ETU has a packed weekend with the focus on Poznan, where the titles will be fought over at the 2016 Poznan ETU Challenge Long Distance Triathlon European Championships.
After the rather disappointing show last year in Weymouth, where finding anyone who was not British was in itself a challenge, we see a start list in Poznan that truly represents the variety that the European Federations are. Elite athletes we see 14 nations represented in the men’s’ race and 10 in the women’s. In both of the Elite races there is a visiting American who will of course both receive a warm welcome from Challenge Family as they negotiate their way around the 3.8k swim, 180k bike and 42k run.
Amongst the Elite, who should we be watching out for?
Ewa Bugdol POL was world champion in 2015 in Weihai and has been using the home advantage by settling in nice and early at the race venue. “Dzisiaj jeszcze cisza i spokój... Pogoda okolo 26C. Gotowi? It's very peaceful here today at the Maltanskie Lake. Weather about 79F. Who's ready?” Her photos from the venue can be seen on her blog and it looks really good there already. She will of course be hoping that the home advantage plays into her hands but Alyssa Godesky USA, although not eligible for any ETU medal, has a strong ultra-running background and could well be a threat on the final 42k run. Moving up from the standard and sprint distances we will see Hanna Maksimova BLR racing. A top ten in the pouring rain in Tartu shows that she is race fit but this event is a huge step up from her usual distances. She will be joined by Croatia’s Sonja Škevin who also usually races the shorter circuit. If neither get to the podium it will be exciting nevertheless to see how they perform. Germany will be hoping that with results like a 1st at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam (Full Distance) and 2nd at Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz (Full Distance), ESP in 2015 will lead Kathrin Walther to the podium.
For the men, Ukraine-born Anton Blokhin BLR, will hope that his silver in IM Barcelona in 2015 will be a solid enough foundation to provide him with a chance for a place on the podium. Jaroslav Kovacic SLO, took the silver last year in Weymouth. His powerful swim led him out onto the bike course and despite then getting the third fastest bike and run, his swim and transition skills took him comfortably to the second position. Will 2016 be his chance to step up to the top place? Not if Sergio Marques POR has anything to do about it. In Weymouth, the chilly waters of the English Channel meant that throughout the race he was playing catch up with the Slovenian. In Poznan, the warmer waters might just work to his advantage.
ELITE FEMALE:
Ewa Bugdol POL
Martina Dogana ITA
Alyssa Godesky USA
Anne Jensen DEN
Simona Krivankova CZE
Hanna Maksimova BLR
Vanessa Pereira POR
Sonja Skevin CRO
Alena Stevens SVK
Kathrin Walther GER
ELITE MALE:
Matija Avirovic CRO
Dirk Baelus BEL
Anton Blokhin BLR
Guilherme Campos USA
Anders Christensen DEN
Massimo Cigana ITA
Karol Dzalaj SVK
Jens Frommhold GER
Esben Hovgaard DEN
Mikita Hrygoryeu BLR
Robert Karas POL
Georgy Kaurov RUS
Jaroslav Kovacic SLO
Michael Louys BEL
Mikolaj Luft POL
Andrey Lyatskiy RUS
Sergio Marques POR
Petr Minarik CZE
Peter Seidel GER
Pavel Simko SVK
Denis Sketako SLO
Grigoris Souvatzoglou GRE
Petr Vabrousek CZE
Dirk Wijnalda NED