The fact remains: German professionals are the measure of all things in long-distance triathlon.
For men it's Jan Frodeno and Patrick Lange, for women it's Anne Haug, all of them Hawaii champions.
At the traditional race on Sunday in Roth, Franconia, Haug and Lange underscored their exceptional position with superior victories.
Frodeno will not contest a long distance again until October. He against Lange, the triathlon scene had been looking forward to this duel in Hawaii, but then the season highlight, which was supposed to take place on October 9, was postponed to February due to Corona. One's bad luck, the other's luck. The beneficiary of the cancellation was the race in Roth, which is not part of the Ironman Group's global competition, but can look back on a long history and enjoy an excellent reputation.
After the cancellation in Hawaii, the Franconians had three Hawaii champions at the start: Haug, Lange and Sebastian Kienle.
"A Franconian Hawaii", is how the organizer Felix Walchshöfer called the upgraded field, which was pretty daring, but at least lived up to the winners.
Anne Haug and Patrick Lange swam, cycled and ran in their own sphere.
Lange crossed the finish line more than ten minutes before the runner-up, Nils Frommhold.
Haug was even more than 31 minutes ahead of the British Laura Siddall.
Kienle's job
Kienle, on the other hand, had a bitter day. The 2014 Hawaii champion had already lost more than four minutes while swimming over 3.8 kilometers. On the bike course, he lost more time against a leading group with the former professional cyclist Ruben Zepuntke as a pacemaker. There was no prospect of improvement when Kienle got out and the question was whether this would be his last race after many injury problems. "I hope that I can continue to do triathlon," he said. While the 37-year-old Kienle had reached a low point in his great career, Lange and Haug exuded the splendor of champions who were far ahead of the competition.
The long winning time of 7:19:19 hours has never been achieved, and it will not go down in triathlon history as the world's fastest time because the bike distance was shortened from 180 to 170 kilometers.
Because of Corona, the legendary Solarer Berg was left out, where thousands of spectators otherwise stand along the route.
Haug finished in 7:53:48 hours.
In consultation with the licensing authorities, Roth had approved 1700 single starters and 320 three-person relays, not even half of the field in a normal year not shattered by Corona.
But at least: After the cancellation in 2020, the Franconians were able to host their triathlon festival again.
With the 3-G rule and many other protective measures, but also with a seated stadium at the finish line, which, with distance rules, offered space for 1500 spectators.
Thanks to Lange and Haug, who both started in Roth for the first time, it was at the top of one of the best-staffed endurance races of the year, and it was also a demonstration of the self-image of the organizers, who oppose the cool, massively profit-oriented Ironman group as made a name for athlete-friendly alternative. "We have a big advantage over Ironman," says Roth boss Walchshöfer. “We are a family business, we can make direct decisions. Our goal is to emerge stronger from the crisis for the age group athletes. That means: We have to behave accordingly, no matter whether the re-registrations were after the cancellation in 2020, no matter whether it was the postponement from July to September, we said: You can postpone to the next year free of charge,but you can also unsubscribe and get the money back. "
The athletes have honored that. Walchshöfer makes no secret of the fact that Roth would probably no longer be on the triathlon market if not many athletes had donated parts or their entire entry fee to the event in 2020. “But we're not through with the crisis yet,” says Walchshöfer. “We will be in the very red, there is a massive lack of income. But it is very important that we invest in the future now. We have a responsibility to the athletes who have remained loyal to us for two years. We wanted to offer our athletes the best race there is this year under Corona conditions on this globe. ”The Franks could have succeeded in doing this, even if the year is not yet over.