Who was the MVP in the women’s Bundesliga?
With the end of the 2023 season, we can now assess the most valuable athletes in terms of point contributions. The individual rankings have been extracted from the Bundesliga results with points based on individual finishes. Following the Bundesliga scoring format, 20 points are awarded for a win, with the points then dropping by 1 for each subsequent place. At the German champs in Düsseldorf, 30 points were awarded for a win, with the points decreasing by 1.5 thereafter.
A cash bonus is available for those the highest ranked athletes. Under the Bundesliga criteria, though, an athlete must have started three times to be eligible.
The first race of the season in Kraichgau did not actually offer any individual points. This is because the 2+2 format meant that the team came before the individual and it was not possible to see who actually won. If an athlete raced in Kraichgau, though, it nonetheless counted as one of their three races.
1) Lisa Tertsch – EJOT Team TV Buschhütten – 70 points
Lisa Tertsch was the highest scoring athlete in the women’s Bundesliga. She took three wins from her three appearances in 2023, taking gold medals in Schliersee and Tübingen with the German title in Düsseldorf sandwiched in between.
At all three of her races, Tertsch’s swimming speed saw her make the front pack on the bike. From there, no one had an answer to her on the run.
2) Tanja Neubert – EJOT Team TV Buschhütten – 61 points
Neubert raced four times in 2023. She kicked off her campaign in Kraichgau where she helped Buschhütten to their first win of the season. From there, she appeared in Schliersee, Düsseldorf and Hannover.
In Schliersee, she claimed 3rd place. She then followed that with a 5th place in Düsseldorf. Her best race of the season came at the end as she won the silver medal in Hannover.
In many respects, 2023 has been a breakout year for Neubert and she will certainly be an athlete to watch going forwards.
3) Selina Klamt – Triathlon Potsdam – 45.5 points
Klamt raced three times in the Bundesliga in 2023 however one of those was in Kraichgau. Not having a third race with points therefore set her back in her race with Neubert for 2nd.
In Düsseldorf, Klamt took a brilliant 2nd place, earning her 28.5 points. She then ended her season with a 4th place in Hannover, adding 17 points.
With another race, there is every chance she could have taken 2nd overall. Like Neubert, though, she is a young athlete and is on the rise. As the European U23 champion, she will no doubt be in the mix for the MVP title in the next few years.
4) Annika Koch – EJOT Team TV Buschhütten – 45.5 points
Koch was in the same boat as Klamt as she raced in Kraichgau, Düsseldorf and Hannover.
In Kraichgau, she helped Buschhütten to their first win of the year. She then narrowly missed the podium at the German Championships, finishing 4th. To cap off her season, she won the final round in Hannover.
Koch has enjoyed a sparkling summer, with a maiden WTCS medal and a World Cup win thrown in. With more races under her belt in 2024, she could compete for the top spot in the individual rankings.
5) Marlene Gomez-Göggel – triathlon.one Witten – 44 points
Gomez-Göggel was a pillar of the Witten team. Without her, it is hard to see how the team would have finished 4th overall.
Gomez-Göggel took on the opening three races of the season. She claimed 4th place in Schliersee and then improved that to 3rd in Düsseldorf.
6) Anna Busse – Absolute Teamsport KTT 01 – 40 points
Busse took on the whole season except for Tübingen and played a big role in KTT 01 taking 6th overall.
She finished 7th in Schliersee, 11th in Düsseldorf and 10th in Hannover. At each, she lead the way for KTT 01 and helped them hold their own against rivals like Witten and Bonn.
7) Solveig Løvseth – EJOT Team TV Buschhütten – 37 points
Putting a fourth women in the top-10 speaks volumes to Buschhütten’s dominance.
Løvseth was fantastic at the opening race in Kraichgau and did not let up from there. An individual win eluded her however she nevertheless added a silver medal in Tübingen and a bronze medal in Hannover.
Racing for a team as Buschhütten yielded a series title this season. Going forwards, though, maybe a case could be made for someone like Løvseth switching teams to become the star elsewhere. As the European Games champion, she is the kind of athlete that could be centrepiece of a team rather than the fourth ranked woman of a set-up.
8) Margareta Bicanova – Sparda-Bank Team Hagen – 30 points
Bicanova was the only athlete in top-10 aside from Tertsch not to race in Kraichgau. She also did not race at the German Championships which deprived her of the most valuable race of the season.
She kicked off her campaign with a massive 5th place in Schliersee. From there, she added a 16th place in Tübingen and a 12th place in Hannover.
Bicanova is one of two women to make the individual top-10 from teams that finished outside the top-10 overall. Her contribution to Hagen was invaluable and the team will place a lot of hope in the young Slovakian in 2024.
9) Céline Kaiser – Team Berlin – 22 points
Kaiser started her Bundesliga campaign well with a strong showing in Kraichgau. Unfortunately, she did not get any individual points for her efforts.
She added a 9th place in Schliersee and an 11th place in Hannover. Neither, though, quite matched her level in Kraichgau. Her absence from the German Championships also hurt her scoring potential.
Had things been a little different, then, Kaiser could have pushed for a place in the top-5. Next year, look for her to do just that.
10) Sabrina Fleig – Karlsruher Lemminge – 17.5 points
Fleig was the top scorer from Karlsruhe who finished 12th overall.
Along with an appearance in Kraichgau, she finished 14th in Schliersee and 14th in Düsseldorf. Her contributions went a long way to ensuring that Karlsruhe avoided relegation in their first season.
Honourable mentions
Several athletes logged some impressive performances in 2023 and earned plenty of points. However, they did not make the top-10 after falling foul of the Bundesliga’s three race rule.
Anabel Knoll earned 39.5 points through a 6th place in Düsseldorf and a 4th place in Tübingen. With another appearance, she could have pushed her teammate Gomez-Göggel for a spot in the top-5.
Lena Meißner and Rachel Klamer could have made it five women in the top-10 for Buschhütten. Neither, though, raced often enough. Buschhütten took home 21 points, including a 7th place in Düsseldorf, while Klamer earned 19 points for her silver medal in Schliersee.
Anne Holm claimed 18 points for her 9th place in Düsseldorf and Natalie Van Coevorden nabbed 18 points for her bronze medal in Tübingen.
You can view the final women’s individual points from the 2023 Bundesliga here.
