As if any further confirmation was required, Tübingen reaffirmed Buschhütten’s status at the top of the tree in the women’s Bundesliga. Once again, they swept the podium as Lisa Tertsch won her third straight race.
When it comes to the title, the only challenge that remains is for Buschhütten to complete a perfect season and finish with the maximum 100 points.
While the championship may have already been effectively determined, there is still plenty to decide elsewhere. The race for the top-3 could be won by any of four, maybe even five, teams. Moreover, a late comeback is being staged by a team that previously looked in deep trouble in the relegation zone.
1st) EJOT Team TV Buschhütten – 80 points (no change)
With four wins from four, 2023 has essentially been a perfect year for Buschhütten. Aside from the German Championships in Düsseldorf, the team have logged the lowest-possible score of 6 (the combination of 1st, 2nd and 3rd) at each race.
Tertsch had no real rival in Tübingen and was in complete control from the moment the gun went off. After losing time in the water, Solveig Løvseth rallied to take 2nd place while Natalie Van Coevorden ended up in 3rd place after only just missing the breakaway group.
With a 10 point gap at the top, all they really have to do is show up to the final race in Hannover and the title will be theirs. Based on current form, expect Buschhütten to win the race anyway.
2nd) Team Berlin – 70 points (no change)
Berlin lost further ground to Buschhütten after finishing 4th in Tübingen. Of greater importance was the fact that they gained ground over the teams behind. While they sit 10 points behind the leaders, they now have a 10 point cushion of their own over 3rd place. Like Buschhütten, Berlin will simply have to show up in Hannover to finish 2nd.
In an improvement from Düsseldorf, Lina Völker was the top performer for the team in 14th place. Lara Thekla Ungewickell followed in 17th place. Mirjam Huber spent much of her race with Van Coevorden, desperately trying to catch the breakaway. It was not to be, however, and she ended up in 18th place.
All in all, Berlin have had a great year and have established themselves as the best of the rest.
3rd) SSF Bonn Triathlon Team – 60 points (no change)
Bonn’s already slim hopes of catching Berlin vanished in Tübingen as they finished 8th.
Ronja Steiling beat all of the Berlin scorers on her way to 13th. However Bonn did not have the same depth as their rivals. Lea Stratmann had a decent race on her way to 21st place. Jara Brandenberg then finished 47th.
With a big race in Hannover, they will be able to hold on to their place on the podium. Yet Witten are closing in on them.
4th) triathlon.one Witten – 59 points (up 1 place)
Anne Holm did not start which left Witten in the perilous position of only having three athletes racing. In the end, it did not matter as the team took 2nd for the second straight race.
Anabel Knoll was the best performer and was close to winning a medal. Late in the run, though, she was passed by Løvseth and Van Coevorden which saw her end up in 4th. Nele Dequae had a fantastic race to take 9th place while Magdalena Früh also stepped up with a 20th place.
Witten have seen a real transformation after the difficulties of Kraichgau and Schliersee. On their recent form, they should be competing with Berlin for 2nd place and the lesson for next season will be to boost their depth.
5th) Absolute Teamsport KTT 01 – 56 points (down 1 place)
Having looked like they were in a position to take down Bonn after the third round, KTT 01 slipped to 11th overall in Tübingen. As a result, they have been leap-frogged by Witten.
They did not have a bad race. Carolin Meyer led the way in 25th place while Madlen Kappeler finished 35th. Finja Herrmann was then a single place back in 36th. The problem was that KTT 01 did not have a top-10 finisher like most of their rivals which is what put them in trouble.
Last season the team ended up in 6th place and they will look to hold on to 5th in Hannover.
6th) Dr. Loges Triathlon Team Lüneburg – 54 points (up 1 place)
In a similar manner to Trier in the men’s Bundesliga, Lüneburg have had an up-and-down season.
In Tübingen, a Dutch star led the way to a 3rd place finish, their best of the season. However, this time it was not Robin Dreyling. Instead, Aniek Mars, a Junior athlete, produced a stunning performance to take 8th place. A medallist at the European Junior Cup level earlier in the year, Mars put together an accomplished race just when Lüneburg needed it.
Supporting Mars was Silke de Wolde. In a similarly impressive performance, de Wolde finished 10th. Antonia Koch then rounded out the scoring in 30th place.
Whatever happens in Hannover, Lüneburg have had a great season with some major high points. If they can add a little more depth to the team and improve their consistency, they could soon become top-4 contenders.
7th) SG Dresdner Spitzen Triathlon Team / LTV Erfurt – 53 points (down 1 place)
Romana Gajdošová carried the team to 5th place overall by finishing 5th herself. She was one of the best runners of the day and surged from the chase pack to pass everyone except Tertsch and Knoll from the breakaway.
Sophie Gießmann and Sophie Schumann then followed in 28th and 41st, respectively.
Lüneburg’s brilliant weekend saw them overtake Dresden/Erfurt, but with only 1 point between them 6th place could go either way.
8th) Mey Post-SV Tübingen – 51 points (no change)
At their home race, Tübingen dropped their best finish of the year, matching their result at the season opener in Kraichgau. In the end, they finished 6th and a lot of that came down to Pia Wolf’s classy display.
Wolf finished 11th and, as she has been regularly this year, was an integral part of the team. Alina Würth was the next Tübingen athlete to finish in 32nd while Greta Groten was not far back in 34th place.
A place in the top-10 should be fairly certain for Tübingen. The question now is how high can they aim in Hannover.
9th) Triathlon Potsdam e.V. – 50 points (no change)
Potsdam’s weekend did not get off on the right foot as Laura Lindemann withdrew from the event. She was then replaced on the start list by Petra Kurikova who, in turn, did not race.
With only three athletes racing, Potsdam took a risk and ended up in 7th place.
Célia Merle was the top performer in 6th place. Leann Naima Dietzel then followed in 22nd place. However Sophia Stückrad highlighted the peril of only having three starters as her 52nd place sunk the team’s score.
Tübingen essentially summed up Potsdam’s season. They have so much talent on paper, but if said talent does not actually race then the team will be in trouble.
10th) Triathlon Team DSW Darmstadt – 43 points (up 3 places)
Darmstadt finished 9th overall in Tübingen and made a big jump in the standings.
Lucie Kammer finished 15th and Jana Uderstadt finished 23rd. Alina Weber was the third woman home in 43rd place.
Realistically, catching the likes of Potsdam and Tübingen will not happen as the gap is too big to close in one race. Still, Darmstadt can secure their place in the top-10 with another good result in Hannover.
11th) Karlsruher Lemminge – 43 points (down 1 place)
Karlsruhe finished 12th in Tübingen and were only 1 point away from matching KTT 01.
Claudia Wipfler was the first woman home for the team in 24th place. Sabrina Roth followed in 31st while Saskia Haug claimed 42nd place.
Having only been promoted to the first division in 2022, Karlsruhe are now knocking on the door of finishing inside the top-10. It has been a superb year and they will be able to head to the final race of the season with plenty of confidence.
12th) Sparda Bank Team Hagen – 41 points (no change)
Like Karlsruhe, Hagen are on the cusp of breaking into the top-10 but will need a big race in Hannover to do so. In Tübingen they only managed 13th so it remains to be seen whether they can achieve the finish they need at the last race of the season.
Once again Margareta Bicanova was the top performer for the team. This time she finished 16th. Joanna Wozniak then followed in 37th while Valesca Zoe Wippich crossed the line in 57th.
If Bicanova can return to the top-5, as she did in Schliersee, then Hagen will have a chance at passing Karlsruhe and Darmstadt.
13th) Team Bad Orb – Gesund im Spessart – 39 points (down 2 places)
Bad Orb were another team to be undone by the lack of a standout individual result.
Isabel Sterr led the way in 29th place while Amelie Hanf and Theresa Moser followed in 44th and 45th, respectively. All three athletes had good races however none were quite able to find the top-20 finish Bad Orb needed to pass their rivals. As a result, the team ended up in 15th place.
Tübingen was Bad Orb’s lowest finish of the season so look for them to bounce back in Hannover.
14th) TSV Amicitia Viernheim – 37 points (no change)
Despite the excellence of Tabea Huys, Viernheim slipped to 14th place.
Huys shared the lead in the water with Therese Feuersinger and then rode in the front pack for the duration of the bike. On the run, she was caught by several athletes from the chase pack but toughed out a 12th place finish.
However, the next best finisher for Viernheim was Eva Estler in 49th. Nadine Klive was then the third scorer in 56th.
Viernheim often have fielded one of the youngest teams this season and they could develop into a strong team. In the meantime, they will have to be patient with their athletes as they figure out how to all push for top-20 finishes.
15th) SV Würzburg 05 – 34 points (up 1 place)
Just as it is with the men’s team, the Würzburg comeback is on in the women’s Bundesliga.
Taking 10th place in Tübingen was a huge result and suddenly the team look like they might be able to stay up. If Bad Orb or Viernheim repeat their Tübingen displays in Hannover and Würzburg perform well once again, they might avoid relegation on the last day of the season.
Lea Cagol led the way in 26th place with Romy Spoelder 1 place back in 27th. Carolin Lehrieder also had a very good race to take 33rd.
Can they do it again in Hannover? If they do, it might just be the biggest story of the entire women’s season.
16th) HEIKOTEL Tri Team Hamburg – 30 points (down 1 place)
Hamburg were hurt by two DNFs as they slipped to last place in Tübingen. Neither Kathia Spiegeler nor Leonie Antonia Pfeiffer made it to the finish line and Pfeiffer was given the equivalent of 59th place (or last) to give the team a third score.
Anna Witteveen had actually gotten the team off to a promising start with a 19th place. Nina Rosenbladt then finished 48th.
Unfortunately, it seems the Tübingen result may have ended Hamburg’s hopes of staying up this season as both Würzburg and Viernheim pulled clear.
