The sun came out for the athletes as the Bundesliga season kicked off in Kraichgau.
A different challenge was on the cards with the athletes taking on the 2+2 format. That meant the athletes raced in two pairs, with each pair contesting half of a Sprint triathlon. Either the first pair had to finish together to hand over to the second pair so only one athlete had to cross the line. Alternatively, one athlete from the first pair could hand over to the second pair who would then both have to finish together.
It was therefore tactically beneficial for team mates to stay together where possible.
Women’s race
The Buschhütten pair of Zsanett Bragmayer and Annika Koch took up their starting position on the far right of the beach. At the opposite end, the Potsdam pair of Julia Bröcker and Selina Klamt waited.
The red caps of Buschhütten led throughout the swim and Bragmayer emerged with a small lead. Koch was out next with the rest of the pack on her feet. Mirjam Huber of Team Berlin and Helen Scheffold of TSV Amicitia Viernheim were able to keep fairly close to Koch into T1. Once the Buschhütten pair made it onto the bike, though, the red tri-suits vanished up the road.
After the 10km cycle, Bragmayer and Koch enjoyed a lead of around 40 seconds over the chase pack. As Bragmayer pushed ahead over the second of the two laps of the run, she handed over a lead of around 50 seconds to Tanja Neubert and Solveig Løvseth.
Neubert and Løvseth navigated the steep sandy slope down to the lake and then the wait began. Potsdam were the first of the challengers however the pair from Bonn were right behind.
Over the course of the second swim, Buschhütten maintained their advantage as Potsdam and Bonn came together. Further teams like Berlin, Darmstadt and Lüneburg were also lining up to bridge to the two chasing pairs.
If anyone thought they would catch Buschhütten on the bike, they were mistaken. By the end of the second discipline, Neubert and Løvseth had built a yawning cavern of a lead. Over 2 minutes would pass before another athlete drew near T2.
Neubert and Løvseth were therefore able to enjoy the run. They stayed together throughout the ensure the second finisher of the two would have a fast time to add to Bragmayer’s first leg. It also meant that when they crossed the line to take the win, they were able to do so together.
The race for silver, however, was still very much alive.
After a long wait for the chase in T2, it was the Potsdam duo of Jule Behrens and Leann Naima Dietzel that led the way. They had a small gap but then a string of chasing athletes, including Robin Dreyling, Finja Schierl and Celine Kaiser, set after them.
Kaiser was on especially good form and by the end of the first lap she had caught Behrens.
As Dreyling moved passed Dietzel, the podium seemed to be in flux.
As much as she tried, Behrens could not hold the gap to Kaiser. After the first pairs of Potsdam and Berlin had arrived intact, only the first finisher of their second pairs would matter. That meant Behrens had to keep the flying Kaiser within reach to seal 2nd place.
However Kaiser was in inspired form. She soared home to cruise the line as the first woman after the Buschhütten pair. Although Behrens gritted her teeth and fought, the gap had grown. By the time she crossed she could only look on as she discovered the result.
Berlin had taken silver by a mere 6 seconds.
Even as Dietzel overhauled Dreyling to cross the line next, the podium had been determined. With Buschhütten looking at their dominant best, Potsdam could leave with the knowledge that if they are to triumph over the season ahead, they will have a mountain to climb.
Men’s race
After the overpowering display of the Buschhütten women, it was the turn of the men. As starting duos go, a team of Henri Schoeman and Jonas Schomburg might be one of the best opening combinations any team could hope to field.
It was no surprise, then, that Schoeman led the way in the water with Schomburg on his feet. However the pack remained almost completely together. A massive group flew around the bike course. With Buschhütten sat in control at the front, there was little anyone could do to attack.
Hylo Saar and Bonn were each well-positioned in the front pack and none of the biggest contenders lost any real time. As a result, the end of the bike saw a giant game of chicken take place as the athletes hurtled down the hill into T2 at breakneck speed, waiting for the athletes around them to be the first to brake.
Everyone made it through the dismount safely and, in the blink of an eye, the group was through transition.
Jonas Schomburg has never met a first kilometre he didn’t want to attack and so was first to strike out into the lead. Schoeman eventually reconnected with his partner as the Buschhütten led throughout the run. By the time they handed over to Vetle Bergsvik Thorn and Maximilian Sperl, they did so together and with a lead of around 10 seconds.
Eric Diener of Sportunion Neckarsulm had a great leg to keep within range of the Buschhütten duo. So too did Neilan Kempmann of Bonn. Both Diener and Kempmann dropped their partners on the run to enable their second pair to hare after the leaders.
Meanwhile the Trier duo of Gjalt Panjer and Cedric Osterholt had a great first leg to put their second pair on the heels of Neckarsulm and Bonn. Hylo Saar were also quietly lurking behind, although they had lost around 25 seconds to Buschhütten.
In a remarkable swim, the Trier pair of Lucas Cambresy and Jonas Osterholt closed the gap to Buschhütten and ran into T1 with the leaders. Simon Henseleit and Amaury Dietrich of Neckarsulm also had strong swims to reduce the lead.
Over the bike, a small lead group crystallised as the Hylo Saar pair bridged to the front. No one, though, could quite make a move stick. That left only a 2.5km run to shake up the lead. With Thorn still at the front, Buschhütten were in prime position as they only had to defend the lead earned by Schomburg and Schoeman.
Valentin Wernz of Hylo Saar was the first to push the pace on the run. His team mate, Tim Hellwig, went with him, as did Thorn. Sperl, however, leaked time and fell behind after keeping up with the leaders on the bike.
Henseleit looked smooth in the opening stages of the run but smartly stuck by Dietrich to keep the team in play. Further behind, Lasse Lührs had a quiet race for Bonn in the second pair. He did not make up too much ground but will have appreciated shaking some of the rust from his legs.
At the head of the race, Hellwig assumed control as the final lap arrived. Wernz and Thorn pushed to stay with him but in a surprise turn, Jonas Osterholt of Trier was still floating behind them. Gradually, the lead trio began to pull clear of Osterholt but he battled on nonetheless.
Into the final kilometre, Wernz began to lose touch as the race became a shoot-out between Hellwig and Thorn. In the final 200m, the Norwegian unleashed his kick to break free to Hellwig’s close attention and cross the line first.
Hellwig could only give a rueful smile as he finish, with Wernz crossing the line next. That result saw Buschhütten take the win and Hylo Saar take 2nd. After a brilliant all-round team effort, but especially by Jonas Osterholt, Trier took a stunning 3rd as Osterholt finished after Wernz.
The tactics of Henseleit then paid off as he and Dietrich crossed to seal 4th for Neckarsulm.
View the women’s results here and the men’s results here.
