Co-favorite Anne Haug dropped out of the Ironman World Championship for women triathletes in Nice early. The 41-year-old 2019 world champion and last year’s world championship runner-up was stopped by a defect before she even started on the bike.
When she got on her bike after swimming, the tire on her rear wheel was flat. There was a large hole in the tire, her manager Frank Übelhack confirmed to the German Press Agency. Haug tried to repair the defect, but it took too long. Ultimately, the professional triathlete from Bayreuth climbed over the barrier and gave up.
She had come out of the water with good prospects. Haug had been in a chasing group with Laura Philipp, who came third in last year’s World Championships. After the 3.86 kilometers in the Mediterranean Sea, which was a good 21 degrees, they were around four minutes behind the leaders.
Haug then ran through the long transition zone to her bag with the equipment for the 180.2 kilometers on the bike. After 200 meters she stopped again and the drama with the flat tire began before the eyes of the spectators in Nice.
After British world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay was forced to withdraw from the race due to muscular problems, Haug, who had always been on the World Championship podium since 2018, was considered a top contender for the title along with Philipp.
Although she had a difficult time preparing for this year and was often ill, she still achieved the world record at the Challenge Roth in early July. She was unable to make use of her incredible running ability at the first women’s marathon title on the Côte d’Azur.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240922-930-239565/1
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
