HYLO® Team Saar at federal league final in Hanover
On Saturday (2 September 2023), a race around Masch Lake in Hanover will decide who wins this year’s 1. Bitburger 0,0% Triathlon-Bundesliga season and can call themselves the 2023 German Team Champion. HYLO® Team Saar is travelling to the capital of Lower Saxony as the second-placed team in the table.
The team competition for the final event of the season consists of a prologue (individual pursuit) and a distance pursuit race, and promises tough and exciting calls with close-run competitions and lots of fighting for position. In the prologue (250-metre swim, 5.0-kilometre cycle and 1.5-kilometre run), the athletes start individually at a intervals of 30 seconds apart. The individual athletes’ times will be used to produce the start list for the subsequent pursuit (500-metre swim, 15.0-kilometre cycle and 3.5-kilometre run). The athletes then represent their teams in the pursuit race, with the order and time gaps determined by the prologue. The fastest athlete from the prologue begins first, the second fastest then begins after the time gap from the prologue, and the third fastest must wait for their time gap after athlete two before they are allowed to start the race. This continues until all have begun. The finishing order gives the individual place numbers for the team ranking. The team result is calculated by adding up the top three place numbers. This is an intense, entertaining experience for spectators. The men’s prologue begins at 4:05 p.m. and the pursuit competition begins at 6:15 p.m.
The Olympics are calling
Longstanding champions EJOT-Team TV Buschhütten are two points ahead of HYLO® Team Saar in the current table rankings. Defending the title should be a mere formality for the Siegerland team – even a win on the day by the Saarland team ahead of the title favourites would not be enough on its own. As the Saarbrücken triathletes can no longer win the championship entirely under their own steam, they are instead focusing on a solid competitive performance by all participants and securing second place in the final table.
The international competition calendar, and in particular the German athlete’s situation in the crucial phase of qualifications for the 2024 Olympic Games, has made team planning significantly more difficult for the upcoming season finale. Various competitions across the globe, from the Continental Cup in Tunisia to the Super League in Denmark to the World Cup in Valencia (Spain), are ensuring that numerous top athletes – including those of HYLO® Team Saar – will not be available for the Bundesliga final this weekend. The qualification method for participating in the Olympic Games and the limited number of starting places per country means that individual athletes have a significant interest in gaining valuable Olympic ranking points at international events. Tim Hellwig, who just completed his first step towards Paris 2024 at the Olympic Qualifier in Paris, is currently at the high-altitude training camp in St. Moritz, as is Chris Ziehmer.
At the Bundesliga final on Saturday, the HYLO® Team Saar lineup is likely to be Jaspar Ortfeld, Ian Manthey, David Lang and Tim Siepmann.
We are crossing our fingers for the team, and wish them much luck and success for the end of the season in Hanover.