July 3 was a date marked on the calendar months ago. Four triathletes from the club took part in one of the most legendary triathlons in the world, the Challenge Roth. A test where just signing up is already a challenge, registrations sell out in a matter of seconds.
After months and months of training and sacrifices, the expedition left Girona on the Friday before the race in the direction of Barcelona to catch a flight to Nuremberg, where the group of 4 triathletes and 8 companions arrived in the German city around noon .
Once installed in what would be the group’s headquarters for the next few days, a small shoot was done in order to activate the legs after the trip and make the relevant purchases in order to spend the 5 days that the expedition would spend in the Germanic country .
Saturday was a day of preparations, first, but it was time to test the water in which they would swim the next day with a short swim that started to put the athletes in competition mode and see the spectacular atmosphere of this magical test. It was also the day to leave the bike in the pit and attend the briefing in order to be aware of all the regulations and operation of the race.
Sunday was the day, it started very early in the morning with the trip to the departure area. Due to the system of exit boxes, each of the club’s athletes left at different times. The swimming was done in the channel they had tried the day before, calm waters, no currents and where it was very easy to find your way. After the 3.8km swim, it was time to get on the bike and face the 180km bike ride, two laps in an undulating and fast circuit where the “Solar Hill” stands out, a ramp of around 300 meters full of cheering public, along with the atmosphere along the entire route that makes the bike section special. Once the bike was left “only” the 42km of the marathon were left, it’s easy. The circuit was linear, running along the side of the canal and inside Roth, with a lot of heat which together with accumulated fatigue made it the hardest part of the race.
As we all expected the 4 GEiEG triathletes completed the test and left delighted with the organization and the warmth of the local people towards the athletes, so we recommend it if you ever want to do a long distance race.
The two days we had left in Germany were used to savor the great milestone, share race anecdotes and do a bit of sightseeing in the area until Tuesday when the expedition took the flight back to Girona.
We leave you a video of the experience, congratulations Quim, Isra, Jordi and Antoine!