by Hans Cleemput

Kitzbühel is getting ready for what’s becoming the biggest summer event in history for the lovely City in the Austrian Alps. With a record breaking number of participants we are in for three days full of exciting races, starting Friday morning with the Age Group Sprint Championships and finishing off on Sunday with the Mixed Team Relay race. Hundreds of athletes from all over Europe took part in the opening ceremony on Thursday evening in the city centre of Kitzbühel. Team GB was again on top of the list with almost 600 athletes, but the Germans, the Swiss and the big delegation from Austria filled the crowded streets as well. And we were happy to see athletes from Lithuania, Malta and Turkey among others celebrating the opening ceremony.

Nicola Spirig: „Happy to be back”

Prior to the parade of nations we had the chance to catch up with some race favorites for the elite European championships. Nicola Spirig was all smiles when we asked her about her expectations. The Olympic champion took a break from triathlon in 2013 to become a mom. „This will be my first big elite race of the season for me and I don’t really know what to expect. I am feeling well, but I can’t predict how my swim and run will be. But I love this course and I love racing here.I have great memories of Kitzbühel. It’s the Europeans and that’s always something special to me, so I will give it my best shot. The only thing is, I don’t know most of these young girls competing anymore. Looks like a new generation is ready to take over, but I won’t go down without a fight”, the Swiss athlete told us.

Rachel Klamer is the defending champion but her ambitions are not at podium level on Friday. „I don’t expect to be as strong as last year. My winter didn’t go as planned and all of my races this season have not been that good. I hope I will do better here in Kitzbühel. I have trained well the last few weeks, but I am expecting a strong field with some fast runners. The ideal scenario for me would be a breakaway on the bike”, said the reigning European champion.

After a bronze medal in the Chengdu ITU world cup race and a 6th place finish in the WTS Yokohama, Claire Michel could become one of the outsiders for the podium in Kitzbühel. The Belgian athlete is quite new to triathlon and these are her very first European championships. „I should be aiming for a top-8 finish but I will be happy if I reach the top-15. This looks like a strong field and a lot will depend on the swim. I hope I can close the gap and start to run with the lead pack. That would increase my chances. This is my first time at the Europeans and although I feel good, I do not know what to expect from it. It won’t be easy, after a hard period of studying for my exams,” says Claire.

The Elite women race starts at 3 PM CET and will be streamed live here