I have already competed in this event 5-6 times. After my DNF at the World Cup in Belgium in mid-June, I changed my preparations again so that I could do really well at the European Championships. I had 3 MTB marathons planned to prepare and then a 4-week training camp in the Alps with my training partner Bart Cooymans from the Netherlands.
On the Tuesday before the race, I traveled to the Czech Republic, inspected the running course, on Wednesday the MTB course and on Thursday the swimming course. On Friday, only a short activation was planned, short, quick units on the bike, the run and in the water. I also inspected the short track, which was held on Sunday.
On Saturday, August 10th, the European Championships took place, 1.5km swimming, 34km MTB (1050m elevation) and an 11km cross-country run were to be completed.
After a solid swim I came out of the water in the top 20, on the bike I quickly found my rhythm and was able to set a good pace. Little by little I gained positions. The downhills were really fun and I attacked on the uphills. I was only overtaken by 2 stronger bikers, I overtook the rest and came 9th in the 2nd transition zone in “Prachatice”.
Together with my good friend Scott Anderson from Germany we racked our mountain bikes, put on our running shoes and started the run. I knew that I had to start really fast so that he didn't follow me. My legs were still really fast and I was able to open up a gap straight away.
2 laps with steep climbs and technical downhills made the run just as challenging as the bike course.
After 2:53:34 I finally crossed the finish line in 9th place, what a race.
My strongest XTERRA World Cup result and European Championship result to date.
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