An announced show (700 athletes on starting line) on a magnificent day of sport that crowned two champions who exalted themselves on a demanding and fun course.
The second edition of Challenge Sanremo, a middle distance triathlon which is part of the Challenge Family circuit, crowns the German Maximilian Sperl who triumphs at the finish line in Piazzale Carlo Daiuto ahead of the Frenchman Simon Viain and the Belgian Jonathan Wayaffe.
Among the women, the South African Magda Nieuwoudt triumphed, really solid in all three fractions and capable of breaking the ambitions of rivals with a stunning running fraction. Second place for the French Charlene Clavel, absolute protagonist of the bike portion and author of the best partial, third place for the Austrian Lisa-Maria Dornauer, tenacious on the bike and in the running portion in defending a precious podium.
An incredible race for Sperl, the absolute protagonist from the first metres. Coming out of the water together with one of the favorites of the day, Caleb Noble, the German set an impressive pace from the early stages of the cycling course. Flat, challenging ramps, technical descent, a long climb, also that of Vignai of 16 km, did not worry the king of the day: no one behind him managed to undermine him: Viain, Clavel, Visti Graae, the Frenchman Vincent Clavel tried , but super Max flew towards T2 along the famous Poggio descent in perfectly alone. The German cannot control the race, behind him there is a wild Viain who starts the third fraction with a frenetic pace. The challenge between the two remains a long-distance duel: as the kilometers pass, the German sees a wonderful success materialize right in front of his transalpine rival and the Belgian Wayaffe.
The women’s race opens with the British Jodie Stimpson and the Italian Lilli Gelmini, who set an unsustainable pace for their rivals in the water; Rosie Weston and Megan McDonald follow. A fall puts Gelmini out of action, and the South African takes the lead, followed by Clavel who, along the first bumps, leaps into the lead. The two-wheeled fraction is very selective for the girls: in the stretch preceding the Vignai climb (16 km), the trio in the lead sees Clavel in the lead ahead of Dornauer and Nieuwoudt. The long ascent and subsequent descent, including the final stretch of Milan-Sanremo, do not change the top positions: the race will decide. The decisive overtaking takes place right in the middle of the run section with the South African overtaking the Frenchwoman and flying towards success right in front of Clavel and Dornauer who celebrated on the magnificent finish line a stone’s throw from the sea.
