Heat battle at the Koberbach Dam

Quadrathlon World Cup and German Championships

Yesterday, the Koberbach Dam was the scene of an epic quadrathlon race, which took place as part of the World Cup, Germany Cup and German Championships over the middle distance. In contrast to previous years, the weather gods were a little too kind this year, with temperatures rising to 34 degrees Celsius. The strong sunlight and high temperatures put all the athletes and helpers on the course and in the transition zone to the test. In addition, the referees had decided that neoprene was allowed, an important advantage for the athletes, but for some a borderline decision with temperatures rising by the minute! Once again this year, the event, which took place as part of several competitions including triathlon, mile swimming and various running competitions, was professionally organised and run. Many thanks to Ronny Enke, the organiser, and all the helpers.

The race started at 9:50 a.m. in already high summer temperatures. Kailing took the lead at the start, but had to let the three pursuers, Rousavy, Faustmann and Csima, pass him after a third of the course, probably because he was still feeling the effects of the Super Sprint Triathlon (3rd place overall and 1st in his age group) from the previous day. The thrilling neck-and-neck race between top athletes Leos Rousavy, Martin Faustmann and Ferenc Csima was won by Ferenc, who secured the ‘first out of the water’ position, followed seconds later by Rousavy and Faustmann. Kailing was already a minute behind in fourth place.

Faustmann then took the lead on the bike, followed by Cisma and Rousavy. Of course, this was Ferenc Csima’s forte, and he didn’t waste any time paddling, quickly regaining the lead in the overall standings with a pace of just under 5 minutes/km and opening up a gap of between 3 and 10 minutes on the chasing trio of Faustmann, Rousavy and Koch. At this point, the bookmakers’ odds on Ferenc Csima winning had plummeted, and all signs pointed to a victory for Ferenc Csima.

But things turned out quite differently. The very selective running course, with a total of 8 climbs, 2 of which had a gradient of 12-15%, demanded that all athletes dig deep into their reserves. The 10-year-younger Czech Leos Rousavy did this best, overtaking Faustmann and then Csima with the best running time (42:44 min) of the day over 10 km. Dramatically, Csima completely collapsed after the second lap and took over half an hour to complete the last 5 km. However, that wasn’t enough for Lars Koch, who had a fantastic day today but still finished fourth, 4 minutes behind third place, at the physical limit.

In the women’s race, Gabi Menke immediately took the lead, followed by Susanne Walter and Tabea Harst. Gabi was able to extend her lead bit by bit and was even leading by almost 3 minutes after the third discipline. After the race, it turned out that Susanne had been distracted by waving to some children and suffered a flat tyre as a result. The faux pas cost her about 8 minutes. On the running course, Susanne Walter then sealed the deal and won with the best running time (53:38 minutes) of the day in the women’s race ahead of Gabi Menke and Tabea Harst.

For some athletes in the middle of the field, the murderous heat and fluid intake with water and cola had an extreme effect on their entire organism. Many had to take walking breaks on the climbs and even seek refuge in the bushes. In the end, however, all athletes reached the coveted finish line healthy and without injuries.

We congratulate all participants and winners on their outstanding performances in the furnace of the Koberbach Valley!

The quadrathlon community is proud of you! 💪🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚣‍♂️🏃‍♂️ The heat was a real test, but all athletes passed it with flying colours! 🔥👏

The World Cup ranking times can be found here.
https://ziel-zeit.de/ergebnisse/Quadrathlon+~+Einzelwertung_1_1632.PDF