NEWS

Totschnig reigns supreme and Polikarpenko scorches to gold in Zagreb

By Paul Groves | 19 Sep, 2016

After the drama of the weekend over in Cozumel that saw the finale of the WTS, there are still races here in Europe.

Last weekend over in Zagreb and focussed upon Lake Jarun, a rowing lake downtown we had great racing from our new generation of athletes. ETU has, with the support of ITU and under the guidance of Željko Bijuk, ETU Development Coordinator, been working very hard to deliver development camps and training sessions for athletes, coaches and officials. Last weekend saw not only the local development camp take place but also a Technical Officials’ Level I Course.

Athletes were able to put into practice all the new techniques they had learnt and to test again their well-rehearsed actions and reactions under the pressure of an international race. The new Technical Officials were able to see just how the ITU Competition Rules relate to real-live racing action and the Croatian Triathlon Federation, Hrvatski triatlon savez, was delighted to see all these factors come together with a big age-group race and then the highlight of the weekend, the 2016 Zagreb ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup.

The weather held off long enough for the race to be held under good condition but during the build, some rain reminded everyone that triathlon is an all-weather sport.

It was the women who raced first, with a midday start. 40 athletes, a big line-up, made their way down to the pontoon and looked ahead of them to the long lake, stretching away for 2.25km at its longest. Lake Jarun is a very popular place, the venue for word-class rowing and now world-class triathlon!

The swim was led by Italy’s Sharon Spimi. She had swum well in Bled recently but here she had the best swim ever.

Behind her a large pack was battling for position and without doubt were calculating that they should be able to catch her on the 20k bike.

Into T1 and there was no room for error. The Technical Officials, armed with cameras, would pick up any infringement, which, at Sprint Distance, would carry a ten-second penalty out on the run course.

Onto the bike course, a 4-lap and Spimi had only to look over her shoulder to see a huge pack hunting her down.

Tucked into the group and riding safely was race favourite, Pia Totschnig AUT. Carlotta Missaglia ITA, her main rival was also well-placed but Totschnig had the presence of team-mates, Magdalena Früh and Pia Hehenwarter.

Determined riding from the two Hungarian women, Klaudia Sebők and Dorottya Petrov, kept the mix going.

It was still an open race with all the top-ranked athletes together. Missaglia and Spimi worked their way to the front of this fast-moving pack to have a clear run into T2. Totschnig was well-placed and kept out of trouble in this critical point of the race. Germany’s Julie Jungblut, coming to the race with something really to prove after a series of races where she did not quite get the results that she knew she was able to achieve, was safely off the bike and soon running with the best.

The run was a three lap one and dead flat. As the athletes set off onto the course they could see, along the side of the rowing lake, those ahead and then on the turns, they could see who was chasing them down. We all know that stamina plays a great role in our sport but here, on a course like this, psychology, self-doubt, self-confidence; all these are so very important.

It was Totschnig who made the move. Her run pace is just amazing to watch and soon she had grabbed the race by the neck and was leading. Behind her Jungblut had put it all together and was holding her in her sights.

Austria was heading for more than one medal with Hehenwarter chasing them but she was not alone. Alongside her and running well was Missaglia and Slovakia’s Kristína Jesenská. Sebők, tucked in behind would also be a threat.

It was the young Austrian Totschnig who held on to her lead. Her running and now we have seen, her reading of the bike and ability to work within the pack, took her to a very well deserved gold. Her gold, silver, gold performances this year will no doubt have sent a clear message to the Österreichischer Triathlonverband (ÖTRV) that she is capable of great things.

Jungblut came in to take silver and must be delighted with her finish after the series of previous races.

Bronze went to Früh to give Austrian domination to the podium, with Sebők digging so very deep and just missing out on a medal.

After the race, Totschnig had time to give us a few words, “The swim went really well for me and that allowed me to get into the first group on the bike. From the beginning we worked well together and then I was able to get to T2 as one of the first ones. Out onto the run and I went for a high tempo from the very start. I was more than happy with my run today and to be honest, never thought I could win here in Zagreb!” “Also schwimmen war für mich sehr gut, dadurch konnte ich auch gleich zu beginn in die erste Radgruppe, wo wir anfangs noch recht gut gearbeitet haben. Ich konnte dann die Wechselzone auch als erstes verlassen & von anfang an ein hohes Tempo laufen. Ich war mit dem Rennen mehr als zufrieden & hätte mir das nie erträumt in Zagreb zu gewinnen!“

Watch out for her next year!


The men, a massive line-up of 73 athletes, were going to really test the course.

The swim opened up a little but there was still a steady stream of athletes leading from the water to T1.

First out of the water, from the Czech Republic, was Thomas Zikmund. He was leading a small group of six athletes. From Hungary was Botond Karai. 4th out of the water gave him a great chance to sit in with the leaders. His swimming is generally strong but he had not yet got to the podium, despite coming second in the Tiszaújváros semi-final earlier this year and also there was the ETU Junior Duathlon champion, Moritz Horn GER. He was definitely one to watch. Off the bike in Kalkar he posted the fastest run split. If this small group was going to work together out on the bike course then he was in for a great chance of a medal. Narrowly missing the podium in the L’Aiguillon sur Mer ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup was Swiss athlete Simon Westermann. His place in the group was assured and he would work hard out on the 20k.

The Austrians, who had previously worked team tactics to deliver medals, were some way off the pace and would have to work hard. Their group had been split by the strong swimming from Leon Pauger who had secured a place in the lead group.

Behind this leading group, there was a rush to get to T1

Onto the bike and the leaders started working.

Westermann, Pauger, Zikmund, Felix Schwarz GER, Horn and Karai pushed the pace. The six were trying to establish a big enough lead over the chase group to ensure that the medals stayed within that small group.

It was Westermann who pushed just enough at the end of the bike to gain the advantage of a clear run into T2.

The five chasing him into T2 must have thought that they all had a chance of a medal. Would they be shared amongst Pauger, Zikmund, Schwarz, Horn or Karai?

What they had not reckoned on was the athlete tucked into the middle of the chasing pack. The triathlon pedigree of the Polikarpenko family is clear and it was Sergiy Polikarpenko ITA, wearing #73, making up for a losing places in the water, who watched as the others racked their bikes.

Polikarpenko had to find a way through the tight pack in the middle of the transition area.

The Ukraine-born athlete had blown the field away with immense running. He had cut through the athletes one by one to take gold.
Behind him, Horn had enough to take silver and for Hungary, Tarnai had just enough to make the bronze.

Polikarpenko, thrilled with his first ETU medal said, “For my first experience in triathlon abroad I think it was a great race, well organized and fun. I enjoyed the bike course because it was fast and linear and I did my best in the run to catch the guys that were in front of me after the bike. It was difficult but I realised that I could win only in the last running lap. Luckily the climate was good and it wasn’t too hot. My preparation was good and I knew I had good condition in this period so I hoped to make a good race.”

For Karai, “I have never taken part on a 74 athletes European Cup so it seemed to be really difficult at the registration and before the start horn. I knew that I am a pretty good swimmer so it was not a surprise when I came out of the water on the 4th place. I had a quite poor first transition but still enough to catch the breakaway with 5 other athletes. To me the bike part was the hardest one due to the strength of my bike group but I was the luckiest person on earth when I realised that the end of it is coming and the difference between us and the chase group was nearly 30 seconds. One guy from our group started a breakaway at the end of the bike part and had some seconds at the beginning of the run. The German guy, Horn started a really strong pace so my only goal was to catch them from the 3rd place. At the last lap of the run I finally caught Westermann from Switzerland but at the same time the Italian, Polikarpenko passed me so I was third again. The last some hundreds of meters were full of pain but it was absolutely worth it. I’m satisfied because it was my first European cup medal.”

So once more Zagreb has hosted a great event. Thrilling racing on the new course has set this event up for a return in 2017. Looking forwards to it? Oh yes!

The whole album, made available by the Croatian Triathlon Federation can be found here.


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Related Event: 2016 Zagreb ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup
18 Sep, 2016 • event pageall results
Results: Junior Men
1. Sergiy Polikarpenko ITA 00:53:52
2. Moritz Horn GER 00:54:07
3. Botond Karai HUN 00:54:19
4. Tomas Zikmund CZE 00:54:25
5. Florian Müller SUI 00:54:29
6. Simon Westermann SUI 00:54:31
7. Matus Verbovsky SVK 00:54:58
8. Jakob Sosniok ITA 00:55:03
9. Valerio Cattabriga ITA 00:55:09
10. Meirlan Iskakov KAZ 00:55:14
Results: Junior Women
1. Pia Totschnig AUT 00:59:49
2. Julie Jungblut GER 01:00:02
3. Magdalena Früh AUT 01:00:18
4. Klaudia Sebők HUN 01:00:38
5. Pia Hehenwarter AUT 01:00:47
6. Carlotta Missaglia ITA 01:00:50
7. Dorottya Petrov HUN 01:00:52
8. Tjasa Vrtacic SLO 01:00:54
9. Sharon Spimi ITA 01:01:05
10. Kristina Jesenska SVK 01:01:27