It is the second-oldest Long Distance triathlon in the world, one of the fastest courses in the world and, as always, in 2024 a number of world-class athletes are coming to The Netherlands to compete in Challenge Almere-Amsterdam. On September 14, an exciting battle awaits over 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling and 42.2 kilometers of running, and at the finish line it will be revealed which athletes can call themselves European Champions Long Distance.
That a fast time is needed for this seems obvious: Challenge Almere-Amsterdam has been one of the top ten fastest races in the world for years, and just last year in the men’s event it was Dutchman Menno Koolhaas who sharpened the course record to 7:36:36, a time that still captures the imagination today. This year, there will be an attempt to beat the course record no matter what, and an exciting battle can be expected between both world-class international athletes and Dutch heroes.
On paper, the biggest contenders for the overall victory seem to be German Florian Angert, Swede Jesper Svensson and Briton Joshua Lewis. Angert, who has never competed in Almere before, registered for the race relatively late, but has his sights set full on victory. The same goes for Svensson, who has already shown that he can perform in the flat polders during the World Championship Long Distance (2021) in Almere; he finished second behind an unleashed Kristian Hogenhaug and with his time of 7:39:25 he is still the third fastest man ever in Almere.
Certainly also one of the favorites for victory is Milan Brons: the triathlete who hails from Almere also recently signed up and, after his third place finish last year, is hungry for more. With a personal record of 7:48:46, Brons is one of the faster men within the field, so eyes will certainly be on him. The same goes for his compatriot Pim van Diemen, who finished fifth last year and although has a slower personal record, he has already shown several times this year that he is in shape and recently became Dutch Champion Middle Distance.
Among the outsiders are Lukasz Wojt (DUI) and Jorik van Egdom (NED) among others. Van Egdom has never completed a Long Distance before, but was at the start of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and at the time was considered one of The Netherlands’ most talented Short Distance specialists. Wojt is almost invariably the fastest swimmer at all the races he competes in and will have to pull out all the stops on the bike and during the run to stay ahead of his competitors.
Fireworks expected in women’s race
As in the men’s race, fireworks can also be expected from the women’s race. Defending champion Els Visser will not participate this year, so that opens up prospects for last year’s runner-up Marlene de Boer. The top Dutch athlete is eager to win in front of a home crowd and has already shown in recent weeks – with two international victories in Copenhagen and Poznan – that she is in excellent shape.
De Boer will meet, among others, Michelle Vesterby: the Danish athlete is far from unknown in Almere, has competed several times and has climbed the podium before. This year will be her last time racing – at least as a professional athlete – because after Challenge Almere-Amsterdam Vesterby says goodbye to life as a professional athlete: all the more reason to ask the utmost of herself one more time, give everything and settle for nothing less than victory.
Even with those two women, the contenders for Challenge Almere-Amsterdam are far from finished: Magda Nieuwoudt, for example, will race and the South African triathlete proved to be the most successful athlete within the Challenge Family circuit last year. This year may have been a little less spectacular in terms of successes, but Nieuwoudt knows what it takes to win big races and will certainly carry that experience with her in the battle for another victory.
‘Miss Almere’ Lina Kristin-Schink will also be there, actually as always. The German athlete has been at the start in Almere almost countless times and will be back this year. Like the French Camille Deligny, Kristin-Schink is considered one of the dangerous outsiders.
Challenge Almere-Amsterdam
Challenge Almere-Amsterdam will take place from Sept. 12-14. On Saturday, Sept. 14, the European Championship Long Distance is scheduled, as well as the ever-popular Open Series Middle Distance. Mayor Hein van der Loo will give the start signal for the elite women at 7:10 a.m. local time and the start signal for the elite men at 7:25 a.m. local time. The race will be broadcast free and live from start to finish via www.challenge-family.live, as well as on national television. In total, about 3,000 athletes will participate at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam and 800 volunteers will help make the event a success.
