Simon Henseleit masters the eliminator format: podium finish in Kitzbühel

Created: 06/21/2022, 15:40

Smiling at the finish: Simon Henseleit in an interview after his victory in the semifinals.

In the finals, the man from Steingaden was also up front.

© Screenshot/Sportdeutschland-tv

For the first time there was an eliminator format in the European Triathlon Cup.

Simon Henseleit showed that he can handle it well and ended up among the best in Kitzbühel.

Kitzbühel – The memories of his most recent appearance in Kitzbühel were not the very best: At the EM 2021 in the sprint, Simon Henseleit had to be content with the B final.

So the Steingadener only got a place outside the top 30.

The disappointment of that time did not have a negative impact on him at the current European Cup start in Tyrol - on the contrary.

Henseleit was "hot for the competition", as he stated beforehand.

In the end, the 22-year-old was even on the podium as third overall of the elite men.

A result that Henseleit was absolutely delighted about.

After fifth place in the Super League at the “Arena Games” in London and victory in the Sprint European Championships in the U23 class in Poland, it was his third top finish in a row at an international event.

Simon Henseleit impressed with third place

The way to the podium finish in Kitzbühel was difficult.

"Three races made it really tough," said Henseleit on "Instagram".

The final of the 30 best athletes was held - for the first time in the European Cup - in an "eliminator" format.

From two rounds, ten athletes remained, who then determined the winner in a final round.

The participants had to swim 250 meters, cycle 8 kilometers and run 1.5 kilometers.

The three finals took place within 70 minutes.

The day before, there were three semi-final heats (500 meters swimming/12 kilometers cycling/3 kilometers running) with a total of 67 men on the program.

Henseleit is already in good form there - he won the third heat with 33:18 minutes.

The winners of the other two heats were significantly slower.

The "Eliminator" format was also new for Henseleit.

In the Super League he has at least experienced something similar.

At the Arena Games, the final was divided into three mini-triathlons.

"I hope the knowledge from there will be of use to me," says Henseleit in Kitzbühel.

By the way:

everything from the region is also available in our regular Schongau newsletter.

And in our Weilheim-Penzberg newsletter.

In any case, the player from Steingaden acted very skilfully in the first two final rounds.

He finished the first heat in third place (16:37), the second heat in ninth place (16:42), and due to the lead over his pursuers on the home straight he could be sure of moving into the third round.

Simon Henseleit wins his semi-final run

In the final, Henseleit came out of the water in seventh position.

All ten athletes were quickly together again on the bike.

A fall by the American Davis Bove and a successful breakaway attempt by the Czech Radim Grebki marked cycling.

As before, the decision was made while running.

Henseleit was among the best right from the start, and before the turning mark he had conquered third position.

He brought it safely to the finish after 16:48 minutes.