Of course the focus was on Sunday though, when some of the world’s best pro athletes will compete in Challenge Samarkand. It may be one of Kienle’s last races, but he does not see himself as a favorite. The world-famous athlete has been feeling sick for several days and did not have the best preparation. \u201cBut because this is one of my last races, I experience less stress than usual. Normally around races I only see my hotel room and race course, but most likely I\u2019m going for a tourist tour after this press conference and during the race I will definitely enjoy the scenery more\u201d, he laughs. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve experienced throughout my career is that sport brings people together and triathlon enabled me to visit places which I wasn\u2019t about to visit otherwise. Samarkand is a wonderful example of that: the hospitality is amazing, the hotel is very nice, the venue looks spectacular. After my career I\u2019ll not be able to remember all of my races – not even all the ones I\u2019ve won – simply because it are too many races, but this one will stick for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frederic Funk: \u2018I do hope I\u2019m able to live up to role as favorite\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Biggest favorite for victory seems to be Frederic Funk. The young German is having a great season. \u201cI do hope I\u2019m the favorite and that I\u2019m able to live up to that role. After my recent races I was pretty tired and to be honest I think I would have cancelled this race when it was \u2018a regular race\u2019 somewhere in Europe. But, this unique experience I was really looking forward to and I don\u2019t want to miss this one. Also it\u2019s a big honor for me to race one last time to Sebastian, someone I\u2019ve always looked up to.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Royle: \u2018Ready to beat the German duo\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Aaron Royle has made the journey from Australia to also compete in Challenge Samarkand. When asked if he is ready to beat the German duo, he is clear. \u201cI think so. I can\u2019t really say no. My tactics is no secret: I will use my swim as a strength to hopefully get some time on both of them. Certainly Frederic is in a very good shape. He will be very tough to beat, but I\u2019m really looking forward to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Ellie Salthouse: \u2018I\u2019m coming in a really good form\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In the women’s race, Ellie Salthouse has exactly the same plan as her compatriot Royle. \u201cMy plan of attack: go out hard on the swim and create a gap on Emma (Pallant-Browne, ed.). And then push as hard as possible on the bike to keep her off as long as possible.<\/p>\n In any case, Salthouse is enjoying her presence in Samarkand. \u201cIt\u2019s great to be here. To be honest, I had to google Samarkand, but now I\u2019m here, it\u2019s really beautiful. We\u2019re having an amazing experience and we\u2019re being really spoiled. The hotel is incredible, the course looks stunning and it\u2019s fun to explore something new, especially when a city has such a rich history as Samarkand. As far as my preparations I have a great championship season, so I\u2019m coming in a really good form to race here.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Pallant-Browne: \u2018I hope that ticks all the boxes for the best preparation\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Salthouse will need her good form, as she will thus meet Emma Pallant-Browne, among others. The British world-class athlete is looking forward to Challenge Samarkand immensely, but does hope it doesn’t get too hot. \u201cIt\u2019s something always has been a weakness for me, but most of all a high humidity is my biggest weakness. Luckily Samarkand doesn\u2019t feel like really humid so far, so that\u2019s good for me. Besides that I did a lot of trainings in Mozambique the weeks before, where it is really humid, so I hope that ticks all the boxes for the best preparation.\u201d<\/p>\n Pallant-Browne expects a beautiful and exciting battle, and like her competitors, enjoys Samarkand. \u201cAbsolutely loving it here. As an athlete, you feel like really welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a beautiful location, among luxurious hotels and amid Samarkand’s rich history, the first edition of Challenge Samarkand on Sunday sets the stage for an undoubtedly exciting battle between some of the world’s most successful athletes. At the same time, the race also marks a special milestone for Sebastian Kienle, who is on the eve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19557,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[151,130,131,132,150,88],"class_list":["post-19554","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-aaron-royle","tag-challenge-samarkand","tag-ellie-salthouse","tag-emma-pallant-browne","tag-frederic-funk","tag-sebastian-kienle"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2024\/05\/schermafbeelding-2023-09-15-om-15.31.34-1024x586-1.jpeg\")
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