Posted: July 2, 2005

Triathlon: Roth, athletes ready for the start

On the eve of the 21st running of the Quelle Challenge Roth, the expo is hopping, athletes are making last-minute preparations and putting their feet up, and the town is ready for its annual celebration of triathlon.

Saturday morning, the annual kids triathlon took over the streets of Roth, with eager youngsters from 6 to 16 racing over two distances—a 100m swim, 1k bike and 800m run for the youngest, and a 500m swim, 20k bike and 5k run for the older teens. The race drew 350 kids from an incredible 22 nations.

Athletes headed to the swim start Saturday afternoon for the annual "Warm Up Party" and to hand in their bikes and race gear. The party lasted all afternoon, with music, food and a festive atmosphere as the 2,200 individual starters and members of 450 relay teams geared up for Sunday.

The mayor of Hilpoltstein is preparing to take up his traditional place at the top of the Solarer Berg on the bike course, where he'll join commentator Pit Georg with a microphone providing loud encouragement to the athletes all day long—along with the thousands of spectators who'll line the climb.

The city of Roth, as well as the surrounding communities of Hilpoltstein, Eckersmühlen and Greding, among others, have for weeks been touting the race with special displays of bikes and all manner of triathlon gear in their shop windows—whether they trade in those goods or not. Banners fly all over Roth welcoming athletes to the city, and to the race. One restaurant in Roth proudly flies a banner announcing itself as the "tank-up station" for carbo-loading triathletes while several hotels have been taken over completely by the large contingent of French athletes, more than 350 strong at last count.

Wander through the expo's hallways and you'll hear all sorts of languages being spoken as athletes check out gear, sample new kinds of sport nutrition and renew old acquaintances and talk pre-race plans. With one-third of the competitors coming from outside Germany and 44 countries represented on the start line, you'll hear a true United Nations of languages being spoken all around.

The Mavic staging area has been a busy one, with four familiar yellow motorbikes ready to roll on Sunday, providing neutral support along the two-loop bike course with additional help available at two fixed locations.

Aussie Belinda Granger, second here last year, joined husband Justin Granger in signing autographs at the expo Friday afternoon, and defending champ Chris McCormack stopped in to do the same. Lothar Leder, the five-time Roth champ, was on hand with his wife, defending champ Nicole Leder, while super-swimming Kiwi Kieran Doe could be seen trying out the latest in neoprene for his Roth debut Sunday.

Final Race Notes

Evening rain did nothing to dampen the festivities at the pasta party on Friday night, where last year's top finishers were introduced to an eager crowd. Missing from Thursday's press conference but present Friday was Alex Taubert, fourth in Hawaii last year and looking quite fit. A bad bike crash kept him away from Roth last year.

Late Saturday, Swede Björn Andersson was forced to withdraw from the race because of illness, and his absence will take away one of the field's strong starters. But the intriguing lineup for Sunday continues with Andersson's countryman, Clas Björling, sure to press hard at the close, on the run.

"This is a race that rewards patience," noted cagey veteran Jason Shortis on Friday night, and one does not doubt he'll be in the hunt at the finish with his typically speedy marathon.

The race doubles as the German national championships over the long course, with Leder a favorite as well as Timo Bracht, who turned in a strong performance at the Kohler Haardman half Ironman two weeks ago. For the women, it could be a three-way battle between Leder, last year’s third-place woman Ute Mückel, and the perennially classy competitor Heike Funk, who was second here in 2003.

The second annual World Long Course Championships for Firefighters will be another hard-fought battle. It’s shaping up as a daylong siege between Roth youngster Michael Hofmann, who came second, and last year's winner, Estonian champ Margus Tamm. But firefighters are on hand from all over the world, and on Saturday night they feasted on roast pork at a barbecue adjacent to the festival grounds.

Age-groupers will also be battling for German titles in their respective categories, and challenged athletes will be inspiring the crowds all day long with their incredible abilities.

Amputee Rivaldo Martins of Brazil and wheelchair athlete Etienne Caprin of France will tackle the entire course. Competing on a relay team for the bike will be Bernd Bednarski of Germany, who lost the use of one arm in a motorcycle accident. And a team made up entirely of challenged athletes will include blind runner Regina Vollbrecht, who will run with a sighted athlete, along with cyclist Kaspar Schmoll and blind swimmer Georg Janssen.

Race announcer and firefighter Dirk Werk, who also runs a triathlon shop in Krefeld, has watched the race—or competed in it—for the last 10 years and reckons this year's event is shaping up as the best in years.

"I think it will be one of the fastest races we've ever had here because Lothar Leder is coming back so strong," Werk said. "They're so motivated—Chris and Lothar and Timo.”

Werk said it's the magic of Roth that keeps elites and age-groupers alike flocking to the race in record numbers. And what makes the experience so special? Werk's answer is simple: "The people are very kind here. They are authentic. The spectators, the crowd, and the staff here—they do it with their heart and you feel it. I think that's why you have to come to Roth."

Live online coverage begins at 6 a.m. German time; 9 p.m. in the U.S. West Coast, and midnight in the U.S. East Coast. It will continue throughout the day at www.challenge-roth.com and at www.tri2b.com.

For more information about the Quelle Challenge Roth, visit www.challenge-roth.com.

Start list, Men
McCormack, Chris (AUS)
Bracht, Timo (GER)
Shortis, Jason (AUS)
Leder, Lothar (GER)
Bastie, Christophe (FRA)
Sundberg, Swen (GER)
Eichhorn, Bernd (GER)
Taubert, Alexander (GER)
Bjorling, Clas (SWE)
Neveu, Cyrille (FRA)
Tamm, Margus (EST)
Funk, Harald (GER)
Doe, Kieran (NZL)
Tewes, Heiko (GER)
Hofmann, Michael (GER)
Glover, David (USA)
Favre-Felix, Damien (FRA)
Granger, Justin (AUS)


Start list, Women
Leder, Nicole (GER)
Granger, Belinda (AUS)
Mückel, Ute (GER)
Funk, Heike (GER)
Glasenapp, Stefanie (GER)
Hamacher, Silke (GER)
Lorenz, Sarah (GER)
Gruber, Almuth (GER)

Quelle Challenge Roth’s sponsors include: Quelle AG, Deutsche Post AG, N-ERGIE, Newline, Nürnberger Nachrichten (Nürnberg Newspapers), Bayrische Versicherungskammer, Erdinger Alkoholfrei, Sparkasse Mittelfranken-Süd, Arndt, Mavic, INKO Energy, County of Roth, City of Roth, City of Hilpoltstein, Coca-Cola, Frankenbrunnen, Zeus Copy, Paladin, Hofmann, Jura Kaelte, Flor & Sohn, Spedition Heinloth, and BIESTMILCH.