After I didn't start at the World Cup in the USA, I had to really put the pressure on in Belgium.
I've known the route since 2018, and I also started there in 2023. A few days before, I traveled to “Namur” and lived there with my friends from Germany and Denmark in an AirBnb right in the center. The Xterra route was on the famous “Citadel” and swimming took place in the Meuse. Immediately after my arrival I visited the bike route, due to the storms of the last few days/weeks it was extremely muddy, not only did we get very dirty but the uphills and downhills were also very technical. That made the whole thing a little more exciting. 2 laps of swimming, 2 laps on the bike and also 2 laps of running through the old citadel were on the race plan.
Well prepared, I was looking forward to the race. The day before, the technical management made a change to the race. Due to the flooding we were not allowed to swim in the Meuse and so the 1.5km in the water was replaced by a 5km run. That made the whole thing extremely exciting for me and I was even more motivated to finish in the TOP 10 in order to score important World Cup points.
We started the race at 2:30 p.m. The running pace was extremely high, but my legs felt good. In the densely packed elite field, I returned to the transition zone in 14th place and started the MTB route with a good group. The pace was high here too and the five of us were able to set a really good pace. The race to catch up was perfect, but unfortunately only until the second downhill when I was pulled out of the race due to a technical defect on the bike. At first I tried to repair things, but eventually I had to give up and walk back to the transition area.
The day could have been perfect and the performance was good too. For now I'm taking a break from Xterra and won't be competing again until August at the XTERRA European Championships. Until then, I'll pass the time at the largest MTB event in Austria, the Salzkammerguttrophy in mid-July.
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