Julian Erhardt winner of the V-Card Triathlon and Cup 2022 –
Kathrin Halter wins both rankings for women
Viernheim, August 27, 2022 – The overall victory in the cup could not be taken away from him even before the race: Julian Erhardt celebrated after the 38th Viernheim V-Card Triathlon, the last competition of the BASF Triathlon Cup Rhein-Neckar (TCRN). (Triathlon Grassau) now officially his triple. In the women's category, Kathrin Halter (SV Nikar Heidelberg) also secured first place at the TCRN 2022 with her victory in Viernheim. This year, Jakob Breinlinger and Eleisa Haag (2nd place) as well as Tom Holzmann and Katharina Grabinger (3rd place) complete the podium .
Almost 200 athletes had registered for the 38th V-Card Triathlon on August 27, 2022 in Viernheim, which was again held as a sprint distance. Like most other sporting events, the classic triathlon race saw significantly fewer participants than before the pandemic. The 500 meter long zig-zag course in the forest swimming pool was the start. As in the previous year, the bike course led in two laps with a total of 20 kilometers over the closed country road towards Hüttenfeld and back to the Waldstadion. In the final run, four laps of 1.25 kilometers each had to be completed between the stadium, the after-work hall and the forest.
Erhardt: Happy about the cup triple
Julian Erhardt had already won the cup competitions in Mußbach and Maxdorf this year, and he finished third in the race in Heidelberg. With that, he could no longer be beaten in terms of points at this year's TCRN. After the victories in 2018 and 2019, Julian Erhardt was very happy in Viernheim about the triple he had now achieved. “My goal was to win three of the five cup races this year – and I achieved that. In order to be right at the front here in Viernheim, however, I had to give it my all from start to finish,” said the man from Grassauer, commenting on his race. After his cup victories in 2018, 2019 and 2022, he now wants to "clear the stage" and concentrate more on the longer distances from next year. Boris Stein celebrated his farewell to sprint and short distance in Viernheim. There are only two more long distances on the program this year, after which the professional triathlete would like to return to his job as a teacher.
In a zigzag course through the pool
Nothing was given to Erhardt. At the "Rolling Start" in the Viernheim forest swimming pool, he managed to beat Boris Stein (RSG Montabaur), who was the first to jump into the forest swimming pool, by half a minute, but Stein was able to make up time on the bike again. With a very strong run (15:28 minutes) with a total time of 50:22.06 minutes, Erhardt finally saved a lead of more than four seconds on Stein (50:26.58) to the finish. The fastest swimmer in this year's V-Card Triathlon was Julian Becker (VfL Münster) with 6:07 minutes. After the third best bike time, Becker was able to keep third place in the race (51:57.43) despite a ninth place in the final run. Tom Holzmann (LLG Wonnegau) finished fourth in Viernheim after 52:42.27 minutes. Malte Plappert (Tri-Team Heuchelberg) and Jakob Breinlinger (Team Nikar Heidelberg) fought for places 5 and 6, an exciting race that Plappert narrowly won with a lead of two seconds and a time of 53:00.71 minutes.
Hard-fought podium places 2 and 3 in the BASF TCRN
While Erhardt was the clear cup winner, Becker, Holzmann, Plappert and Breinlinger fought for podium places 2 and 3 in the overall ranking of the 2022 cup. Thanks to his very good placings in Maxdorf, Ladenburg and Heidelberg, Holzmann was in front of the V- Card-Triathlon in the cup interim ranking in second place. However, in Viernheim he was relegated to third place by Breinlinger, who only completed his third cup race there.
Suspense until the end with the women
One could also be curious about the performance of the women, who had not yet emerged as a clear cup winner in 2022 before the final competition. Only 35 points difference between first place for Kathrin Halter and fourth place for Anna Maria Melzer - both SV Nikar Heidelberg - after the HeidelbergMan made everything possible. In addition, Katharina Grabinger (Team Nikar Heidelberg) and Eleisa Haag (SV Würzburg 05 Triathlon Team) still had the chance to achieve a podium finish thanks to a good performance in Viernheim – and thus a third cup race. In Viernheim, Nina Heidemann (TSV Amicitia Viernheim) came out of the water with the best swimming time (6:53 minutes). But thanks to an excellent performance on the bike (31:08 minutes), Kathrin Halter took the lead in the women's field and won the V-Card Triathlon with a total time of 57:57.69 minutes. Nina Heidemann defended her second place in the V-Card Triathlon with a strong final run and a total time of 58:43.28 minutes) ahead of Ursula Trützschler (Team Nikar Heidelberg). Kim Heidemann (TSV Amicitia Viernheim) finished fourth, followed by Eleisa Haag and Katharina Grabinger.
Kathrin Halter wins V-Card and BASF TCRN 2022
With her victory in Viernheim, Kathrin Halter is also the winner of this year's BASF Triathlon Cup. “After winning the 'Light Version' last year, I am very happy to have won the classic BASF Triathlon Cup as well. I would like to take part in the cup again next year,” announced Kathrin Halter at the finish. For the women, the decision for second place in the BASF Cup 2022 was extremely thin: With the great Viernheim result, Eleisa Haag overtook Katharina Grabinger and thus secured 2nd place overall.
+++ New wheels +++ New wheels +++ New wheels
Being quick is worth it due to limited quantities. Secure your dream bike now.
