In the men's triathlon, the uphill battle on Olympiaberg determined the leaders on the ascent in the second lap. Three Frenchmen and a Hungarian overtook the Portuguese João Pereira. Then, on the third lap, Frenchman Léo Bergere took the lead and consolidated his advantage over the climbs, followed by his compatriot Pierre Le Corre. A fierce battle for third place broke out among their pursuers, which Dorian Coninx decided in his favour. And before we knew it the incredibly exciting race ended with a rare podium sweep!
The gold medallist Bergere explained how much the success meant to him: “So glad to win this title. Finally, I have won a race. I am so used to second and third place. I wanted to take first today and also to share this with my teammates and friends. We really went for it on the bike.”
Le Corre knows what it’s like to win at the multi-sport European Championships, but the feeling at Olympiaberg and the podium sweep made it different altogether. “Four years ago (in Glasgow), I won and we know that was amazing with all the media and all the fans, and we wanted to be really good together. We knew that we are a strong team but being 1-2-3 – this is crazy.”
Coninx, too, couldn’t quite believe the feat they were able to accomplish: “This does not happen a lot in triathlon, especially in a race like this. It was incredible, the course was really nice. I am sure I will remember this race to the end of my life.”
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