On Sunday there's a lot at stake at CHALLENGE ALMERE-AMSTERDAM: athletes from all over the world will compete for the 2021 World Triathlon Long Distance Championships. The second oldest race in the world will host the World Championships Long Distance and World Championships Aquabike, attracting a strong field of world-class athletes.
The men's race, which starts on Sunday at 7:00am CEST, has a deep pro field. Former winners such as Jaroslav Kovacic, who won in 2018, and Kristian Hogenhaug, who finished second overall in 2019 but took the European title behind Matt Trautman, are back racing in Almere. Kovacic is perhaps a little stronger all-around, while Hogenhaug is known as a real uber biker. Both men will not settle for anything less than the win.
The weather forecast is fairly favourable, with temperatures around 20C, not too much wind and a chance of at most an occasional rain shower. That's good news for the participants, because CHALLENGE ALMERE-AMSTERDAM is characterised by the course that runs through the polder, is below sea level and where the wind can strike mercilessly. Someone who wouldn't mind that is Andrew Starykowicz, who is probably the best biker of all the participating professional athletes and has already let it be known that he wants to ride the bike record out of the books. After that, it remains to be seen what he can do during the marathon. Maybe the biggest question is Thomas Steger. In the middle distance he is known for his almost unearthly running pace, but he has never finished a long distance before. If it turns out that he can also handle the longer distance, Steger might well be a contender for the World Title.
Two men for whom that also applies are local favourite Evert Scheltinga and Spaniard Pablo Dapena Gonzalez. For Scheltinga - who has been competing in Almere for years and considers the home race one of his favourite races - this year might be the year to look for the podium, and maybe even the top step. Dapena Gonzalez is always good but will probably also have to get used to the Long Distance.
In the women's race, a strong battle is expected - at least on paper - between the Dane, Michelle Vesterby, and local favourite Sarissa de Vries. Especially De Vries has had a great season so far, with wins at CHALLENGE RICCIONE and CHALLENGE GDANSK, a second place at ANFI CHALLENGE GRAN CANARIA and a seventh place at CHALLENGE FAMILY THE CHAMPIONSHIP. De Vries was on the podium in Almere before, but she has never won the race. This year she undoubtedly wants to change that.
Besides De Vries and Vesterby, Sarah Crowley - who started at DATEV CHALLENGE ROTH powered by hep last weekend - and Marta Bernardi are serious contenders for medals.
CHALLENGE ALMERE-AMSTERDAM starts on Thursday, September 9 with the first side events, including the Junior Challenge and the RABO Business Relay. Friday, September 10, the programme includes an Open Series Middle Distance. Sunday, September 12 is also an Open Series Long Distance, in addition to the World Triathlon Championships Long Distance and Aquabike World Championships.
On Sunday, September 12, the World Championship Long Distance broadcast live on YouTube in full. The livestream will include commentary and can be found at www.challenge-family.live. Here you will also find a live tracker and social media updates. In addition, there is an app to follow athletes directly and the race will be broadcast via Facebook Live. Due to COVID-19 measures spectators are not permitted.
MALE ELITE
1 Kristian Høgenhaug DEN
2 Tomas Renc CZE
3 Dirk Wijnalda NED
4 Erik-Simon Strijk NED
5 Thomas Steger AUT
6 Pete Dyson GBR
7 Pablo Dapena ESP
8 Kieran Lindars GBR
9 Steff Overmars NED
10 João Francisco Ferreira POR
11 Michal Holub SVK
12 Strahinja Trakic SRB
14 Milan Brons NED
15 Diederik Scheltinga NED
16 Sam Laidlow FRA
17 Niek Heldoorn NED
18 Evert Scheltinga NED
19 Antony Costes FRA
20 Alexander Berggren SWE
21 Per van Vlerken GER
22 Reinaldo Colucci BRA
23 Andrew Starykowicz USA
24 Jesper Svensson SWE
25 Robert Fryer GBR
26 Lukas Kocar CZE
27 Kristian Hindkjær DEN
28 David Mcnamee GBR
30 Victor Arroyo Bugallo ESP
31 Cornelis Scheltinga NED
33 Milosz Sowinski POL
34 Diego Sebastian Vasquez ECU
35 Jens Frommhold GER
36 Adam Hansen AUS
FEMALE ELITE
51 Marta Bernardi ITA
52 Simona Krivankova CZE
53 Sarissa de Vries NED
54 Ilona Eversdijk NED
55 Janien Lubben NED
56 Helena Kotopulu CZE
57 Manon Genet FRA
58 Saleta Castro ESP
59 Alena Sinay SVK
60 Line Bonde DEN
61 Renee Kiley AUS
62 Annah Watkinson RSA
63 Joanna Ryter SUI
64 Magda Nieuwoudt RSA
65 Michelle Vesterby DEN
66 Sarah Crowley AUS
67 Leanne Fanoy UAE
68 Vanessa Pereira POR
69 Nicole Luse USA
71 Elisabetta Curridori ITA
72 Camilla Pedersen DEN