11. August 2024
The 3rd race of the season of the 1st Bundesliga took place on Saturday, August 10th as a test event for the finals to be held in Dresden in 2025. The team with the starters Sabrina, Valerie, Saskia and Charlotte as well as Anne as a supervisor traveled to Dresden on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning was used for a route check of the cycling and running route in Dresden’s city center. The route led from swimming in Alberthafen, a harbor basin on the Elbe, via a short feeder road to the 3.5 km long cycling circuit. The second transition zone was in front of a spectacular backdrop at Theaterplatz. On the subsequent, challenging running route over plenty of cobblestones, the athletes continued through the beautiful old town of Dresden.
Full of excitement, the line-up at the harbor began shortly before 6 p.m. After a less than ideal starting position in the race in Tübingen, the tactics for choosing the position were discussed in detail. And the plan worked – the team was in 10th place in the table and was still able to get a good starting box. All four of them mastered the 750 m swim very well, so that everyone got on the bike in a promising position and sat in good cycling groups.
Sabrina was able to catch up with the second group on the bike course, so she got off her bike with the leading group. Saskia completed the entire bike course in a group, which Valerie passed on the first lap and started the run course with a good 30 seconds lead over Saskia. However, it was difficult to make up time on the large group in front on the flat turnaround route by riding solo. Charlotte unfortunately lost contact with her group, but was able to finish the bike ride without being overtaken.
While running, Sabrina worked her way up in her group and finished in an excellent 14th place. Valerie also made up a lot of places with her 11th running time of the day and ended up in 25th place. Saskia didn’t have the best running legs, but still reached the finish line in 35th place with a good running time. Charlotte finished her first Bundesliga race in 49th place.
This puts the team in 9th place in the team rankings and consolidates the top 10 in the table.
The season finale will take place in Hanover on September 7th. The race is also the German Elite Championship (Saturday) and is therefore a great highlight at the end of the season. It will also be our team’s debut at the German Mixed Relay Championship (Sunday).
Message: Anne Neidhardt, Photos: DTU/Petko Beier, Fleig, Neidhardt
