He hasn’t done very many races yet this year and suffered quite a bit of injury, yet Pablo Gonzalez Dapena will start next Sunday – Sept. 25 – as the biggest favorite at the first edition of Challenge Sanremo. Among the women, most eyes are likely to be on Lucy Byram.
In any case, Dapena Gonzalez can look back on a nice summer, as he was the fastest athlete at Challenge Gdansk at the end of June. That victory in Poland undoubtedly gives him a lot of confidence heading into Challenge San Remo, where he will face a huge list of top athletes though. Highest ranked athlete is William Mennesson, but also, for example, Gregory Barnaby, Florian Salvisberg, Thomas Bishop, Michael Raelert, Alessandro Degasperi and Mattia Ceccarelli will race for the title. The latter two athletes logically enjoy the home advantage and are therefore almost certainly capable of something extra.
Like Dapena Gonzalez, Lucy Byram, the biggest favorite in the women’s race, can also look back on a great summer: after all, she previously won the first edition of Challenge Wales. With that knowledge, Byram will again want to do everything in her power to be the fastest in Sanremo and knows from herself that this is certainly possible. Just like the men’s race also the women’s pro field is deep and therefore anything is possible. Most chances are given to Aleksandra Jedrzejewska, Emma Bilham, Nina Derron and Lena Berlinger, among others.
The swim of Challenge San Remo takes place from the beautiful Bagni Paradiso Beach and consists of one lap of 1.9 kilometer. During the bike – one lap of 90 kilometer – as many as 1,500 altimeters are conquered and even includes a passage with a gradient of 10 percent. During the run, athletes complete three rounds of 7 kilometers, with stunning views of the sea.
Challenge Sanremo will take place on 25 September with the pro race starting at 8:20am CEST. Live updates, including a live stream (Italian and English), live timing and live race updates are available via www.challenge-family.live. Of course Triathlon Today will do on-site race report, including interviews with the fastest athletes of the day.
