IRONMAN Austria – Good legs make the race fast, but difficult

The perfect start

Michi's home race in Klagenfurt was hard to beat in terms of excitement. In the swim he lost with 4-5 minutes relatively little time to the co-favorites and direct competitors Patrik Nilsson and Rasmus Svenningsson from Sweden and went fully motivated into his parade discipline.

The fine line between good legs and the man with the hammer

The "Weiss train" got going right from the start. During the first 30 kilometers Michi was able to overtake steadily and also caught up with the young Frenchman William Mennesson, who became his shadow on the rest of the bike course. Michi was on the heels of the top of the race, around the two Swedes and the Frenchman Arnaud Guilloux, up to 2 minutes, but he had to pay tribute to his ambitious pace on the second half of the bike. 

From a high-speed start to a thrilling exchange of blows in the final

The run also felt incredibly good in the beginning. With perfect temperatures and a stunning home crowd, the field continued to roll up side-by-side with their French companion. With an incredible half marathon split of 1:19h (3:45min/km pace!) the fight for the top places was on. Unfortunately, this fabulous pace could not be maintained for long.

Michi approached the Top3, but the distance to the finish was too short. In a Hollywood-like thriller and a sprint finish, which you see more on the shorter distances, he secured the 5th place within some seconds on the last two kilometers and thus as the best Austrian also the national championship title over the IRONMAN distance.

This race made hunger for more, because the competition and speed hardness is just forced in the direct duel with his PRO colleagues! Thus, it will certainly not be the last long distance for Michi this year - a minimum of one, a maximum of several should follow. :-)