Perfect racing conditions in the Mediterranean paradise of Mallorca welcomed the sold out field of 1,500 athletes at today’s Challenge Peguera Mallorca. It was a day of close racing and also a day of firsts with maiden wins from Michele Sarzilla (ITA) in 3:39:34 and Cathia Schär (SUI) in 4:09:09 in what was her first middle distance race.
The day started with the single lap swim, that saw a large group come out of the water together, led by Justus Töpper (GER) in 22:09 followed by Sarzilla and Leon Pauger (AUT). Sarzilla exited T1 first, followed by Janne Büttel (GER), trying to put a gap between themselves and the chasers. But by the first climb on this iconic course, all 14 men were riding in one group. Soon Rafael Lukatsch (AUT) and Carlos Olivier Vives (ESP) showed their dominance and multiple times swapped the lead while trying to put a gap between themselves and the chasers. At the start of the second lap it was suddenly all change as Damien le Mesnager (FRA) attacked on the climb, quickly creating a 300m gap between himself and the rest of the field and then further extended, flying down the technical descents at speeds of up to 70kph. He entered T2 with more than two minutes over second place Lennart Sievers (GER), who arrived with Joran Driesen (BEL), Pamphiel Pareyn (BEL) and Sarzilla. Heading out onto the run and while le Mesnager held his lead, Sarzilla, now in second, was closing. By the halfway point it was down to just 52 seconds while James Teagle (GBR), now in third, was 1:33 down. In the final kilometre, Sarzilla made his move and took his first professional win in 3:39:24, one month after his second place at Challenge Sanremo. Le Mesnager came in a close second in 3:39:37 while Teagle rounded out the podium in third in 3:41:36.
“I can’t believe it, it was an absolute surprise for me!” said Sarzilla at the finish line. “I didn’t expect to win, I paced myself pretty good on the run, slowly I caught le Mesnager but he was really strong until the end. The crowd was cheering in French, Italian, German, it was amazing!”
In the women’s race, Daisy Davies (GBR) and Lena Meißner (GER) both exited the water in 23:33 with Schär 45 seconds behind. Once out on the bike, Schär soon caught the leaders and held her position at the front of the race. The three rode together for over 60km, respecting the Challenge 20m drafting rule, before Meißner made her move, taking the lead from Schär. The three women all entered T2 within seconds of each other but a fast transition saw Schär, showing her short course pedigree, head out onto the run 10 seconds ahead of Meißner and Davies. By the end of the first lap, she had extended this to 30 seconds, while Meißner and Davies continued to run together. As the run progressed, so did Schärs lead and she crossed the finish line to take the win at her first middle distance race in 4:09:09. Meißner took second in 4:12:20 while Davies finished in third in 4:13:08.
“I didn’t know exactly what to expect but I was so excited to race this race as I had a big crash at the beginning of the year where I almost died so I am so happy to be here,” said Schär. “The last lap was hard, I had to fight a bit but I am so happy. I tried to break away on the bike but I didn’t want to over pace so took it easy and saved my energy for the run. There were so many people cheering for me, I wanted to smile along the whole course!”