With a very tough bike route and temperatures around 30 degrees, this race was inevitably very tough. With almost 50 elite men at the starting line, there was plenty of action here too.
The starting signal was given at 11:30 a.m. and we ran into the water, which I initially assessed as good swimming pace turned out to be “slow” after 1.5 km and I had to make up a lot of time to place myself further up the front. On the bike it was relatively flat and fast at first, good for setting the pace together, unfortunately I was on my own. However, on the first climb I caught up with 3 athletes, was able to ride a little with them and finally passed them. The legs weren't quite there though, and my attacks weren't as usual. Still, I was able to pull off a solid performance. The trails were in perfect condition and the downhills were technical - just how I like it on the bike. Back in the transition zone, hundreds of people cheered, the atmosphere was great.
Quickly changing into my running shoes, I tackled the 10km run. The running legs were quite good and I was able to move up the rankings one place at a time. In the end I crossed the finish line in 19th place and was able to score valuable points in the overall World Cup again.
I moved up 3 places to 19th in the World Cup. In just 5 weeks it's time for the end of the season - the Xterra World Championships in Trentino/Italy.