Vincent Luis staged a strong finish over the full triathlon distance at Challenge Roth to record the second-fastest ever full distance debut.
The dual world champion and Olympic bronze medalist clocked in at 7:38:54 across the 3.8-kilometre swim, 180-kilometre bike, and 42-kilometre run, finishing just off the podium in fourth after a valiant battle in the closing stages of the marathon.
With water temperatures just above 25 degrees Celsius on race morning, the organizers declared a non-wetsuit swim – a rarity in Roth history. Amid a field of fellow Olympians making their debut over the distance Luis emerged from the water only 15 seconds behind the leader, then rode in the main chase pack as a group of two broke away up front.
As they hit the bike-to-run transition, Luis moved from fifth into third at the start of the marathon. It was a hard-charging Jan Stratmann who made the pass late in the race to pip Luis for the final spot on the podium.
Luis had chosen Challenge Roth as his maiden full distance race in honour of his father, who had competed here 20 years ago and inspired his son to take up triathlon. And while his finish time far surpassed his father’s, Luis only had one thing to say about the experience: that it was “humbling.”
More action awaits the Bahrain Victorious 13 this coming weekend as Cassandre Beaugrand, Emma Lombardi, Vasco Vilaça, and Lauren Parker converge on Hamburg for the World Triathlon and Para Championship Series races, while Kat Matthews continue her Ironman World Championship build at Ironman 70.3 Swansea..
