After a dominant victory in the women’s race in Kraichgau, Buschhütten have selected a formidable squad for the second round of the Bundesliga in Schliersee.
Lisa Tertsch headlines the team and will look to stamp her authority over the Sprint distance event. The WTCS medallist recently won the silver medal at the European Championships (over an Olympic distance duathlon) and it will be tough for anyone to out-run her.
When it comes to in-form athletes, Buschhütten can also call upon Tanja Neubert who just won the European Cup in Kitzbühel. As one of the strongest cyclists in the field, Neubert should be a threat for the win over a challenging course in Schliersee.
To add further star power, Buschhütten have Rachel Klamer starting. A proven quantity, Klamer will doubtless be in the mix throughout the race. Moreover the team have another WTCS calibre athlete in the form of Dominika Peszleg. The young Hungarian recently made her WTCS debut in Cagliari.
With so much firepower, perhaps the only thing that can stop Buschhütten is the course itself. Combining incredible scenery with an incredibly taxing route, the centrepiece of the event is the ride up the Spitzingsattel (1,129 metres) on the bike. Over the course of the 3.8km climb, the athletes will gain around 350 vertical meters at an average gradient of almost 9%.
When the athletes hit the mountain, the normal rules could therefore go flying out of the window. Whoever has the legs could suddenly take chunks of time out of their rivals.
To that end, Potsdam will be hoping for a big day from Jule Behrens. The former World Junior champion has had a good start to the season, finishing 4th in Kitzbühel and enjoying a solid day in Kraichgau. How the youngster fares up the mountain will likely determine her day.
Potsdam can also call upon Célia Merle. The French athlete recently had a good race at the French Grand Prix in Bordeaux where she finished 10th. As a strong runner, she has the potential to contend for the podium in Schliersee.
Potsdam’s team are rounded out by Leann Naima Dietzel, a promising youngster, and Sophia Stückrad. One athlete they could have benefitted from racing would have been Selina Klamt. The German athlete has been on a tear this season, with two wins and a silver from her past three European Cups.
Rather than worrying about Buschhütten, though, Potsdam will have their hands full trying to beat Team Berlin who took 2nd overall in Kraichgau.
Among Berlin’s best performers at the season opener was Céline Kaiser. Her running speed will maker her a danger on practically any course. In addition, Lina Völker will likely take the climb up to Spitzingsattel in her stride. It would not be a surprise to her make it to the summit as one of the first women.
Whereas Potsdam have Dietzel, Berlin have their own promising young talent in Mirjam Huber. Huber might not have the years of training under her belt to tackle the mountain as well as some of her rivals. She has huge potential, though, as shown by her win the German Junior test in Kienbaum earlier in the year.
Tina Christmann will also provide a very solid option for Berlin and can step up should anyone struggle.
Beyond Buschhütten, Potsdam and Berlin, a couple of teams have one big name upon whom they will pin their hopes. Witten will be dependent on Marlene Gomez-Göggel. After a late switch, Bianca Bogen may also be starting to Witten. Back in May, Bogen raced at the French Grand Prix while five months pregnant. Six weeks later and still pregnant, she could be tackling another triathlon.
Meanwhile, Bonn will be hoping that Eva Daniëls can muster a big performance and score some valuable points. Similarly, Helen Scheffold will likely be an integral part of the Viernheim team.
On the men’s side, Buschhütten are unsurprisingly also stacked. With Márk Dévay lining up to dominate the swim and Richard Murray onboard to rip a fast run, they have all bases covered.
Intriguingly, Sergio Baxter Cabrera will be racing for Buschhütten. The winner of last year’s Pontevedra World Cup has not raced this season so his current level is a bit of a question mark. With Stefan Zachäus and Maximilian Sperl, Buschhütten have four men that can finish instead of Baxter. However if the Spaniard shows up in shape then he will add an extra layer of depth that will set the team apart from their rivals.
Hylo Team Saar will be led by Lasse Nygaard Priester. After a solid showing in Kraichgau, Chris Ziehmer should also be a key athlete on the team.
On interesting face to watch from Team Saar is David Lang. The Luxembourg Junior will be racing at the World Junior Championships in less than three weeks so Schliersee offers a perfect chance to test his fitness. At this stage in his career, though, it might be too big of an ask for him to go up against the likes of Murray and Dévay and come up with serious points.
Likewise, Jaspar Ortfield and Niklas Keller will get experience in Schliersee. However, Team Saar will miss Tim Hellwig and Valentin Wernz dearly.
On the note of absences, Sportunion Neckarsulm will miss their talisman, Simon Henseleit. In his place, Amaury Dietrich will carry the torch for the team.
After their brilliant showing in Kraichgau, Trier could also have a tricky time in Schliersee. They have only entered four of a possible five men and three of their key men from last time out are absent.
Gjalt Panjer is not racing, nor are Cedric Osterholt or Jonas Osterholt. All three were pivotal in Trier’s amazing finish at the season opener. In their place, Josiah Ney will be a key man. He led out the swim at the European Cup in Kitzbühel and generally enjoyed a good race. Lucas Cambresy will also have to shoulder a lot of responsibility for Trier.
However, compared to last time, the team looks a little vulnerable.
After finishing 2nd at the French Grand Prix in Bordeaux last weekend, look for Maxime Hueber Moosbrugger to carry the hopes of PUSCH-DATA-Team AST Süßen. As a strong cyclist and runner, the course could be perfect for him to win the race. Indeed, there aren’t a lot of men on the start list that can match his speed.
A showdown between Murray and Hueber Moosbrugger could therefore be the likeliest outcome.
Alongside Lang with Team Saar, a couple of Juniors will look to make a name for themselves this weekend. Jakob von Müller will be starting for Potsdam while Moritz Göttler will represent Darmstadt. In addition the Semmler brothers, Jan and Tim, will line up for Absolute Teamsport KTT 01.
Juniors can often be hard to predict but any one of them could have a blinding race and end up in the top-10.
You can view the women’s start list here and the men’s start list here.
