Home win: Plappert and Jansen win the HeidelbergMan
Heidelberg, July 17, 2022 – Malte Plappert and Laura Jansen have won the demanding HeidelbergMan and thus the third race of the BASF Triathlon Cup Rhein-Neckar 2022 (TCRN). Plappert was able to keep the top favorites at bay in front of a home crowd. In the women's category, Jansen, German champion over the triathlon middle distance 2021, gained a lead of around six and a half minutes over the pursuer Ursula Trützschler.
The race
The winner Malte Plappert (Tri-Team Heuchelberg) was given nothing on this midsummer day: First, Nick Kastelein presented the best swimming time (16:45 minutes). The Australian and newly crowned Ironman winner from Vitoria-Gasteiz had come from Spain especially for the HeidelbergMan. Heidelberg's Jakob Breinlinger (Team Nikar Heidelberg) came out of the water after 16:56 minutes and entered the transition zone on the Neckarwiese. Malte Plappert and the two-time cup winner Julian Erhardt started to catch up after slightly weaker swimming times on the bike. Malte Plappert succeeded best. In just one hour and just under 4 minutes, he completed the 35-kilometer, highly demanding bike course twice over the Königstuhl and switched to running shoes before Jakob Breinlinger.
"It was a real battle" for the men
Breinlinger stayed on Plappert's heels until the finish line. In the meantime, he ran into him, but then had to let go again and was no longer able to catch up with Plappert. Nevertheless, Breinlinger was "super satisfied" with the race and the result. "It was a real battle and hard to the last meter," was the winner's conclusion. But the effort was worth it: For the first time, Plappert fulfilled his long-cherished wish to win the HeidelberMan – after third place last year.
Men's Cup victory not yet decided
Julian Erhardt (Triathlon Grassau) finished third thanks to an excellent running time of almost 35 minutes. Since he already won the first two cup races in Mußbach and Maxdorf in May and June, he hopes to be able to complete the triple in the TCRN overall ranking after 2018 and 2019. But Plappert, who still had running problems at the Mußbach Triathlon in May, and especially Breinlinger, who was second in Mußbach, can still make victory in the cup difficult for Erhardt.
On the other hand, Sebastian Kienle, the 2014 Ironman World Champion, was not completely satisfied with his performance. The HeidelbergMan, which he says is one of his favorite races, was only his second competition this year. Now Kienle would like to contest a few eliminations before he starts for the last time at the Ironman in Hawaii in October.
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Confident victory for Jansen – and for Nikar Heidelberg
Among the women, Ursula Trützschler (Team Nikar Heidelberg) had the best swimming times with 18:34 minutes and Kathrin Halter (SV Nikar Heidelberg) with 18:38 minutes. But Laura Jansen (SV Nikar Heidelberg) quickly made up her 40-second deficit in the swim and completed the bike course in just 1:17:37 hours.
Jansen confidently took the lead and, thanks to her excellent running time of 39:13 minutes, extended her lead to 6:37 minutes over second-placed Ursula Trützschler. "It was great fun. I started this morning with ease and full of anticipation,” the beaming winner commented on her race at the finish. One minute after Trützschler, Kathrin Halter completed the women's podium as third. Today's fourth, Katharina Grabinger, will also start for the Nikar Heidelberg team - the HeidelbergMan 2022 as a purely home game for women.
The women's cup ranking remains open
Although Katharina Grabinger was able to collect a number of points for the BASF TCRN this year as third at the Maxdorf middle distance and now fourth at the HeidelbergMan, the overall ranking for 2022 is still open. Only after the competitions in Ladenburg and Viernheim will it be decided which of the women is at the top of the podium.
Its managing director Jürgen Hilberath expressed his satisfaction with the way the triathlon cup has gone so far. "It is important for the mood and the motivation of the athletes that these competitions can take place with spectators again," was his interim conclusion after three of the five TCRN races.
Excellent cooperation with the authorities
There was also an audible sigh of relief from the organizing team around Martin Schmidt after everything went well at the competition. Volunteers had to be recruited until the end, as around 400 helpers were needed to run the race. Schmidt was full of praise for the support from the city and the police: "It was really fun - the cooperation was very constructive."
RömerMan and V-Card Triathlon Viernheim will follow
Already next Saturday, July 23rd, the triathlon festival will take place in Ladenburg with the holding of the RömerMan. On August 25th, the V-Card Triathlon in Viernheim is the final race of the BASF TCRN.
