Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team Bags Double Podium Finishes In Europe

Joyce and Sundberg Take 2nd in Antwerp and Zurich

Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team’s Swen Sundberg and Rachel Joyce notched up two impressive performances over the weekend as they each grabbed runner-up finishes in their respective events, Switzerland’s Ironman Zurich and Antwerp Ironman 70.3 in Belgium.

Making their double podium honours all the more sweeter was that the Antwerp event was Joyce’s first full triathlon race since picking up an injury at the inaugural Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March, while Sundberg had just come from an extremely frustrating Challenge Roth race in Germany, where he was forced to retire due to bicycle tyre problems.

Finishing 2m45s minutes behind winner and hometown favourite Sofie Goos’ time of 4:13:40 hours, Joyce’s four and a half minute advantage over fellow Briton Emma Kate Lidbury was good enough for her to hold on to second place.

“It was good to be back on the start line and I have to admit that I felt pretty nervous,” Joyce said. “My swim was okay, and I matched Emma the whole way. I struggled from start to finish on the bike - not what I hoped for – as I just that couldn’t find that extra gear. Luckily on the run, I started to feel better - helped by the fantastic support from the locals as I moved into second place behind Sofie.

“This is definitely a good but rather late start to my season and I am looking forward to the next race at Wiesbaden in three weeks,” Joyce added.

In Switzerland, Sundberg got off to a good start in the swim, coming out of the water in the first group. At the bike, everything went well up to the finals stages of the 180-km distance when Sundberg suddenly experienced stomach pains. Having to pull back from the lead group on an uphill climb, Sundberg lost about seven minutes in the last 40-km stretch.

With his stomach problems calming down in the second half of the 42-km run, Sundberg moved up to second place as he overtook Mike Aigroz with 3.5-km left, which he held to the finish line. Three-time champion and race favourite, Ronnie Schildknecht from Switzerland, capitalised to clinch his fourth successive victory at the event.

“After I dropped out at my home race in Roth, I felt really disappointed,” Sundberg said. “In fact, I was not even sure whether I should compete at Ironman Switzerland. However, thanks go to Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team captain Faris Al-Sultan, as he really pushed me to join this race and I am happy that I did.

“Apart from my stomach problems, everything went well. The last part of the bike section and the first half marathon was tough. But after my disappointment at Roth, I really fought hard as I wanted to finish the race. And indeed, it was all worth it because due to my second place finish, I qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championship in October which, quite frankly, I didn’t expect to do,” Sundberg added.

A third Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team member, Dutchman Jan van Berkel, also competed over the weekend in London at the ITU World Championship Series race. He wasn’t as lucky as Sundberg and Joyce as he finished 46th with a time of 1:45:58 hours, even though he was just 3:50 minutes behind winner, Spaniard Javier Gomez. Coming in second and third respectively were Briton Jonathan Brownlee and German Jan Frodeno.

Van Berkel’s swim leg started well, and a strong showing in the bike stage allowed him to catch up the lead group. However, the 2010 Olympic hopeful suffered serious cramps in the final run, which saw him drop off the pace.

“The swim was better than before and the bike felt similar to last weekend’s race,” Van Berkel said. “Unfortunately, the run was not the way I expected it to be. As such, I will be going for another high altitude training camp to be ready for my next event.”

Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, created by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority to further the emirate’s performance athletics’ credentials globally, will compete in more than 40 top international events this season, including Ironman, 70.3 and the French Championships.

The outfit got off to a winning start in 2010 after team members, Ina Reinders and van Berkel, made a clean sweep at the debut Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in the UAE capital. Since then, the team has taken part in a number of events in Australia, Europe and the US.
 

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