Lots of water and too much driftwood: I couldn't swim at the triathlon in Schongau at the weekend.
Some athletes knew how to use this for themselves.
Schongau
- Sitting comfortably in a cafe in Schongau's pedestrian zone on a mild summer evening and watching the best triathletes in Bavaria. That was the plan for the “Saturday Night Triathlon”, the new format for the ninth Schongau Triathlon. But the weather didn't play along. Continuous rain not only caused empty chairs on Marienplatz. The race officials had to reschedule several times and ultimately cancel the planned swimming part in the Lech. Instead, there was a five-kilometer run through the old town on Saturday before the cycling distance.
With these circumstances and the run-bike-run combination, a trio from Kempten coped best with the men, celebrating an Allgäu triple victory, the first at the Schongau Triathlon, in an impressive manner.
In difficult conditions, local hero Lukas Krämer from the Tri-Team Schongau crossed the finish line in fourth.
“I know the people of Kempten who can run,” said Krämer after reaching the finish line after 1:33:04 hours.
"I had to close the gap to them after the first part of the run and that cost a lot of energy," reported the Peißenberger, who was cycling solo for a long time, while the leaders were able to save grains while riding in the slipstream.
Successful Kemptener at the triathlon in Schongau: "We have a cool group"
After the third of five cycle laps with the difficult descent on the Rößlekellerberg and the poisonous climb to the Frauentor, Krämer was in the lead group.
"If Lukas wants to win, he needs a good lead before the final run," said Wolfgang Ahrens, the head of the tri-team, who commented on the race with Andreas Groß.
Krämer was the first to start the final five-kilometer run.
The Kemptener sat on his neck and passed quickly on the angled course through the old town.
In the sprint to the finish, René Höchenberger beat his team-mate Yannic Baier by one second after 1:31:22 hours.
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Fast trio: Winner René Höchenberger (center) with second Yannic Baier (left) and third Tom Hohenadl (right).
Everyone starts for the RSC Kempten.
© Roland Halmel
"We have a cool squad, everyone treats the other to victory," said Höchenberger with a beaming smile, who also won the regional league with the RSC Kempten in a sovereign manner.
"The race was very demanding, but also very entertaining when running and very atmospheric due to the spectators", added the new Bavarian champion.
But for many it was also torture.
At the Frauentor, which was lined with spectators, a starter from Amberg groaned: “The route is so difficult.” True enough: after all, 600 meters of altitude had to be overcome on the 38-kilometer route by bike.
When driving in the slipstream, the water splashed on the face
“And then it was cold on the bike and you got the water in front of the man in front of you while riding the slipstream,” said Dominic Wimmer from Post SV Weilheim, who competed in the Bavarian championships and finished 62nd among 96 finishers.
In the age group of 35, Wimmer was eighth.
Maria Paulig (Team Icehouse) was in a class of her own for women, with four teams and a total of 21 participants.
She took her second victory in Schongau in 1:45:24 hours after 2016.
“It was hard and wet.
Because I couldn't practice swimming much beforehand, I wasn't unhappy that they ran instead, ”said Paulig at the finish, exhausted but satisfied.
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Maria Paulig crossed the finish line with a smile on her face.
She became Bavarian champion.
© Roland Halmel
The new regional league boss Andrea Becker-Pennrich also drew a positive conclusion.
“I was very pleasantly surprised at how easily the teams went along with the rescheduling.
And the route is super great because it is so easy to see for the spectators, ”said Becker-Pennrich, who held the award ceremony together with the head of the association, Gerd Rucker and Schongau's mayor, Falk Sluyterman.
The tri-team men were also represented on the podium, taking third place in the line-up of Krämer, Johannes Zappe, Simon Langwieser, Felix Zimmermann and Jan Heinrich together with TSG Roth with the same number of points behind Kempten and Ingolstadt.
In the women’s category, Schweinfurt won ahead of “Velosoph Oberbayern” from Freising and Amberg.
However, the competitions on Sunday in Schongau ended quite differently for the organizers and young athletes: the German championship was canceled due to serious falls.
