Rain in Kitzbühel (19.06.2011)

Jan van Berkel did his second ITU Triathlon World Championship race in Kitzbühl, Austria. Most of the athletes were not happy with the weather conditions as it rained and it was pretty cold.

After Jan could not finish the race in Madrid he was very nervous in Kitzbühl. The competition was an important one for him. In the last weeks he worked hard in the water and the effort could be seen in Austria. He came out of the water just 22’’ behind the leader. At the beginning of the cycling Jan was in the second group but after a few kilometres his group closed the gap. On the hill of the 2nd of 6 loops he attacked and came away from the pack. But nobody followed him. Though Jan won the bike bonus he could not defend that place as there was head wind and he had to work alone. He was within the first 10 athletes after the transition to the run. The cold weather is not his favourite one and he could not hold his speed. In the end he was not satisfied with a 38th place but his swim and bike performance was well. He looks forward to the next races. The next one will follow already in 7 days – the European Championship in Pontevedra, Spain.