Originally written in German. Translated to English by AI — please excuse any awkward phrasing.
Well, that didn’t go as planned…
Short version:
- The swim went pretty well despite some heavy wave action. Admittedly, most people cut the first section quite significantly.
- Then the real suffering began. The bike course had a casual 600 extra meters of climbing not listed — over 2,500m total. Terrible roads and fierce gusting wind added to the misery. It was completely unpredictable out there and genuinely dangerous at times. At least it didn’t rain. I probably drained half my electronic shifter battery — there was never 30 seconds without a gear change.
- Toward the end I had serious back pain and hand cramps from gripping the handlebar
- To top it all off, I had to stop three times for three (!!!) flats. All my spare equipment was gone by km 95
- After the second stop I knew the qualification goal was gone; after the third, motivation was gone completely. Lost roughly 15 minutes from the stops alone
- I rode out the rest of the bike leg pretty listlessly, with noticeably less power on the pedals
- I ran the first lap of the run at full effort. Midway through the second I found out my current placing and wanted to quit after a 4-minute chat with my support crew Jan and Frank. Eventually I did keep going — but with the handbrake firmly on, nowhere near first-lap pace.
- The run course is simply brutal — it’s all uphill or downhill. There’s barely a flat stretch anywhere. Some sections are too steep to run. And all of that after that bike leg…
Summary: Even with the reduced run effort, it was the hardest race I’ve ever started. Frankfurt this year was a walk in the park by comparison. Unfortunately the bad luck on the bike left me no chance of reaching my goal. Shame…
A full race report will follow in the coming days.