On Tuesday, July 10th, one of the most important races of the season was scheduled: the World Championship.
We had already traveled there the Thursday before to be part of the "Parade of Nations". All nations gathered for a grand parade through the old town of Odense. The days that followed were quiet. A few times I was on the competition course to take a close look at everything, to look at the key points and to memorize them. The bike route was awesome, lots of curves, crisp short climbs and trails as far as the eye can see. Likewise the running track. 50/50 trail/road makes the run fast but also technically demanding. We swam in the harbour.
Raceday: The alarm clock rang at 6:30 a.m., we slowly got up and had the usual breakfast before a competition. Then checked the bike again. At 9:30 was the start. As 2nd I was called up for the starting line-up. The swim start was in the water, everyone started like crazy, so I had to go with them. It just felt great, and not too far behind I started biking in 29th place. From the beginning it was just full throttle for me, my plan to fight my way up worked and I was already 13th in T2. We were a group of 5 athletes, I started first on the running track. The pace was high, but it was all going like clockwork until I fell out of sheer lack of concentration, and that was on the final run. After a few seconds of perplexity I found my way back into the race and was able to get my 13th place back. This Cross tri World Championship brought me the most exciting and fun race I have ever contested.