay and Sharm El Sheikh, Bitados has shown a knack for getting to the front of the race.
Madrid will naturally be a step up from the level he has raced at thus far in 2023, but he has the talent to make that step look very smooth. He should not lose any major time in the swim, nor does he have any glaring weakness on the bike. Then, over 10km in the sun, who’s to say what his ceiling could be.
By the time the race ends, the Greek athlete could be the surprise package of the day.
TriStats Predictions
- Csongor Lehmann
- Adrien Briffod
- Antonio Serrat Seoane
- David Castro Fajardo
- Ben Dijkstra
