Kitzbühel is steeped in triathlon history. A regular host of European Championships, including races over the Olympic distance in 2014 and 2017 and the Super Sprint in 2021, it also used to be a frequent stage of the WTCS. Its final appearance in the Series included the iconic race up the mountain in 2013.
The innovative mountain climb route was not on the agenda for the athletes taking part in this weekend’s European Cup and at that some will have breathed a sigh of relief.
Among those lining up to take on the Sprint distance race was Selina Klamt. The German athlete arrived on the back of a two race winning streak and was looking to make it a third. Meanwhile, in the men’s field, several Austria athletes carried the home hopes. Leading the way was Tjebbe Kaindl after he won his first ever European Cup medal a week ago.
Women’s race
In pristine conditions, the women tackled a non-wetsuit lap of the lake. Tabea Huys led the way after setting a breakneck pace to the first buoy. A powerful swimmer, the Austrian Junior will be her country’s sole female representative at the World Junior Championships in Hamburg. Based on her showing in Kitzbühel, she will be tough to beat in the water.
Giada Stegani was the only woman capable of swimming within 5 seconds of Huys. Zuzana Michalickova followed the pair out and then a trickle of women followed. The likes of Klamt, Tanja Neubert and the former World Junior champion Jule Behrens lost over 20 seconds to Huys.
With the field strung out, Huys used the opportunity to attack on the bike.
Stegani and Michalickova tried to close the gap as the likes of Jasmine Greaves and Anja Weber joined them. On the narrower portions of the course, though, Huys managed to stay ahead. Whereas the growing main pack had to navigate the countryside lanes a little more carefully, Huys could utilise the full width of the road and put her bike handling skills on show.
Gradually, though, Klamt and Neubert recovered their deficit from the swim and dragged Huys back into the front pack. Neubert looked particularly composed on the bike and would go on to share the fastest split of the day with Finja Schierl (28:35).
Within the lead group were also a trio of athletes from the New Zealand team: Brea Roderick, Olivier Thornbury and Eva Goodisson. Along with the German team, they kept the pace high and shut the door on the chase.
Over the rest of the bike, the front pack remained stable at seventeen women and ultimately put over a minute into the chasers.
Weber was quick through T2 however Klamt and Neubert surged into the lead. Thornbury hovered around ten metres behind the lead pair and chipped away at the gap. Behrens and Rebecca Betti also began to move up towards the lead. Soon after, a front group of six began to take shape as María Casals Mojica moved into contention.
On the second lap of the run, Thornbury and Beti began to slip behind and ended up in a smaller chase group with Michalickova. Meanwhile, Behrens and Casals seemed fully extended trying to hold on to Neubert and Klamt. With the German duo looking exceptionally smooth, it seemed only a matter of time until they would break clear.
Just before the final kilometre, they did exactly that.
Neubert eased away and only Klamt could follow. For a stretch, the pair matched one another, stride for stride, and seemed to run in unison. Neubert, though, had another gear.
In the final few hundred metres, she launched a final attack and Klamt could not respond. After a win at the African Cup in Yasmine Hammamet and her 4th place at the European Championships, Neubert’s win continued a brilliant summer.
Her cycling has been a real weapon for a while but her run looks to have found a new level of late.
While it was not a third straight win, Klamt nonetheless impressed with her silver medal. Although the German women’s team is incredibly deep right now, Neubert and Klamt could be the next cabs off the rank.
Casals kicked clear of Behrens at the end to deny Germany a clean sweep of the podium. After winning a silver medal at the European Cup in Ceuta last October, Casals’ 3rd place represented her first international medal of 2023.
Men’s race
Having seen the performances of the German women earlier in the afternoon, it fell to the German men to try to replicate their high finishes.
Josiah Ney of Canada led the way in the water. With a long, loping stroke, he looked in cruise control throughout the swim and was the only man to dip under the 9 minute marking (recording an eventual split of 8:59).
Thomas Windischbauer and Henry Graf hopped out of the lake on Ney’s feet and and Austrian, Windischbauer, was able to emerge out of T1 ahead.
After solid swims, Tjebbe Kaindl and Jan Bader made the jump into the lead as a front group of six emerged. With three Austrians setting the pace (Kaindl, Bader and Windischbauer) on the front, it looked as if they would escape the clutches of the chase pack. Graf and Ney also tried to do their bit. However, further back, the main pack were starting to get their act together.
Harry Leleu and Esteban Basanta Fouz had exited the water just behind Bader but had ceded a couple of seconds in transition. Early on in the bike, they were quick to make up for lost time and drove the pace. The likes of Samuele Angelini, Janus Staufenberg and Jan Diener were also on hand to help and the leading six men were reeled in.
Attacking, though, had served Kaindl well in Poland and he was in no mood to wait for the run. Late on in the bike, he jumped clear again with Henry Graf and tried to force a gap.
Jannik Schaufler and Staufenberg tried to cut the lead but it soon became 10 seconds. Against a much larger chase, it seemed the lead duo would inevitably be engulfed. Perhaps with another pair of legs the move would have had better prospects.
Yet Kaindl would not give in. Although the chase clawed a few seconds back, he did not relent on his attack. By the time he and Graf arrived in T2, they had earned a 6 second buffer.
Both men then flew out onto the run, desperate to defend the slim advantage they had.
Kaindl was the first to be caught, leaving Graf to soldier on. For a spell, Graf hovered a couple of metres in front of the pack and tried to hold on. As the second and final lap approached, the group decided he had enjoyed his fun and promptly passed him. Staufenberg therefore led the men into the final foot race.
However, the New Zealand athlete soon found himself on the receiving end of being passed. As the finish line neared, the leaders readied their attacks and Basanta moved to the front.
Diener and Leleu did not have the speed to match the leaders as Basanta dragged Schaufler and Angelini clear. The Italian athlete, Angelini, timed his move to perfection and broke away to cross the line first. With a final time of 14:56, he was the only man to run under 15 minutes for the 5km.
Schaufler earned silver, 4 seconds behind, after running 15:01, and Basanta held on for bronze.
View the full results here.
I crashed in the 2nd lap while trying to keep the Pace high in the lead group and fell back behind the chase pack🥴
That was a big shame, you were looking good for a very strong result if the group stayed away