As of: March 23, 2024, 5:45 a.m
By: Paul Hopp
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Clearly number one: Peter Grünebach won both the winter triathlon (photo from the award ceremony) and the winter duathlon in Pragelato.
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Multi-sport athlete Peter Grünebach has shown once again: Pollinger achieved a special result at the World Championships in winter duathlon and triathlon.
Pragelato
– The gold medal was briefly in danger.
But that wasn't because of a competitor charging from behind, but because of an embankment that didn't look so scary at first glance.
Peter Grünebach wins gold twice in Pragelato
Grünebach approached the ramp a little too slowly on his mountain bike.
First he stopped, slipped back and finally landed on the seat of his pants.
Pollinger himself called the situation “embarrassing.”
In the following laps he negotiated the spot much more elegantly, also because his wife Marianne Grünebach had tipped him off from the side of the track that a few steps had been specially dug into the ground at the ramp.
So Peter Grünebach rushed towards a confident victory at the World Championships in Winter Triathlon.
It was his second gold medal within 24 hours, after he had already won the duathlon the afternoon before.
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In total, the German age group athletes won 14 medals at the World Championships in winter triathlon and duathlon in Pragelato, Italy - the venue for the Nordic skiing competitions at the 2006 Olympics;
two more than the year before in Norway.
Peter Grünebach (born 1948) was one of two Germans who won the title in both disciplines in their age group.
For the Pollinger multi-sport athlete, it was World Championship gold medals number nine and ten.
In 52 starts at world and European championships (in summer and winter), the former professional soldier has achieved 42 podium places.
The challenge in Pragelato was due not least to the tight schedule.
After all: “The Olympic facility was professionally prepared with artificial snow,” reported
Peter Grünebach
.
Despite the altitude of around 1,600 meters, there was initially no snow around.
The night before the duathlon it snowed, so the landscape was now white.
Tight schedule at the World Cup in Pragelato
Peter Grünebach and his opponents first had to complete a six-kilometer run and then 10 kilometers on cross-country skis (free technique).
In order to have enough reserves for the demanding cross-country ski run and the triathlon the next day, “I started as cautiously as was acceptable”.
When running (39:58) he was already significantly faster than the competition from Italy, Estonia and Austria.
Pollinger was a little annoyed about “my bad change” to the skis.
The skis also didn't run as expected.
Nevertheless, it was enough to achieve a dominant victory in 1:26:37 hours ahead of the Italian Valter de Rossi (1:31:42) and the Estonian Anatoli Männi (1:42:45).
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Less than 20 hours later, Grünebach was at the starting line again, this time for the winter triathlon.
The 75 age group had to complete five kilometers of running, almost ten kilometers on the mountain bike and another ten kilometers on cross-country skis.
With every small incline, “the strain from the previous day was noticeable in my legs,” says Grünebach.
He completed the two laps in 33:37 minutes and was only six seconds ahead of his closest rival, de Rossi.
He then significantly increased his lead on the mountain bike - despite the mishap on the tricky ramp.
The athletes skied partly on rolled snow, but also in mud.
“I reduced the air pressure in the tires to 1.1 bar in order to avoid having to get off the bike and risk falling,” says Grünebach.
He completed the part on the bike in 39:10 minutes – almost three minutes faster than de Rossi.
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In cross-country skiing, “arms and legs were pushed to the limit,” especially on the slopes.
Here and there cramps threatened, “but they didn’t come,” he noted with satisfaction.
After 43:18 minutes, the 75-year-old completed the final discipline.
With a total time of 1:59:52 hours, he clearly distanced himself from de Rossi (2:07:10) and the Austrian Anton Hergouth (2:28:47).
The Estonian Männe (2:32:02) “had no luck with his fat bike,” said Grünebach.