Next Sunday, the eighth edition of The Championship will take place. It is for Challenge Family its so-called flagship event – not for nothing is it often referred to as Challenge Family’s World Championship – and with a total of 2,200 athletes and nearly one hundred pros competing for a prize pool of $100,000, firework is expected. At least the fire was already stoked a little extra during the press conference that just took place.
Frederic Funk is perhaps the biggest favorite among the men. He has competed at The Championship six times before, finished on the podium several times, but never won. Last year he did record the fastest bike time ever at a Middle Distance (“but that will be difficult this year because the course is 2 kilometers longer this time”) and he will go fast this time, too. “I wanted to win for the last six years and again I won’t settle for anything else than the first place. I trained for two and a half months in the heat of Australia and then three weeks at altitude, so I hope that training in tough conditions will now work in my favor.
Best athletes in triathlon history
Most competition Funk should probably expect from men like Henri Schoeman, Tom Bishop, Kristian Hogenhaug and Justus Nieschlag. Bishop, also raced in Samorin multiple times already, expects to have to chase after the swim. “It will be chasing from start to finish. Funk will make it hard on the bike and we have some of the best athletes in triathlon history at the start here. This race is leaden, but it’s also very fast. I’m looking forward to it.”
Nieschlag is also looking forward to the race and feels that the Middle Distance might suit him better than the shorter distances he specialized in until recently. “At the Olympic Distance I always had trouble running, mainly because I often suffered from injuries. I’ve been injury-free for over a year now and feel like I’m still improving with running. Hopefully this will be the race where everything comes together.”
Schoeman did not make many predictions, but was especially happy to be at the start. “I’ve watched this race on TV many times, so I’m very happy to be a part of it this year,” said the man who will make his Long Distance debut at Challenge Roth later this year. “I’m also using this race to build extra toughness and then go into a final training block.”
Fireworks: ‘I like to attack’
Someone from whom we should at least expect fireworks is Hogenhaug. After all, the Dane does not like boring races. “Then I like to attack. It’s not always the smartest thing, but it’s fun,” said the man who finished third last year. “That podium finish gave me a lot of confidence. I have good memories of The Championship and am looking forward to Sunday.”
‘I wanted to compete here’
Biggest favorite among the women appears to be Alanis Siffert. The Swiss raced a lot last year and picked up almost as many wins or podium finishes. “After all the Challenge Family races I did, I wanted to compete here as well. I heard so many good stories about this race. The atmosphere here is great and I’m going to try to make the most of it on Sunday.”
Competition Siffert can expect from, among others, Sara Perez Sala, Anna Bergsten, Hanne de Vet and Elisabetta Curridori, who won Challenge Salou just last weekend. “I’d love to play the game now and say I feel really good, but actually I’m still a little tired. I expect that to subside tomorrow and to feel even better on Sunday.”
‘It’s like a dream’
Perez Sala will likely be first out of the water. “But the other girls are young and strong, so I expect them to overtake me. Hopefully then I can stick with them. In any case, I have a lot of confidence and always feel strong at these kind of flat races. To race here for the fourth time already, always with some of the best women in the world, is like a dream.”
Belgian Hanne de Vet has had a hectic period, mainly because she recently flew to Japan (and back) to pick up her boyfriend Hayden Wilde – who crashed and needed medical surgery – so she doesn’t really know what to expect. “I don’t really know how I feel. I’m healthy and fit, feel like racing, so I’ll see where that eventually takes me. I made some silly mistakes during races last year, but think I learned enough from that to not make those mistakes again. I think I’ve gotten smarter and now it’s exciting to see how everything comes together on Sunday.”
