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Fenella Langridge finished fourth at The Championship last year, but is now considered a huge contender for the win. \u201cI\u2019m going to give it my everything to not end up on the \u2018potatoes spot\u2019 like last year. For me it\u2019s been a great year so far: I\u2019ve been quite busy racing in South-Africa and had some good training blocks already. Of course the season so far comes with ups and downs as always, but I\u2019m happy and ready for Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
text continues after picture:<\/em><\/p>\n Same goes for Lucy Byram (\u2018It\u2019s a tough field, so let\u2019s see what happens on Sunday\u2019) and Marjolaine Pierr\u00e9, who crowned herself World Champion Long Distance just two weeks ago. \u201cBut nothing changed; my life is still the same\u201d, she laughs. \u201cOf course we had some champagne and lovely food in a restaurant to celebrate. But now the focus is on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n Also Imogen Simmonds is ready to give it her all. \u201cI\u2019m very excited to race. For me it\u2019s the first race of the year: I\u2019m a little bit late on the party, but let\u2019s hope I am at the party this weekend.\u201d Also Amelia Watkinson is ready for a \u2018party\u2019. \u201cI\u2019m lucky to have a little of confidence thanks to some victories and I do hope to take this with me for Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n Men\u2019s race: who is the hot shot?<\/strong><\/p>\n In the men’s race, it is difficult to pinpoint a clear favorite. In any case, Aaron Royle and Frederic Funk are among the biggest contenders for sure. Royle is very well-known as a short-course specialist, but makes the turn to longer distance races. \u201cIt\u2019s a natural progression. I was racing short course since I was only ten years old or something, but training for a Middle Distance is quite familiar to what I do for short course. In the end counts: the one that dies the least, does the best.\u201d<\/p>\n text continues after picture:<\/em><\/p>\n Frederic Funk has raced in Samorin five times before and will presumably make the race very tough on the bike. \u201cCycling is all about hard work; you don\u2019t need anything else. And you know what they say, right? Germans are always the hardest workers\u201d, he jokes. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to a hard and fast race.\u201d<\/p>\n text continues after picture:<\/em><\/p>\n Tom Bishop, who won Challenge Puerto Varas earlier this year, was very relaxed during the press conference. \u201cI\u2019ve raced Ibiza two weeks ago and had a lot of rest and recovery afterwards. It was good to get back in some intensity last weekend. The course in Samorin is going to be very fast. Frederic said you need to ride at least 50km an hour to win\u201d, he smiles.<\/p>\n Home favorite is Richard Varga, as always at least one of the fastest swimmers. \u201cAnd then it\u2019s going to be very hard to fight with these guys. This race isn\u2019t a 200 meter sprint, it\u2019s almost four hours. You really need to control your emotions and pacing and don\u2019t push it to the max in front of the crowd. When the crowd is gone, you start to feel the fatigue from your effort for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Hanson, still fighting a jetlag, can\u2019t name a favorite for the win. \u201cThe entire top 15 guys, anyone can take the win. It\u2019s going to take a special day and it will come down to who plays his cards right and executes the best and, you know, who wants to hurt the most on the last lap.\u201d<\/p>\n Cl\u00e9ment Mignon thinks the same, after winning the World Title Long Distance two weeks ago. \u201cIt was very special to share this with my girlfriend Marjolaine, but for both of us this was just a first step to win bigger races.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dozens of the best pro athletes in the world are gearing up for The Championship, which kicks off this Sunday at 8:30 a.m. in Samorin, Slovakia. At the pro press conference, which just took place, one thing became clear: racing will be full-gas and no one can play hide-and-seek. All athletes are gearing up for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19201,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[95,26],"class_list":["post-19195","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-challenge-family-the-championship","tag-the-championship"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2024\/05\/schermafbeelding-2023-05-19-om-19.35.46.png\")
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