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Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team’s Faris Al Sultan, Andi Böcherer and Swen Sundberg notched up a hat-trick of podium finishes this weekend as the crack endurance squad took part in three different events across Europe.
Just a week after claiming victory at the Kirchbichl Triathlon in Austria, Al Sultan - captain of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed outfit – made it two on the trot at the debut Triathlon Ingolstadt in Germany, beating off more than 1,000 hopefuls in the Olympic-style race.
In an emphatic wire-to-wire victory, Al Sultan had the fastest splits in all three disciplines, finishing in one hour 53 minutes, a commanding eight minutes ahead of his nearest challenger.
Staged in the German state of Bavaria, the unusually hot weather forced organisers to ban wetsuits only moments before the opening 1.5kms swim leg - a decision which worked in the Sultan of Sweat’s favour. The Abu Dhabi ace finished the swim in just 20:00 minutes, before powering the 40 km bike leg in 57:00 minutes to finish with the fastest run split of 36:34 minutes.
“I’m extremely happy with my performance during this race. I feel that my athletic form is improving week-on-week. The break from training due to my leg injury hasn’t affected my performance as much as I thought it would. My recent results make me very optimistic for my up-coming races,” said Al Sultan, the 2005 Ironman World Champion.
Germany also proved to be successful for Böcherer – an Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team founding member – after he overcame a bout of sickness to snatch second place in the annual Citytriathlon in Heilbronn.
Clocking up an overall time of two hours and 59 minutes, Böcherer fought a furious battle against former world champion, Daniel Unger, during the bike and run sections before just missing out on the win.
In neighbouring France at the natural park ‘Vosges du Nord’ on the German and Swiss borders, Abu Dhabi teammate Sundberg took third overall in the Challenge France.
After an impressive start in the opening swim leg, Sundberg narrowly lost out to South African Raynard Tissak after a tension fraught sprint to the finish line. The event was part of the Challenge series - the largest after Ironman - and consisted of a 1.9 kms swim, 93 kms cycle and 21 kms run.
“To see such a strong performance on three different fronts for Abu Dhabi speaks volumes about how far the team has come and its potential to be an ultimate force on the international triathlon scene,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, ADTA. “Faris’ impressive string of victories and return to form should serve as an inspiration to all young athletes looking to compete at the highest levels.”
Sundeberg will now spend the coming three weeks in intense training for the definitive race of the Challenge series, Challenge Roth on 18th July, whilst Böcherer will prepare for Ironman Germany. Both events are paramount for the respective athletes this year.
Al Sultan is turning his attention to Ironman 70.3 in the UK - one of the international racing calendar’s most anticipated events – as he readies for Ironman Regensburg, a crucial qualifying step in the race to the Hawaii Ironman World Championship.
Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, created by ADTA to further the emirate’s global athletic performance credentials, will compete in more then 40 top international events this season including Ironman, 70.3 and the French Championships.
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