On July 20th 2014 it is time for Challenge Roth. With 47 Dutch participants at the startline, it will become a race within a race. Renowned Dutch athletes like Heleen bij de Vaate, Yvonne van Vlerken, Dirk Wijnalda, Roeland Smits, Erik-Simon Strijk, Thomas Naasz and many others are on the startlist.
Asker Jeukendrup, Human Movement Scientist, once the youngest professor (35) at the University of Birmingham (Exercise Metabolism), will also start in Roth. He frequently writes important and innovative articles about nutrition and sports.
With 3458 individual participants at the starting line, of which 2934 men (85%) and 524 (15%) women, this will also be the largest triathlon this year. Besides the individual participants there also will be 1854 Relay-participants and the total number of participants will be over 5000! The race will start in a total of 16 start groups (14 single, 2 relay):
- 6:30 top 50 male; top 20 female; age groupers over 65 years; 27-times competitors; Sub 9; fast age groupers
- 6:40 further fast age groupers and all females
- 6:45 all females
- After 15 minutes every 5 minutes there will be a start of the next wave.
After ca. 45 minutes the first swimmers will be out of the water and get started with the fast bike course. The bike course is 2 laps of 90 km with the Solarerberg, Sellingstädlerberg and the Kalvarienberg, where there will be loads of supporters!
About 11:30 the first triathlete will start on the run-course. This is one big round, mainly alongside the Main-Donau channel. Because this is mainly a back and forth course, the competition can be followed very closely.
The first finisher is expected at ca. 14:11. This finish time corresponds to Andreas Raelert’s World Record set in Roth in 2011 of 7:41:33.
The first triathlon in Roth was held on September 22, 1984 and now, three decades later, the whole county of Roth and DATEV Challenge Roth are going to celebrate the anniversary under the motto “30 Years of Triathlon in Roth” featuring what is probably the best field of participants of all times. Like previous years it will be a great spectacle!
See www.challenge-roth.com for more information