The final race of the 2023 Bundesliga season will see the athletes tackle one of the most exciting formats of the year.
To kick off the event, the entire field will take on a prologue. The initial race will consist of a 250m swim, 5km bike and 1.5km run with athletes starting at 20 seconds intervals. Drafting will not be allowed in the prologue.
Later in the afternoon, the athletes will return to take on the final. The final will be a pursuit race based on the results of the prologue. In a draft-legal race, the athletes will swim 500m, cycle 15km and run 3.5km. In total, that gives the athletes the same distance for the day as a classic Sprint triathlon.
The format confers a lot more importance to the prologue than a standard heat-final structure and incentivises fast racing throughout. Every second gained in the prologue could have major ramifications in the final. It also tests the athletes on the bike in different ways across the event.
In addition to the novel format, the Bundesliga titles will be on the line.
EJOT Team TV Buschhütten have won all four rounds in the women’s competition and are 10 points clear at the top of the table. Even with one hand on the title, they will be rolling out the big guns.
Annika Koch will be starting instead of racing at the Valencia World Cup. Her fellow World Cup medallist Solveig Løvseth will also be starting for Buschhütten, as will Tanja Neubert and Dominika Peszleg.
Buschhütten’s closest rivals this year are Team Berlin. Berlin will be hoping for a big showing Céline Kaiser and have a well-rounded team with Mirjam Huber, Lina Völker and Lara Thekla Ungewickell also starting.
Meanwhile, the race for 3rd overall might be the closest of the weekend.
SSF Bonn Triathlon Team currently occupy 3rd place and will be led by Ronja Steiling and Daryna Moskalenko. Only 1 point behind are triathlon.one Witten, although they will be without Anabel Knoll and Marlene Gomez-Göggel. Both are racing in Valencia instead.
Absolute Teamsport KTT 01 are only 4 points behind Bonn and will look for a big race from Anna Busse, in particular.
Selina Klamt, the recently-crowned European U23 champion, headlines Triathlon Potsdam’s line-up. Maria Casals Mojica will likewise be a key factor having made her WTCS debut earlier in the season.
Sparda-Bank Team Hagen could also land a high finish and will depend on Margareta Bicanova who finished 5th in Schliersee.
On the men’s side, Buschhütten lead the way and hold a 2 point lead over Hylo Team Saar. In pursuit of the title, Buschhütten have rolled out the big guns. The European Games winner, Vetle Bergsvik Thorn, will be starting. A German trio of Jonas Schomburg, Johannes Vogel and Maximilian Sperl will also be racing.
Team Saar will be led by Gregor Payet with Tim Siepmann, Jasper Ortfeld and Ian Manthey also starting.
One particularly noteworthy name will be racing under Team Berlin’s colours. Rico Bogen, the newly-crowned Ironman 70.3 world champion, will be starting. Bogen already has two silver medals in the Bundesliga this season. After his astounding victory in Finland, he could take his first Bundesliga gold of 2023.
On paper, the non-drafting prologue should play to his strengths. However, with it only lasting for 5km. it might not be long enough for him to inflict substantial damage on the field.
Sportunion Neckarsulm will have to race without Simon Henseleit. In his place, Neckarsulm will be led by Silas Schmidt and Fabian Schönke.
Lasse Lührs and Neilan Kempmann form a powerful double punch for Bonn and Darmstadt can call upon Henry Graf and Euan De Nigro.
With the introduction of the prologue, though, Hannover seems primed for a couple of upsets.
You can view the women’s start list here and the men’s start list here.
