The elite triathlon scene takes on some truly beautiful locations around the world. Krakow in the rain is not one of them.
Nevertheless the elite men’s field lined up to tackle the Olympic distance at the European Games as youth and experience took up their positions. Connor Bentley and Simon Henseleit both arrived with consecutive European Cup wins to their name. Meanwhile Adrien Briffod entered the fray on the back of a 6th place at WTCS Yokohama.
A medal would all but seal his place on the Swiss Olympic team as a priority one athlete.
In the race between young and old, it was one apiece after the swim. The Dutch youngster Mitch Kolkman led the way with Gianluca Pozzatti on his feet. The Hungarian U23 duo Gergő Dobi and Gergely Kiss followed, with the wizened Alois Knabl next.
No one quite managed to inflict any real damage in the swim, though, and a large group of men rushed through T1. Although the rain began to subside, the damp, narrow roads made for plenty of slipping and bumping early on.
A twenty-three man front group eventually formed but never quite settled. After a good swim, Henseleit found his way towards the front. However the bulk of the momentum in the group was provided by Bentley. One dig off the front forced the group to chase.
Shortly after, he went again.
As the Brit gained a few metres, Vetle Bergsvik Thorn looked at Michal Oliwa. In turn, Oliwa looked at Thorn. With neither quite ready to close the gap, Briffod took over and brought Bentley back under wraps.
Another Bentley attacked followed, then it was the turn of Paul Georgenthum. No one, though, seemed fully committed to either attack or defend. Georgenthum’s drive ended as quickly as it began while there were no takers to Bentley’s frequent offerings. Instead the lead pack was largely stagnant.
In the meantime, the chase pack of twenty-one men drew closer. Kiss and David Cantero del Campo were within the ranks; with their running prowess, the leaders would have wanted to keep them at bay. Yet the deficit was wiped from the slate.
It was not until the final lap that any energy permeated the front group. By that point, with over forty men in the group, position had became all-important. As the pace rose, even the tight straights became treacherous. So it proved as a late pile-up caught out several men.
Many of the favourites made it through unscathed and were soon onto the run. The first to emerge, Georgenthum and Henseleit, quickly donned their headbands and adjusted them simultaneously. Briffod and Shachar Sagiv then took control of the race while Bentley hovered on the fringes of the lead pack.
What Krakow lacked in weather was compensated for with a banging playlist on the run.
Maybe he was inspired by the music, for Henseleit made a move early towards the end of the first lap. Briffod reacted but the German brimmed with confidence. Crucially, he had sliced Bentley and Georgenthum from the front pack.
Thorn and Pozzatti were still in the mix as Cantero then hit the front to stretch the pace. It was not until the last lap came, though, that the pace jumped.
A final five men appeared to pull clear as Yanis Seguin, Rostislav Pevtsov, Thorn, Sagiv and Briffod grouped together. Still, Henseleit, Pozzatti and Panagiotis Bitados would not quite go away and rallied to keep in touch.
The pace rose once more but again Henseleit surged after the group.
When Thorn launched his final kick, though, only Sagiv could respond. The Norwegian glanced over his left shoulder in search of his rival, but the Israeli lurked to his right.
Thorn grimaced and pushed for the line as Sagiv came up the inside. As deep as Sagiv dug, the final second to Thorn resisted capture and so the Norwegian crossed the line first. With Solveig Løvseth having won the women’s race, Norway have had a near-perfect Games and will be relishing the Mixed Team Relay.
Sagiv was forced into silver in what was his best race of the season so far. Briffod was a further second back in 3rd place. In doing so, he likely sealed his place on the Swiss Olympic team next year.
Seguin took 4th while Bitados held off Pevtsov for 5th.
View the full results here.
