It's the 6th time I've started there, I love the course, my best result was a 7th place in the elite. This year the bike route has been changed, it was always the most extreme MTB route of the Xterra World Tour and I loved it, now it has been simplified but still awesome with some technical trails and steep climbs.
We swam in “Lake Scanno”, a beautiful mountain lake, this time just covering a single lap with a 100m Australian exit. I found a great pace and was able to get out of the water in 13th place, some good bikers right in front of me. Highly motivated, I pushed hard on the bike and was able to ride to 8th place in the first 5km. The course led through the old town of scanno, everywhere people who kept the stoke high. We rode down steps and up through narrow streets. I knew the track well and knew where it was important to set the pace.
The watts were right, as was the food and drink intake. It was hot but not too hot. I was able to put even more pressure on the bike and moved up to 5th place. I changed into my running shoes and tackled the very demanding running route. After the first km I overtook number 4 and the TOP 3 were within reach. Back to the old town again, climbed up towards the forest, but I was caught up by a competitor and found myself back in 5th place. I tried to follow him, it went quite well, but on the final downhill the pace was just too high for me. After almost 2:48 hours I crossed the finish line in 5th position- what a day. I secured a place in the top 5 for the 3rd time this season.
