Challenge Roth: Double debut victory

After six kilometers on the running track, the time had come. With big, fast steps, Patrick Lange was able to draw closer and closer to Ruben Zepuntke and finally walk lightly past. While overtaking there was a short, appreciative tap with his fist, then Lange was up and away and did his laps alone for the remaining 37 kilometers. The former cyclist Zepuntke broke in his first long-distance triathlon and finished 27th in the end. Lange, on the other hand, secured the longed-for victory on his debut in Roth after 7:19:19 hours.

“Roth just lives the triathlon,” said the Hessian triathlete in the BR after the first tears had dried. “More than once today I had the thought of throwing my bike in the corner and going home, but that’s normal.” Nils Frommhold crossed the finish line in second, eleven minutes behind, while the former obstacle runner Felix Hentschel was a surprising third.

Despite the small number of spectators, “hell” has broken loose, says Lange

In the run-up to the race, Lange once again emphasized the importance of the Roth location for sport. “The triathlon culture in Germany started here,” he said. “And nothing but a world class field deserves this legendary race.” The fact that Sebastian Kienle and later winner Anne Haug competed as top athletes was thanks to the short-term cancellation of the Ironman in Hawaii, which Lange had sharply criticized in view of the lack of alternatives.

The 35-year-old reported that he was all the more pleased to be able to compete in Roth for the first time. Despite the organizers’ plea to watch the race from the couch, all hell had broken loose in Roth and the surrounding area – compared to his previous race in Tulsa, USA. “Now I just have to experience it again with a 100 percent mood,” he said.

Then Lange could also enjoy around 250,000 spectators and mood cells such as the Solarer Berg, which this year fell victim to the bike route that was changed due to construction sites. After all, this meant that the athletes had to pedal ten kilometers less. A few spectators and residents cheered on the athletes with posters and music, who thanked the athletes with a thumbs-up.

Sebastian Kienle, who started the race as one of Lange’s challengers and had recently prepared intensively for four weeks in the high-altitude training camp, had to get off his bike after a good three and a half hours and 97 kilometers. Problems with the Achilles tendon forced him to give up. Even after swimming he was far from the top group and not even in the top ten. When, at the end of the first bike lap, he heard that he was already ten minutes behind, “I was already thinking about it,” he said later. “I had to weigh up the risk: if I want to play a major role in the sport again, the tendon has to hold on a little.”

Like Lange, Haug also sets a new course record – but this is only unofficially valid due to the shortened route

Local hero Anne Haug, who also started for the first time in her home country, had far fewer problems in her race and already drove away from the competition on the bike course. The twelve-minute lead she had before the final marathon turned into more than half an hour at the finish. Like Lange, Haug also set a new course record with a time of 7:53:48 hours, but this is only unofficially valid due to the shortened route. “You dream of something like that and motivate yourself every day in training,” said the reigning Ironman world champion at the finish. “If that really becomes a reality then, of course, that’s fantastic.”

Race director Felix Walchshöfer was also extremely satisfied, who also wanted to prove by staging the race that Bavaria’s largest outdoor sports event could take place successfully under pandemic conditions. “We’ve shown it works,” he said, sounding quite relieved. “Everything came together perfectly: the excellent weather, two absolutely worthy winners and no serious injuries on the track.” There were also no complaints from the district office and the police, who had been looking for large crowds from the air. “It wasn’t as bombastic as Roth is known for, but it was very warm and honest,” was his conclusion the day after the race. “We liked it very much ourselves, even if it was different.” For the next four weeks he and the team are still busy dismantling, cleaning up and storing the race. In October there will be two weeks of company vacation for everyone, “because we are just pretty well done”.