The latest European Cup of the season took place in Olsztyn, Poland, the home of last year’s European Championships over the Super Sprint distance. This time round the athletes took on the Sprint distance.
Women’s race
It was the conviction with which Selina Klamt raced that impressed the most.
From the starter’s signal in Olsztyn she was at the front of the field. Nor did she simply lead. Klamt made sure to push the pace and dared the field to keep up.
Appoline Foltz of France ultimately led the way over the 750m in a time of 9:35 but Klamt was right with her in 9:36. Lea Marchal hung with the pair but thereafter the field thinned. Seconds ticked by and more athletes began the run to T1 but the sliver of daylight was all it took to give Klamt her opening.
The German athlete pushed early on the bike to maintain her pressure on the field. Foltz and Marchal went with her as the top half of the race scrambled to react. Klamt, though, did not relent.
Gradually, familiar faces like Lotte Millar and Nora Gmür made their way to the front to share in the workload. Also well-positioned were Sophia Green, Robin Dreyling, Anna Weber and Tjasa Vrtacic. Before long the break had took hold as Klamt led a pack of seven women away from the main pack. Green, Müller and Gmür each took big turns to stretch the lead and the lead grew to 30 seconds.
Foltz and Marchal tried react in the chase with their compatriot Kristelle Congi. However the gap simply grew.
With their lead secured, the front pack arrived into T2 with an advantage of in the minute territory.
Then, as had been the case throughout the race, Klamt surged ahead. Gmür and Vrtacic were initially able to go with her but over the course of the 5km it was clear that Klamt had the stronger legs. She ran to victory and claimed the fastest run split of the day (17:10) to go with it.
Having dominated the event throughout, it was an accomplished performance to make it two international wins in a row after her triumph in Caorle.
Gmür managed to overpower Vrtacic at the finish to take the silver medal as the reigning Slovenian champion took bronze.
Men’s race
The men’s field did their utmost to make the Sprint race live up to its name. At every point, they took on the event at full bore, starting with a hectic swim.
Gergely Kiss and Connor Bentley positioned themselves well within the fray and nudged towards the front. The lead, though, was taken up by Marcus Dey and Mitch Kolkman. Although they tried to up the ante, much of the field limited the gap.
Onto the bike, the front group eventually swelled to over twenty. The men sprinted round each corner as if the finish line lay at the next lamppost however that did little to shed members from the pack. Simon Henseleit, Nathan Grayel and Louis Vitiello all moved through over the first half of the bike to take up positions at the front.
With practically everyone jockeying for their spot at the head of the race, the pace seldom dropped. As Kolkman took his turn in a sprint, Maxime Fluri and Eric Diener made their jumps to the front. Kiss and Bentley, though, quietly lurked a few wheels back.
If the speed on the bike had sapped the legs of the leaders, they did not show it. T2 was dealt with at maximum speed – Henseleit was especially schnell at that stage – and the pack were out onto the run.
The opening kilometre of the run was at least more of a controlled sprint but the main contenders remained close to one another. Kiss, Bentley and Vitiello were each well placed. Henseleit and Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger also waited for their moment to strike.
The first lap gave way to the final one and the lead group began to slim down until seven remained. For a moment, everyone froze. No one seemed willing to light the match and set off the final round of fireworks. The third kilometre passed, as did the fourth, but still the men waited. The few bumps in pace that did come were not the most committed as the looming sprint finish occupied the leaders’ minds.
Position would be everything. Then it would just be a question of timing.
As the blue carpet appeared underfoot, the match was finally lit. Vitiello exploded into his sprint. Henseleit went with him but Bentley thundered alongside to the right. Henseleit strained but Vitiello and Bentley had half a yard over him. The Brit and the Frenchman lunged for the line together.
And then they waited.
Having broken the tape in unison, both thought they had won. Upon a review of the photo finish, Bentley was given the win by the slimmest of margins. Vitiello had to settle for a silver while Henseleit took bronze, only 1 second behind but equally 1 second clear of Hueber-Moosbrugger in 4th.
View the full results here.
