In a race that remained thrilling until the very last meters, Almere native Milan Brons claimed a thrilling victory on home turf at the European Championship Long Distance at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam. Victory in the women’s field also went to a Dutch athlete, as Kyra Meulenberg took control of the race following an impressively strong marathon.
There was plenty of speculation beforehand about a potential victory for Milan Brons, who was already considered one of the favorites. Brons had stood on the podium in Almere before and finished in the top ten several times, but his long-cherished wish to win Challenge Almere-Amsterdam one day had never come true. Until today, that is, because on a day where everything essentially fell into place, Brons made his childhood dream come true.
The pace was pushed hard during the swim by Sweden’s Jesper Svensson and the Netherlands’ Niek Heldoorn, who also set off together on the 180-kilometer bike section. This all took place under excellent conditions: the water was as flat as a billiard table, and there was barely a breath of wind during the first of two bike loops. It was Heldoorn who initially took the initiative there, while Svensson began to struggle early on and would ultimately fade further back. Dane Thor Bendix Madsen, by contrast, moved up quickly and took the race lead after about thirty kilometers. Heldoorn did not even attempt to hold his wheel; riding a heavy gear, Bendix Madsen was simply going too fast.
The pace set by the Dane surprised Heldoorn and Brons, who soon found each other in a strong chase effort behind the leader. The gap between Bendix Madsen and the two Dutchmen fluctuated, but ultimately remained over a minute in T2. Shortly before that, Heldoorn had dropped Brons in the final kilometers of the bike ride, with Brons starting the marathon just under a minute behind Heldoorn.
The start of a blood-curdlingly exciting battle
This marked the start of a blood-curdlingly exciting battle that reached an early peak after 10 kilometers of the marathon: Brons caught up to Heldoorn, and Heldoorn caught up to Bendix Madsen, bringing all three men side-by-side during the second of four running laps. Brons didn’t wait long, made the first decisive move, and that ultimately proved to be the game-changer.
Even so, the more than 25 kilometers Brons spent leading solo were far from easy. Initially, his lead stretched to over a minute and a half, but Bendix Madsen edged dangerously close in the final kilometers. With five kilometers remaining, the gap between the two had shrunk to just twenty seconds, but Brons rediscovered his energy and managed to extend his lead once again.
Brons crowned himself European Champion in 7:37:00, Bendix Madsen finished second in 7:38:00, and Heldoorn took third in 7:42:21. Olaf van den Bergh, who finished sixth overall, claimed the bronze medal in the Dutch Long Distance Championship, crossing the line in 7:48:24.
Women’s race decided during the marathon
In the women’s race, the excitement lasted for a long time as well, and Kyra Meulenberg – who was widely tipped as the pre-race favorite – proved she could handle the pressure. Still, the dynamics of the race were completely different, mainly because Maaike Vooren built up a huge lead during the swim. That scenario had been anticipated, and so the top Dutch athlete consistently stayed in front on the bike as well. However, Vooren did lose several minutes on the bike and failed to secure an ideal starting position for the marathon. It was mainly Dutch athlete Morena Stevens and Germany’s Denise Hiemann who managed to work their way up smoothly. The gap between these three women was four minutes heading into the marathon.
One person who started the marathon with a much larger deficit was fellow Dutch athlete Meulenberg. However, there was no reason for her to panic, as the athlete from Utrecht knows she can always rely on a lightning-fast marathon. Today was no different, and Meulenberg proved to friend and foe alike that she is simply unmatched during the third leg. Within the first fifteen kilometers, she had already shaved off more than eight minutes from her ten-minute deficit, and by then it was pretty clear that Meulenberg held all the winning cards. A few kilometers later, she actually took the lead in the race and would not relinquish it.
Barbora Besperát also moves up fast; podium contenders shift in final phase
Meulenberg wasn’t the only fast runner of the day, as Czech athlete Barbora Besperát also made quick work moving up the field and made a strong surge. This came at the expense of Vooren and Stevens, among others, but Meulenberg was simply a cut above: the Czech runner couldn’t close that gap. Nevertheless, Besperát fought her way to a fantastic second place with an excellent marathon.
Meulenberg won the race in 8:42:07, Besperát finished second in 8:44:48, and Stevens took third in 8:55:30. Vooren, who ultimately finished fifth in 9:03:38, did take third place in the Dutch Championship.
Interview Milan Brons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teUBAl4En2o&t=1s
Interview Thor Bendix Madsen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJvCN3GTQvk
Interview Niek Heldoorn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOifRwjFCIk
Interview Kyra Meulenberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBVXQI4jLZ8
Interview Barbora Besperát: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwAXO8PH1Fw
Interview Morena Stevens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA-ddU9Hev8