HYLO^® Team Saar erneut Deutscher Mannschafts-Vizemeister im Triathlon

With sixth place in the daily classification of the 1st Bitburger 0.0% Triathlon Bundesliga in Hanover (2 September 2023), the triathletes from Saarland secure second place in the final table and thus became German runner-up champions for 2023.

The end-of-season competition in Hanover around Maschsee Lake consisted of two parts: First a prologue (250 metres swimming, 5.0 kilometres cycling and 1.5 kilometres running), followed by a pursuit race (500 metres swimming, 15.0 kilometres cycling and 3.5 kilometres running). In the prologue the athletes started one at a time at intervals of 30 seconds. The results for the individual athletes became the start list for the following pursuit race. 

So the foundations were laid for an exciting race. The team line-up for the season finale proved to be more difficult. Due to an enormous density of international competitions this weekend and the scheduling between the Olympic test event and the final of the WTCS series in a few weeks, many of the HYLO^® athletes were involved in other competitions or had an altitude training camp firmly scheduled. “Who can start at the final in Hanover?” was a question that team leader Marc Trautmann asked often in the last few weeks. 

In the last competition of the season, the Saarlanders were primarily concerned with securing second place in the table. In the end, it was only theoretical that the championship and the defence of the title could be taken away from the table leader and permanent champion EJOT-Team TV Buschhütten. HYLO^® Team Saar sent Jaspar Ortfeld, Ian Manthey (IRL) and David Lang (LUX) into the race. Tim Siepmann, who had been scheduled as the fourth starter, had to cancel at short notice on the day of departure due to injury. 

The three remaining starters from the Saarland accepted the challenge and mastered the task with bravura in the interest of the entire team. In the prologue Ortfeld achieved 19th place (trailing by: 1:04 min), Lang 30th place (trailing by: 1:26 min) and Manthey 36th place (trailing by: 1:33 min). In the pursuit race the Saarland trio then finished 18th (Ortfeld), 23rd (Lang) and 35th (Manthey). With a score of 76, the HYLO^® Team Saar finished 6th in the daily ranking and secured the desired runner-up position. 

Thanks to the great effort of the three athletes from the extended squad at the grand final, the HYLO^® Team Saar was able to reap the fruits of a successful Bundesliga season and return to Saarland as German runners-up for the second time after 2022. 

Congratulations to the entire team and the coaching and support staff of HYLO^® Team Saar for this outstanding performance and a successful 2023 season.