Andi Böcherer continued his hot streak with a win at the 2015 Challenge Heilbronn. That winning streak started after a long down time that began when he became the victim of a hit and run in St. Lucia in April of last year. Laura Philipp had to run down fellow German Anja Beranek to take the women's title.
The men
After a 1.9km swim in the Neckar river in Heilbronn, Michael Raelert emerged first from the water in 22:30, but Andi Böcherer was only a second behind him. Nils Frommhold and Giulio Molinari reached the swim exit 9 seconds after Raelert, and defending champion Andreas Dreitz and Kienle protege Maurice Clavel lost 37 and 38 seconds respectively. 2014 Ironman World Champion Sebastian Kienle needed 25:19 for the swim, and that meant a 2:49 disadvantage going into the 90km bike segment.
Molinari was the biggest early mover and he quickly caught both leaders. Frommhold was riding in fourth position on the road a few seconds behind Raelert, Böcherer and Molinari. As expected, Sebastian Kienle was catching competitors who came out of the water ahead of him, but surprisingly he, Dreitz and Clavel (all known for their cycling prowess) lost time to the leading trio. Raelert was unable to keep up with the other front-running men and he dropped back. Frommhold, who had been riding behind him, also started to drift back from Böcherer and Molinari. Böcherer then dropped Molinari and rode alone in the front. Kienle did not appear to have it, and while he got closer to the front in terms of placing, he fell further away in time. Böcherer pushed on and was first into the bike-run transition with a race best bike split.
Raelert caught Molinari late, but reached transition 3:10 behind Böcherer in second place. Molinari was next at 3:30, and Dreitz and Kienle reached T2 in fourth and fifth place 5:46 and 7:01 behind.
Böcherer looked good on the run, and Raelert was unable to gain time on him. Molinari started to suffer and drift further back. Dreitz was the first one to breathe down Molinari's neck and a few kilometers later Kienle also made the pass. But up front Böcherer stormed to his biggest win in recent years, in 3:47:26. Raelert finished second in 3:50:45 and Dreitz took the final podium spot in 3:52:26. Kienle was next in fourth place with a time of 3:53:03.
The women
Celine Schärer of Switzerland and Svenja Bazlen of Germany led the women out of the water in 23:54, and that gave them an advantage of just under 30 seconds over favorites Ricarda Lisk and Anja Beranek. Laura Phillipp of Team Erdinger needed almost 2:30 longer to complete the 1.9km out and back swim in the river Neckar.
Bazlen had a swift transition and was first out on the bike, with Schärer 3 seconds behind. Beranek was still around 30 seconds behind, but Lisk doubled her disadvantage in transition despite plenty of ITU experience.
Bazlen's lead on the bike did not last very long as the hard charging Beranek rapidly moved past her. Beranek then pulled away and dropped all other competitors by a large margin. By the halfway point of the bike, Laura Philipp had moved into third place but Beranek kept extending her advantage. As the bike segment came to an end Bazlen seemed to be paying for early efforts on the bike and fell behind Philipp. Beranek was first into transition and Philipp followed 5:09 later. Bazlen reached T2 third, but she lost 7:15 to the leader. Daniela Sämmler was 4th into transition with a disadvantage of more than 12 minutes, and all other pro females were more than 20 minutes behind Beranek.
On the run, Philipp steadily inched closer to Beranek, and Bazlen running in third place appeared to have found a second wind. Sämmler running in fourth position looked solid but had little chance to grab a podium spot. She also had little to fear in terms of getting caught by those running behind her. Philipp caught Beranek late, and pulled away for a big win in 4:29:40. Beranek held on to 2nd place in 4:33:03 and Bazlen finished third in 4:35:49.
Challenge Heilbronn
Heilbronn, Germany / June 21, 2015
1.9k swim / 90k bike / 21.1k run
Top men
1. Andreas Böcherer (GER) 3:56:06
2. Michael Raelert (GER) 3:59:06
3. Andreas Dreitz (GER) 4:00:47
4. Sebastian Kienle (GER) 4:01:19
5. Giulio Molinari (ITA) 4:02:07
6. Nils Frommhold (GER) 4:05:01
7. Maurice Clavel (GER) 4:06:02
8. Horst Reichel (GER) 4:13:06
9. Markus Rolli (GER) 4:17:30 (AG)
10. Julian Mutterer (GER) 4:19:11
Top women
1. Laura Philipp (GER) 4:29:40
2. Anja Beranek (GER) 4:33:03
3. Svenja Bazlen (GER) 4:35:49
4. Daniela Sämmler (GER) 4:45:30
5. Jenny Schulz (GER) 4:53:11
6. Barbara Scherer (SUI) 4:54:35 (AG)
7. Katharina Wolff (GER) 4:54:35
8. Celine Schärer (SUI) 4:56:31
9. Marion Hebding (GER) 5:01:11 (AG)
10. Caroline Fey (GER) 5:01:48 (AG)
