Lucy Charles and Seb Kienle to race Challenge Roth
Kienle, 33, last raced in Roth (which we voted as our greatest triathlon in the world here) in 2010 and 2011. Both times he went sub-eight hours (2010: 7:59:06; 2011: 7:57:06), but on both occasions it wasn’t enough to secure the win. In 2010, he was runner up to Rasmus Henning and a year later to Andreas Raelert, who set the new world record. After several years away, Kienle returns to Roth and to the “mother of all long-distance races” with one thing driving him: “I haven’t yet won in Roth and so I am here to fight for that win.”
Jan Raphael, Andreas Dreitz and 2009 Roth champion, Michael Göhner, form a strong trio in the German camp. Brit Joe Skipper is another contender for the title, with Norfolk’s finest finishing behind the record-breaking Jan Frodeno in a time of 7:56:23 at Roth in 2016.
Also there with the expected 200,000+ spectators is Australian Cameron Wurf, a former Olympic rower and professional cyclist, made his mark in Hawaii last year when he out-biked Kienle and broke the course record held by Norman Stadler by more than 5mins.
Former Roth champ James Cunnama, Luke Bell and Jesse Thomas are further proven athletes on the Bavarian startline on Sunday 1st July (a week earlier than Roth’s usual date due to a clash with Ironman Frankfurt).
Strong women on the start line
The major news for Brit tri fans is the addition of Lucy Charles to the women’s pro field. Swim powerhouse Charles, 24, won Ironman Lanzarote in 2017 and was the breakout star at the Ironman World Championships in October after she led from the gun until just before T2, where eventual winner Daniela Ryf passed her.
