Young Swiss triathletes make their mark in European Cup

In just its second season of existence, the Scott-sponsored team of young triathletes, ATLET, is starting to make its presence felt on the European scene.

Two ATLET members, Adrien Briffod and Sylvain Fridelance, were selected to represent Switzerland at the first round of the ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup in Holten, the Netherlands, on July 7th. They finished 6th and 13th respectively out of 64 finishers.  As two of the top places went to a South African and an American, Adrien and Sylvain take 4th and 11th places in the European rankings.

17-year-old Adrien, who made his international début in April with a 15th place at the European Triathlon Championships in Israel, moved up the ranks in Holten, finishing in an impressive 6th position. After swimming the 750m in the middle of the pack, he moved up the field on the bike to ride in the lead group for most of the 20km course. A fast transition allowed him to set off on the 5km run in second place. A leading pack was quickly formed and it was these athletes who battled it out for the top spots.

For Sylvain Fridelance, one year younger than Adrien, the Holten race was his first triathlon over the official Junior distances.  Sylvain put in a strong performance on all three legs of the triathlon and still had the energy to outsprint a Dane and a Dutch athlete to take his 13th place.

“I am very happy with my result considering it was my first time racing over these distances,” said Sylvain.

Both Adrien and Sylvain are in the Swiss Triathlon Federation’s national selection of triathletes.