With starting number 20 there was of course the task of “always beat your number”, as always, and the TOP 20 were also realistic. Top 15 would have been my dream in this extremely strong professional field. 58 professional men, I don't think there have ever been so many at a European Championship in Cross Triathlon. I liked the route very much, there was over 1000 meters of altitude to be mastered on 29km on the MTB. Molveno is located in the mountains, on a beautiful lake, so the bike route was also equipped with single trails. The run was then very fast, of the 10km only about 3 were in the forest over rooty trails and stick and stone.
The starting gun was fired punctually at 11:00, 58 men ran into the water, a scramble for the best line. An are “M” was swum, with a shore leave after 750m (total 1.5km). The water was 18 degrees and we swam with neoprene, which usually helps me a lot, but not today. I came out of the water as the 46th, and that's when I started catching up. I always feel good on the bike, and I was able to put pressure on me right from the start and make up space for space. Due to the rain and the drenched track, even more feeling on the brakes was required than during the inspection in the days before. The slippery stones or root carpets also made it exciting.
Quickly switched to running shoes, I was able to reel off a solid run, and in the end I won the finish sprint with a French colleague for the TOP 20 ✌🏼 so I had achieved my goal of “beat your number” and had a lot of fun on the track. Now I have to work on my swimming performance and count lengths 5 times a week in Happyland, so that I can attack one last time this season in 5 weeks in Sardinia.
