Kienle Runner-up at IM 70.3 World Championships

The 2016 IM 70.3 World Championships took place in Mooloolaba, a town located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
A strong field promised a close race already before the start. After the swim, a big pack entered T2 about 2 minutes in front of two-time 70.3 World Champion Sebastian Kienle. Shortly after the 20k mark on the bike, Kienle had closed the gap to the lead group. Multiple accelerations, also from the SCOTT athlete, did not have any effect and the lead group stayed together until T2.

Out on the run, it quickly became clear that it was Kienle and Australian Tim Reed who wanted the World Champion title more than the remaining athletes of the lead pack. At the halfway mark, the two had a gap of around 20 seconds to SCOTT athlete Maurice Clavel and Sam Appelton and around a 30 second advantage on Ruedi Wild and Terenzo Bozzone. Towards the end of the race, Kienle had gapped Reed by about 15 seconds and looked safe. When Reed was about to get caught by a hard surging Wild, he got himself back together and closed the gap to Kienle. In a heartbeat final, the Australian was able to distance Kienle by a mere 2 seconds to take the win.

After the race, Kienle was disappointed by the result but happy with his fitness level before the IM World Championships in Kona. “The race unfolded in the way I had anticipated it,” Kienle said after the race. “Maybe I felt too comfortable out on the run, I was sure I could keep the upper hand and that was probably a mistake,” the German commented on his second place finish. “My mind was in the right place throughout the whole race but probably I lacked that little extra speed required to win. I’m happy with my fitness but after this race I also know where some work is required to be at my best in Kona later this year.” Kienle stated.  

Fellow German SCOTT athlete Maurice Clavel finished in 8th place after a very active race that saw him in the top 5 throughout large parts of the race. Australian SCOTT athlete Annabel Luxford finished 6th in the Women’s field.