“Absolute Cinema”, “Insanity”, “Greatest ever 70.3 race.”

That was actual reactions and headlines from Triathlon media and experts trying to capture the nerve wrecking finale between “The Fantastic 5” at promenade des Anglais. Three 70.3 World Champions from the past 7 years  (Iden, Blummenfelt, Geens), double Olympic medalist Hayden Wilde.. and none other than our very own Lasse Nygaard Priester!

Lasse took full advantage of his incredible leg speed after a close front pack swim. The unusually long distance between swim exit and bike racks in T1, helped the German to quickly move from 17th out of the water, to mount his TT bike in 6th position and less than 10 sec to the front! In a blink of an eye, Lasse bridged the gap and pretty much stayed in front (switching between 1st - 4th position) until T2. 

Renowned as one of the best runners, and despite improving a lot on the bike this year, Priester was maybe not truly acknowledged for his cycling skills before this Championship. But the fact of the matter is.., Lasse was 6th fastest (30 sec from 1st bike-split) IN the most competitive Championship ON the most brutal and technical bike-course known to mankind. 

On the last flat section shortly before T2, Lasse Priester was riding in a 7 man lead group that included pre-race favorite Hayden Wilde.

Purely based on their running pedigree and previous top ½ Marathon run-splits, it would be very hard to argue against a Wilde/ Priester duel for the gold medal! After a fast transition Wilde was first to exit T2 (so fast that he accidentally dropped his Garmin), but in less than 3 km Lasse caught up and left everybody in the dust with his surge to the front. For about 7 km Lasse did what Germans do best - make sure everything goes according to time (due to the fact that only he was wearing a Garmin!). 

Under normal circumstances, the last 10 km would be a “2 horse race”, but Priester suddenly seemed to struggle. 

Of the top contenders in Nice, he is by far the least experienced 70.3 racer (2nd season only) and it was easy to imagine a typical case of under-fueling due to the crazy speed and tough conditions on the bike.

In a post-race interview however, Lasse explained that he was forced to back off due to signs of overheating. Had he ignored the symptoms, he probably wouldn’t have made it to the finish line. 

 His eventual 1.10 run-split, is basically “cruise control” compared to his usual 1.06-1.07 half Marathons, but Lasse Priester made it Crystal clear with his hard earned 5th place, that he is a top contender for the World Championship next year.

Finally, we have to mention the dramatic finale and give kudos to the mindblowing comeback by Kristian Blummenfelt. He was dropped by 2.30 min on the bike, but somehow managed to run (sprint?) himself back within 18 sec from the eventual winner (Hayden Wilde). A power-move  and World-Record-Smashing 1.05.12 half Marathon, proving that he is ready to battle Sam Laidlow in Kona in less than 4 weeks, it’s going to be epic - can’t wait!