|
||||||||||||
Abu Dhabi Triathlon Athletes Put In Strong German Showing |
||||||||||||
Jacobs Leads ADTA-Backed Outfit’s Impressive Double PerformanceAbu Dhabi Triathlon Team demonstrated its depth of skill and talent at two gruelling events in Germany last weekend, with the majority of the seven-strong outfit putting in strong performances at both the 2010 Challenge Roth race and the ITU World Championship Hamburg. Leading the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed crack endurance squad’s charge was Australian Pete Jacobs, who partially avenged his 2009 runner-up finish to defending champion Michael Göhner of Germany by finishing one place ahead of him in 4th. Jacobs, who completed the entire swim-bike-run course with a time of 8:08:56, was well ahead of Göhner, whose 8:13:09 was good only for 5th. The event was won by Denmark’s Rasmus Henning with a time of 7:52:36, followed by Sebastian Kienle of Germany with 7:59:06. The 2010 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon winner, Spain’s Eneko Llanos, clinched the final podium spot with a time of 8:02:33. Jacobs started strongly after a powerful swim saw him first out of the water, which he carried through for the majority of the 180-km bike stage. With energy conservation his main priority, the Aussie racing champion slowed in the 42-km run to successfully defend his 4th place ranking. “I am more than happy with the result of race because after my injury, there wasn’t much time for me to prepare for Roth,” Jacobs said. “Although I could ride hard on the bike, I felt that the field was too strong and I had to slow down a bit after 100-km as some strong cyclists came from the back. The run was tough, as I have been unable to train as hard as I would have liked to recently, yet I performed well and maintained my series of strong finishes. With this performance at Roth, I am confident that I can perform at my highest levels again in Hawaii this October.” Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team’s Swen Sundberg, who came out of the swim stage in 4th place, was ruing his luck after suffering two flat tyres in the bike stage, which cost him more than 10 minutes, and eventually forced him to retire. The German had high expectations for the event, and was hoping ‘home’ advantage would have given him the edge over the highly-competitive field. “Roth is my home race as I live in this area of Germany,” Sundberg said. “I had high hopes as my pre-event preparation went very well. I was happy with the swim and the first few kilometres on the bike were also good until I had those flat tyres. Terribly disappointed, I decided to drop out. “At long distance races, I feel that luck isn’t really on my side this year. Now I have to think about the rest of the season,” Sundberg added. Other Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team members participated in Roth’s relay events, including team captain Faris Al Sultan, who was invited to compete as part of the Bavarian Broadcasting Station celebrity team. The 2005 Ironman World Champion used the event as his last long workout before next month’s Ironman Regensburg. “My bike time wasn’t ideal but it certainly was a good training for Regensburg. As the relays started after the individual event, there was a lot of traffic on the bike course which prevented me from riding at my usual pace. “I am happy and thrilled for Pete because after his injury, I wasn’t sure whether he could perform well. I feel bad for Sven and it is really unfortunate that he couldn’t show what he is truly capable of.” Also competing in the event was Abu Dhabi Triathlon Relay Team, made up of endurance swimming record-holder Christof Wandratsch, Philipp Görgen of Germany and three-time Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge winner, Elina Ussher. The dynamic trio finished 13th place in the mixed relay category with equally impressive times in their respective events. “It was a great experience in Roth. With its huge number of spectators, there was a great atmosphere. It was really more about that than winning and in the end, our team clocked a good overall time,” Ussher said. At the ITU World Championship Hamburg, Jan Van Berkel, another Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team mainstay, finished 22nd and remained very much in contention for a 2012 Olympics berth. The event was won by Javier Gomez of Spain, followed by Jan Frodeno of Germany and the UK’s Tim Don. Van Berkel’s 22nd place finish, with an overall time of 1:45:07, was just two minutes behind Gomez’s winning time of 1:43:07. "I am happy with the race although the swim stage didn’t work out that well,” said Dutchman Van Berkel, a short course expert. “I missed the lead group by a few seconds, and because of that, had to work hard on the bike to catch up. This made me use up a lot of my energy. Overall, I’m quite satisfied with 22nd place which is great as I look forward to the upcoming races in London and Kitzbühel in Austria, which are both part of the ITU World Championship Series." Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, created by the ADTA to further the emirate’s performance athletics’ credentials globally, will compete in more than 40 top international events this season, including Ironman, 70.3 and the French Championships. “To have so many Abu Dhabi athletes successfully competing really shows how far this team has come on in the last few years, and sends out a clear signal to the international racing community about the seriousness of the emirate’s commitment to developing the sport,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, ADTA. The outfit got off to a winning start in 2010 after team members, Ina Reinders and van Berkel, made a clean sweep at the debut Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in the UAE capital. Since then, the team has taken part in a number of events in Australia, Europe and the US. |
||||||||||||
