It was to
be back-to-back world titles for Team Germany on Sunday afternoon in Hamburg,
as Annika Koch brought home the gold once more after fine work from Henry Graf,
Lisa Tertsch and Lasse Luhrs set up another grandstand finish in the home of
German triathlon.
Once the
GB challenge faded out of the final transition, it was once again between the
hosts, Switzerland and New Zealand for the medals just as it had been in 2024.
Koch proved untouchable once she had headed out on course for the first of two
laps, and Cathia Schar this time out-sprinted Nicole Van Der Kaay to earn
Switzerland the silver.
“The team
did a great job and put me in the perfect position,” said Koch afterwards. “I
had to give it all from the beginning. It was not easy, but I am very happy how
everything turned out!”
LEG ONE
The men
were out first, Canada’s Brock Hoel and GB’s Max Stapley quickest out of the
blocks, Tayler Reid for New Zealand and Austria’s Martin Demuth giving chase,
Belgium, Norway and Spain the final three onto their bikes.
Soon
seven came together on the bike, Netherlands’ Mitch Kolkman leading them with
10s over the chasers after lap one lap, Denmark, Australia and Mexico 25s back.
Jelle Geens and Max Studer were flying, but Reid muscled through to tag Ainsley
Thorpe in front, USA’s Morgan Pearson handing off to Katie Zaferes 25 seconds
back.
LEG TWO
An
assured swim saw Maya Kingma and the Netherlands out of the water first
followed by Olivia Mathias for GB and Tertsch for Germany, followed by
Netherlands and Switzerland, while Hungary, USA and Canada were now trying to
form an effective pack 40 seconds back.
A
five-strong group of Netherlands, Great Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland and
Germany were being chased by Italy’s Alice Betto and Belgium’s Claire Michel
some 10 seconds off, it was now 90 seconds to Denmark and Australia after one
lap of the bike.
It was a
good T2 for Mathias, Derron out last but soon working back to just off the
front as Tertsch handed over a useful lead to Lasse Luhrs, Kingma again gunning
it just behind her to tag Niels Van Lanen, and it was Derron to Simon
Westerman, Mathias to Sam Dickinson and Thorpe to Dylan McCullough as things
heated up at the halfway mark.
LEG THREE
McCullough
showed his Paris potential with a flying swim and led the bike just as the rain
started to pour, Westermann and Luhrs for company, Dickinson suddenly 6 seconds
back and chasing, now 39 seconds to the Dutch, 45 seconds to Crociani for
Italy, Belgium with Arnaud Mengal now a minute off the front.
That was
how it stayed as the Kiwi brought Nicole Van Der Kaay into play with a slender
lead, Dickinson handing over to Vicky Holland 6 seconds back and needing a
massive swim segment to keep the dream alive.
LEG FOUR
That she
did, and soon Germany, GB, New Zealand and Switzerland were riding through
another downpour and biding their time for a big finish. Cathia Schar had quick
work to do to get back onto the pack, but her power was never in doubt and she
set the pace into the final transition.
Koch was
out first by a whisker as Holland’s helmet bounced free of the box costing her
precious seconds to correct and suddenly British hopes were dashed.
By the
end of the first lap, the German had carved out a massive 5 second advantage
over Cathia Schar, Van der kaay into third as Holland worked 15 seconds back,
but as the crowd roared on their fourth hero of the day the result was no
longer in doubt, Koch taking the tape and the warm embrace of her teammates,
Schar and the Swiss with silver, New Zealand the bronze.
TEAM
GERMANY
Henry
Graf: “I was a bit worried because I didn’t have my best swim yesterday, but
today it was much better. I am really happy that I could hand over to Lisa up
in the front".
Lisa
Tertsch: “I am really happy how the whole weekend has played out and especially
with today. The whole team had a great performance.”
Lasse
Luhrs: “Today was my first time here in Hamburg doing a Relay. I was a bit
worried after yesterday, about my run, but today I felt great. I am very happy
with the whole team and with my run today.”
TEAM
SWITZERLAND
Max
Studer: “It was perfect for me, I could close the gap on the bike and on the
run I managed to stay together with the lead group and hand over to my team
mate in the right spot.”
Julie
Derron: “The goal was to stay in the front for as long as possible, and I
managed to do it. I am very pleased with the result today, one spot better than
last year, so step by step!”
Simon
Westermann: “I felt so good today, even in the swim. I am really grateful for
this team.”
Cathia
Schar: “It was really hard for me to manage to hold off Nicole Van Der Kaay. I
just kept on pushiing and never looked back at the end. I am very happy with
our second place today!”
TEAM NEW
ZEALAND
Tayler
Reid: “We always come to this event to hit hard. We are a small country but our
sport is big for us and we are in progress. I am really happy with how we
performed today, and also that I was able to outsprint Jelle (Geens), which I
haven’t done in years.”
Ainsley
Thorpe: “I managed to stay up in front since my teammate tagged me also in
front, so I am very pleased with how we performed today.”
Dylan
McCullough: “Really proud of the team for fighting the whole race and finally
getting the bronze medal.”
Nicole
Van Der Kaay: “Today was brutal. But the effort paid off, I am really happy and
proud of this team.”
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