July 29, 2006 Roemerman Triathlon, Rhein-Neckar-Cup Race #2
The weather ‘cooled’ down to a brisk 31C for the race this weekend. It has been cooking hot as you may have heard in Germany this summer (Broke all the records since they started making them). This race is one of my favourites and is such a cool experience. After setting up transition the athletes pile in a ship and motor down the Neckar River 2km jump out of the boat and tread water at the start line. There is a light current but so the 1.8km swim only took me 19:44 and I was out in comfortable position 2 sec. Behind Uwe Widman, and 10 sec up on Lothar Leder. I went to the lead quickly on the bike and they lined up behind me as we anticipated the 6km climb that would warm things up at about 7km in. I got in a good rhythm and was soon out of sight. I wanted to get a good cushion because I usually lose a little time on the decents against these guys. It turned out I had more than enough room and never saw them again until the run as they rolled into transition over 3 minutes down. It was a hot run and I just wanted to hold my lead and save some power for the next few races but I still managed the best run split and won by over 4 minutes. A nice feeling. Especially with most of the town out spectating. I think there were over 1000 people in the stadium where the finish is and it was really loud.
Ok. Thanks for keeping up. That is a 2 race winning streak I have going so let’s see if I can make it two more. I think I will be adding Heidelbergman to the race schedule next weekend and see if I can tie up the Rhein-Neckar-Cup. You can check out the point system at Rhein-Neckar-Triathlon-Cup.de but I am pretty good position with a close 3rd place and a big 1st place. With a decisive win in Heidelberg I should have it won. Stay tuned. Two weeks from now I have to defend my title at the German Middle Distance Championships as well. That site is www.moenchshof-triathlon.de and is sponsored by a beer company!!
Adios