While there are some races getting underway again worldwide, coming weekend many eyes will be on Anfi CHALLENGE MOGAN-GRAN CANARIA. An unprecedented battle between some of the best athletes will take place on the Spanish island. It seems that Jan Frodeno and Nicola Spirig are the biggest favourites for the win, but they will face a lot of competition from dozens of pro athletes who all want to get involved in the battle for the medals.
One thing is for sure, after his rock-solid win at CHALLENGE MIAMI, Jan Frodeno will be keen on another victory. The German World Champion is in excellent shape, but will have to deal with a number of particularly strong men. Frodeno will encounter, among others, compatriot Patrick Lange, who will finally return to action after a long time without races and will undoubtedly go all out to knock Frodeno off his throne. A lot can also be expected from Belgian Pieter Heemeryck – who has a lot to put right after his self-named disappointing race in Daytona – and local favourite Pablo Dapena Gonzalez.
In addition, there are a lot of outsiders who can still provide some spectacular surprises. Andi Boecherer, Thomas Davis, Frederic Funk, Joao Ferreira, Ivan Rana, Nick Kastelein and Nils Frommhold will race as well and counts as very dangerous opponents to deal with.
Most eyes on Spirig, exciting battles expected
In the women’s race, most eyes will be on Nicola Spirig. There may be slightly fewer women at the start than men, but that doesn’t make the race any less interesting. The Swiss Spirig – who next year will become one of the first women to try to finish under eight hours at a Long Distance – is actually always strong during races and has set her sights on winning at Anfi CHALLENGE MOGAN-GRAN CANARIA.
The local female favourite is undoubtedly Sara Pérez Sala, who was the biggest surprise at CHALLENGE MIAMI last month. There she led the race for a long time during her debut at the longer distance and even though she eventually dropped to fourth place, she showed that she is a woman to be reckoned with at this distance.
At the same time, there are several women who will do anything to make things difficult for Spirig and Pérez. Swedish Lisa Norden, for example, an athlete with enormous experience and once second at the Olympics, wants nothing more than to win and also Katrina Matthews and Maja Stage-Nielsen seem to be ladies to keep an eye on. The Dutch Sarissa de Vries – previously strong in Spain – is considered a formidable outsider.
MALE PRO:
1 Pieter Heemeryck BEL
2 Pablo Dapena Gonzalez ESP
3 Jan Frodeno GER
4 Giulio Molinari ITA
5 Patrick Lange GER
6 Ivan Rana ESP
7 Adam Bowden GBR
8 Adriano Engelhardt SUI
9 Albert Moreno Molins ESP
10 Alberto Eugenio Casillas Garcia LTU
11 Aleksey Kalistratov RUS
12 Victor Alexandre BEL
13 Andi Boecherer GER
15 Collin Chartier USA
16 Edouard Verstraete BEL
17 Fabian Rahn GER
18 Frederic Funk GER
19 Nils Frommhold GER
20 Romain Guillaume FRA
21 Arnaud Guilloux FRA
22 James Teagle GBR
23 Jesper Nybo Riis DEN
24 Joao Ferreira POR
25 Julen Diez Rodriguez ESP
26 Julian Erhardt GER
27 Kenneth Vandendriessche BEL
28 Leon Chevalier FRA
29 Marc Eggeling GER
30 Markus Thomschke GER
31 Matteo Fontana ITA
32 Mattia Ceccarelli ITA
33 Max Studer SUI
34 Michael Raelert GER
35 Nick Kastelein AUS
36 Pacome Thibault-Lopez FRA
37 Per Van Vlerken GER
38 Robert De Korte NED
39 Sam Laidlow FRA
40 Sebastian Neef GER
41 Thomas Davis GBR
42 Victor Arroyo Bugallo ESP
43 Will Munday GBR
FEMALE PRO:
51 Nicola Spirig SUI
52 Lisa Norden SWE
53 Anna-Lena Best Pohl GER
54 Jeanne Collonge FRA
55 Diede Diederiks NED
56 Hana Kolarova GBR
57 Judith Corachan Vaquera ESP
58 Justine Mathieux FRA
59 Katrina Matthews GBR
60 Lena Gottwald GER
61 Maja Stage Nielsen DEN
63 Melanie Baumann SUI
64 Rachele Botti SUI
65 Sara Perez Sala ESP
66 Sarissa De Vries NED
67 Lina-Kristin Schink GER
68 Tessa Kortekaas NED
69 Alexandra Tondeur BEL
70 Verena Walter GER