Holaus is creating a final stand in St. Polten

The “Ladies First” motto was the largest triathlon event in the federal state for the first time this year. The female pros opened the race at 7:00 am with a swimming competition in the Viehofner and Ratzersdorfer See. Professional men and all amateurs tackled the 1.9 kilometer route after just 20 minutes. Sunday conditions were perfect.

While the Austrian elite weren’t in the lead from the start, Ruben Zypontky took the lead. The 30-year-old German is the son of Dusseldorf Mayor Claudia Zypontky. On the 90km bike course, he pulled away from the competition, outpacing the women who started 20 minutes ahead of him on the Gansbach climb and setting up a comfortable lead.

The winning time is 3:53 hours

In the latter half of the marathon through the city center and along the banks of the Traisen, Zepuntke could no longer keep up the pace and was overtaken by compatriot Tom Hogg. The 25-year-old from Bayreuth took his first victory in St. Polten after 3:53 hours. “Mad! This is my second professional race and I can’t believe I beat all the favorites,” said Hough.

Because Switzerland’s Adriano Engelhardt was later disqualified for not taking a time penalty, Lucas Hollus of Salzburg was happy with second place. The former professional is now a father of three and is only active as an amateur. “You train for moments like this. You fought so hard and to do it here in front of a crowd is amazing.”

For the women, Lotte Willems lives up to her favorite role. The Dutchwoman just decided to start in St. Polten on short notice at the weekend and celebrated the winning start-to-finish time after 4:25 hours. The 39-year-old Dutchman beat Germany’s Daniela Kleiser and Caroline Lehreder.

The best player was Austrian Gabriel Opmann in fourth place. The Carinthians couldn’t keep up and just missed out on the podium. “The air was very thin ahead, but the level in our sport is very high. The best thing is the air at the end. Thank you to everyone who supported me.” A total of more than 1,500 athletes from 30 countries participated.