The start lists for the second European Championships of the summer are available as a mixture of veterans and rising stars tackle the Super Sprint affair in Balikesir, Turkey.
The Senior athletes and U23 athletes will race together although there will be a separate classification for them afterwards. Those racing in the U23 group can count towards both races, but the Seniors (understandably) will not count in the U23 results. As such, there should be a race within a race, adding another interesting layer to the dynamics of the event.
Balikesir will also follow a semi-final/final format which should shake up proceedings. One curious feature of the event, though, is that the final will be shorter than the semi-final. Whereas the semi-final consists of a 400m swim, 10.7km bike and 2.2km run, the final distances cover a 270m swim, 8km bike and 1.7km run.
Speed will therefore be the order of the day and several athletes will be licking their lips at the design of the championship.
Who’s there
Senior
There is only one place to start. David Castro Fajardo, the European champion over the Olympic (duathlon) distance, will look to take add a second European crown to his tally. Having taken multiple wins this season, it will be hard to bet against him. You can read more about Castro’s chances below.
Spain will have a second contender for the win in the form of Antonio Serrat Seoane. The silver medallist from WTCS Bermuda has a powerful sprint finish up his sleeve and will be among the favourites.
Richard Murray will be making his second appearance at a European Championships after racing over the Olympic distance in Munich last August. That day he finished 37th. As a triple WTCS race winner over the Sprint distance, he should be primed to make a move in Balikesir.
This year, Murray has not quite made the impact he would have hoped for but he did win the African Cup in Swakopmund. On the note of African Cups, another race winner will be lining up in Balikesir. James Edgar will be Ireland’s only Senior man to start after claiming the win in Troutbeck, Zimbabwe.
When it comes to experience, Richard Varga also compares well to Murray. Having been around for what seems like forever, Varga is enjoying a solid season and recently claimed the silver medal at the Asia Cup in Samarkand. It is a fairly safe bet that he will be towards the front of the swim. Given the distances involved, though, it is unlikely that he will be able to break up the field to any major extent.
Jannik Schaufler will be the sole Senior German man starting and is coming off a recent silver medal at the European Cup in Kitzbühel. The man that beat him to the gold that day, Samuele Angelini, will also be racing in Turkey. In June, Angelini went on to claim the win at the Italian Championships and so will look to carry his form through to Balikesir.
Sergei Polikarpenko will be the second Italian man. A phenomenal runner, he could be an outsider for the podium.
On the note of national champions, Tiago Fonesca, the Portuguese champion, will be starting as will the Swedish champion, Gabriel Sandör.
Christopher Perham heads up the British team having won the trial race in June. He will be joined by Jack Willis.
Turkey’s male representative in the Senior field will be Gültigin Er.
Jolien Vermeylen is among the headline names on the female start list. The bronze medallist from the European Games, she won the European Cup in Holten and is in blazing form.
In a similar manner to Varga, while she is on paper the best swimmer in the field, the course may not quite offer enough for her to build a substantial lead.
That being said, with the likes of Mathilde Gautier also starting, there is plenty of scope for a breakaway to form in the water. Gautier, the bronze medallist from the Tongyeong World Cup in October, will be joined by Audrey Merle on the French team. Merle won in Tongyeong and will be a tricky opponent.
Alberte Kjaer Pedersen and Anne Holm form an impressive Danish double punch. Earlier in the year, Pedersen noted that Balikesir will be one of her target events for the summer. As such, it would be wise to expect a big showing.
Britain will be represented by Oliva Mathias and Sian Rainsley while the Netherlands will send Rachel Klamer and Rani Skrabanja to Turkey. Sara Guerrero Manso and Cecilia Santamaria Surroca will also start for Spain.
Petra Kurikova, the winner of the Pontevedra World Cup last year, will race for the Czech Republic. Luisa Iogna-Prat, the winner of the Italian title in June, will likewise start.
U23
Amid an impressive array of talent in the the men’s U23 field, Hamish Reilly stands out. The bronze medallist from last year’s World U23 Championships has not had the best season thus far. However, as he showed in Abu Dhabi last November, on his day he is more than capable of stepping up and putting himself on a major podium.
His compatriot, Marcus Dey, will be racing after qualifying at the British trial in Mallory Park.
The two Brits, though, will have plenty of challengers. Sergio Baxter Cabrera, a World Cup gold medallist, will be racing. After a belated start to his season, Baxter won a bronze medal at Bundesliga Schliersee. He will be joined on the Spanish team by Esteban Basanta Fouz.
In the wake of his 4th place finishes at the European Games and European Cup in Quarteira, Yanis Seguin will be itching to make the step up onto an international podium. He will get his shot in Turkey alongside Baptiste Passemard and Briac Tence on the French team.
In the German ranks, Simon Henseleit will be backed up by Jan Diener and Janne Büttel while the young pair of Alessio Crociani and Nicolò Strada will start for Italy.
Ricardo Batista will be another name to watch after he won a bronze medal at the New Plymouth World Cup. Injury troubles slowed his advance thereafter. Now back into full running, Batista will be hoping to recapture his form from earlier in the year.
Mitch Kolkman of the Netherlands and Vitali Vorontsov of Ukraine are two further U23 men that could make an impact.
In the women’s U23 field, Tilly Anema will be racing for Britain after her victory at the national selection race. She logged impressive showings in the French Grand Prix, in which she has finished 11th and 12th. Sophia Green will also be racing for Britain after earning her place in Mallory Park.
France can call upon Anouk Sterkers and Candice Denizot. The former won a silver medal at the European Cup in Olsztyn so could feature prominently.
Yet it may be the German team that looks the strongest.
With Selina Klamt, Tanja Neubert, Jule Behrens and Finja Schierl starting, Germany have the most women of any country on the start list. Between them, they have recorded a string a fantastic performances. Neubert and Klamt will be the ones to watch after their European Cup wins and 4th place finishes at the European Championships and European Games, respectively.
However the former World Junior champion, Behrens, is also an athlete on the rise.
Italy will send a well-rounded trio of Costanza Arpinelli, Myral Greco and Angelica Prestia. If Behrens can be characterised as an athlete on the rise then so too can Arpinelli. The young Italian made her WTCS debut in Montreal and came away with a good result. Greco’s strengths tend to lie in the swim while Prestia maybe leans a little more toward the run. As such, the Italian team covers pretty much all the bases.
Switzerland will also have three women starting: Nora Gmür, Rebecca Beti and Anja Weber.
Maria Tomé will represent Portugal and Barbara De Koning will race for the Netherlands.
Main talking points
Will Castro double up?
With one European title to his name, the question is whether David Castro Fajardo can add another.
To go with his triumph in Madrid, he won the Huatulco World Cup and the Oceania Cup in Taupo. Anyone that saw how his vicious sprint finish dismantled the challenge of Jonathan Brownlee in Madrid will appreciate how dangerous Castro will be at the end of the race in Balikesir. Over such short distances, there is also no real opportunity to drop him.
At the same time, Castro has had a turbulent season to say the least. A mechanical issue ruined his day at the New Plymouth World Cup while he did not finish at WTCS Yokohama or WTCS Cagliari.
When things are going his way, he can be almost impossible to beat. However, it has sometimes been the case that bad luck is a bigger problem for him than his rivals on the actual race course. On paper, then, Castro could easily sweep the European crowns. Based on recent experience, though, he is just as liable to be left behind when something goes wrong.
Will an U23 athlete win the Senior race?
There is plenty of talent in both the men’s and women’s U23 fields and several athletes will be looking to win not just their category but the Senior classification too.
Germany may just have the athletes best equipped to take the win in both events. Henseleit, Klamt and Neubert have all won two international races this year and possess the running speed to trouble anyone in the Senior field.
Having won a silver medal in the French Grand Prix and the Portuguese national title, Tomé could also be the one to overcome the entire Senior field.
Given the standard of the Senior field, if any U23 athlete manages to take the overall win, it will be quite the achievement.
Need for speed
The Super Sprint format is increasingly infiltrating elite triathlon. The semi-final/final design has been utilised at the European Junior Cups in Caorle and Tiszaujvaros this year, while WTCS Hamburg will also follow the pattern.
With racing covering approximately 20 minutes, the format offers a considerably different challenge to Olympic and Sprint distance events. Athletes will not need to rely quite so much on fitness to see them through; instead, speed will be the key.
Moreover the course also seems to shift the emphasis to tactics as opposed to strength. As already mentioned, the short swim will make it hard to gain time there. A technical bike course follows in which bike-handling should pay greater dividends than power.
On the tight streets, it will be easier to slip off the back than escape up the road. With that in mind, the races will likely come down to a final sprint on the run.
For proven speedsters on the run like Castro, Murray, Pedersen or Klamt, that will be music to their ears.
Returning medallists
There are no returning medallists from last year’s Senior race. However a few U23 medallists return.
Henseleit is the returning U23 champion. He also finished 5th in the Senior category last year. His success in 2022 therefore reinforces the suggestion that he could be the man to win the overall title this time round.
Batista is the other returning men’s U23 medallist; last year he finished 3rd. Kolkman and Strada were also close to U23 medals on their way to 4th and 5th, respectively.
On the women’s side, Prestia won the U23 silver medal last year and finished 4th overall. Right behind her, Gmür won the U23 bronze while Schierl finished 5th in the U23 race. Any of those three could take the win this year.
Furthermore, Greco and Behrens will move up to the U23 category having finished 4th and 5th as Juniors at the event last season.
You can view the full start lists here.
