What began as a potentially thrilling race quickly evolved into a masterclass performance: Germany’s Laura Philipp lived up to her status as the pre-race favorite and delivered a commanding victory at Challenge Roth, crossing the finish line in 8:18:18.
The day started with a strong leader emerging from the swim. Switzerland’s Alanis Siffert, still early in her Long Distance career after debuting at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam just last year, was the fastest through the non-wetsuit swim, clocking a 52:31. She held a lead of over a minute and a half on Grace Thek, while a chasing group – featuring Kayla Pokorny (USA), Nina Derron (SUI), and Laura Philipp herself – emerged over five minutes behind.
Siffert, clearly buoyed by the electric Roth crowd, attacked the bike course in her signature high-gear style. Her effort, though unorthodox – particularly visible on the infamous Greding climb where she powered on in her aero bars despite nearly grinding to a halt – was undeniably gutsy. It took Philipp over 140 kilometers to gradually reel her in, slowly chipping away at a deficit that once exceeded five minutes.
By the 110-kilometer mark, Philipp had narrowed the gap to 2:33, with the rest of the field dropping further behind. Philipp was clearly growing stronger as the kilometers ticked by, and just after 140 kilometers, she finally surged past Siffert. From there, it was all one-way traffic.
By T2, Philipp had opened up a 2:21 lead on Siffert, with Nikki Bartlett entering transition in third, over eight minutes adrift. Any hopes of a world record or event a sub-8 finish were effectively off the table at that point – Philipp would have needed a 2:25 marathon to challenge those times, which was always going to be a tall order under the day’s conditions.
As the marathon unfolded, it became evident that Siffert had burned too many matches on the bike. She faded hard in the opening kilometers, hemorrhaging time to the steadily paced Philipp. Free of any time pressure and well clear of her rivals, Philipp ran with poise and confidence – often smiling as she moved through the aid stations and crowd-lined sections of the course.
Though the final kilometers of the marathon tested her, Philipp maintained control and closed out a dominant day in 8:18:18, reaffirming her position as one of the most formidable Long Distance triathletes in the world.
The battle for the podium was full of drama, with Nikki Bartlett cramping in the final kilometers and having to walk sections, while Grace Thek also showed signs of struggling at times. Despite that, it was Thek who ultimately claimed second place – remarkably, in her debut over the full distance – with a finishing time of 8:37:39. Siffert, who at one point during the marathon had dropped out of podium contention, capitalized on Bartlett’s difficulties, overtook her in the final kilometers, and secured third place in 8:41:41.
