A beautiful sunny day in Southern Germany saw about 250,000 spectators on the course cheering on thousands of athletes at Challenge Roth.

As the race for the pro field and the sub-9 age group athletes got under way, the water in the canal started to boil.

Laura Bennett had a superb swim. Next to her is Casey Munro.



Spectators on the bridge are always enthusiastic and plentiful, and Jens Kaiser got lots of attention.

Early during the bike segment a group of seven men established a wicked pace.

Many eyes were on defending champion Timo Bracht.

2014 runner-up Nils Frommhold was another favorite in Roth and he rode a superb 4:09:30.

The first time up the Solarer Berg, Markus Fachbach led the front group that then started to split up.

Andrew Starykowicz was an unknown quantity after a recent surgery and subsequent time out from training and racing. The American recorded the fastest bike split but suffered during the run.

German Stefan Schmid on the way to 5th place in the men's race.

Anja Beranek was alone in the lead after catching Laura Bennett, but with slower pros and sub-9 age group men around, she had plenty of traffic.

Gina Crawford looked solid all day and was excited to race here after a few years away.

German Daniela Sämmler was chasing the Kiwi and the two athletes battled all day.

After a slow swim Yvonne Van Vlerken clawed her way towards the front with a race best bike split.

Carrie Lester also fought hard and was rewarded with 2nd place.

After a great swim Laura Bennett started to drift back.

Fans on the Solarer Berg gave Team Garwood some extra room, and the racers behind them were patient and considerate.

Good times all day on the Solarer Berg.

Casey Munro did not finish the race, but he was called Big Mac and other names during the day because of his race kit.

Enthusiastic fans were everywhere on the bike course.

Nils Frommhold was first out on the run course and held a nice advantage until late in the race.

Andrew Starykowicz was running in second place but not feeling well.

Timo Bracht was the hunter just like in 2014, but this time the gap to Frommhold was much larger.

After not finishing in Frankfurt the weekend prior, David Dellow raced with an age group number (but as pro) to third place in the men's race.

German Per Bittner ended up in fourth place today while his girlfriend Yvonne finished first in the women's race.



Yvonne Van Vlerken and Carrie Lester worked hard to chase down race leader Anja Beranek.



Gina Crawford earned a well deserved 4th place, but it did not come easy.



German Daniela Sämmler finished 5th.



After leading the race for a considerable time, Anja Beranek finished 3rd.



Nils Frommhold finally won the big event.



Almost at the finish, Yvonne Van Vlerken was surrounded by official bikes.