Two victories for Raelert Brothers this weekend
Both Raelert Brothers had a successful weekend by winning two half distances races in Linz (Michael) and Vierlanden (Andreas).
The start was made by Michael on Saturday, who took the victory at the 11th Linz Triathlon thanks to an impressive performance. The 34-year-old won the competition over the half Ironman distance of 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.1 km run in 3:58:10 hours. Michael Raelert clocked a new course record ahead of the two Austrians Paul Ruttmann (4:07:17) and Jan-Hinrich Klindworth (4:25:58).
Michael after the race:
“It was hot, it was nice, it was fast. Above all, it was a lot of fun. After the bitter disappointment of Mallorca, this race was very important to me. At the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca he was not allowed to fight for the podium due to a difficult technical issue during the bike ride. “Thinking about Zell am See, I hope I can profit from this race here in Linz for my further preparation. Today it has already been fun to race in front of a great Austrian audience.”
On August 30th, Michael Raelert wants to win his third World Championship title at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Zell am See.
“The great support of the people here in Linz and the atmosphere at the course will give me a kick for my training.”
Not willing to be put into the shade by his brother, Andreas was no less successful on Sunday.
Andreas Raelert celebrated a sovereign victory at the Vierlanden-Triathlon in Hamburg, Germany. The older one of the Raelert-Brothers secured the second title for the Team Raelert-Brothers within less than 24 hours thanks to an impressive performance. He won the middle-distance race including 2 km swim, 80 km bike and 20 km run in 3:32:47 hours. Second place went to Christian Nitschke, who was competing in Hamburg as well for the team TG triZack Rostock. Nitschke crossed the line in 3:53:53 hours ahead of Nils Gayer (Tri Endurance/3:58:47).
“Everything worked out today. The race in general and my individual performances in all disciplines looked like very promising. Already at Ironman Texas I could feel that my shape is quite good on the bike. Unfortunately, it did not work out there, but today’s performance once again showed me that I am on the right path. I think my injury problems are almost gone.”
he said after the race.
At Ironman Texas, he had to quit the marathon due to problems with his Achilles tendon. The win in Hamburg gives Andreas Raelert a lot of confidence to start into the next few weeks of training. Andreas Raelert plans to race at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt on July 5th. He won the European title there in 2010, and he wants to qualify in Frankfurt for the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in four weeks.
Photos: ©Raelert Brothers