Data Dive: Who Will Win Arena Games Triathlon Powered by Zwift Switzerland?

Will Justus Nieschlag blow away the field again in Sursee? Can Zsanett Bragmayer perform indoors and prove Singapore was not a one-off? And who are the upcoming stars seeking to cause a shock at Arena Games Triathlon powered by Zwift Switzerland?

There are a lot of questions heading into this weekend’s event at the CAMPUS Sursee Sportsarena, and very few answers.

That’s why we asked our data guru, Graeme Acheson, to crunch some numbers and deliver his insight into the leading contenders:

Justus Nieschlag

Probably the most experienced Arena Games athlete, he has raced five times previously, winning the inaugural race in Rotterdam 2020, finishing second in London 2021 and then second overall in the AGT Series 2022. 

He is a strong performer across the board, but his swim and transition really marks him apart from the rest – for example, in London 2022, he was nearly 20 seconds faster through transition than the average for the men’s field. 

Nieschlag holds the record for fastest AGT race ever – completing the entire 2022 London race in a time of 33:43 – as well as the fastest individual stage with a time of 11:08. His total transition time of 3:10 in Munich 2022 is also the transition ‘record’, with his 3:12 in London 22 the second best time.

So basically, if Nieschlag puts together the race, he is usually the best.

Henri Schoeman

Bronze medallist in Rio 2016 behind Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, Schoeman raced his first Arena Games in Montreal. However he was a Super League Championship Series regular in 2017, 2018 and 2019 where he regularly competed for the top prize.

Second in Montreal behind McQueen he has had his first taste of the AGT racing and will undoubtedly be keen to improve now he knows what’s coming.

Schoeman’s transitions in Montreal were impressive, completing the total transition for the race in 3:18, which is joint 4th on the all time list – some achievement for a debutant.

Max Stapley

Stapley raced all three Arena Games Triathlon events in the 2022 Series and finished sixth in the overall standings. Stapley holds the swim record jointly with Raphael at 2:02.

Nicolo Strada

Strada raced in Arena Games Triathlon London last year, finishing third behind Nieschlag and Alex Yee and beating more established contenders Simon Heinseleit, Stapley, Jeremy Briand and Gordon Benson. An impressive performance from him powered by a strong bike.

Women

Anabel Knoll

Finished fourth in the 22 Arena Games Triathlon World Championship Series with impressive performances across all three races. Her peak was a third place in the Munich event but also picked up fourth in the Series finale in Singapore.

Her results weren’t down to any particular discipline, but more just solid performances across the board.

Zsanett Bragmayer

Bragmayer took second place in the overall Series last year, with only Beth Potter finishing ahead and beating out established SLT athletes like Georgia Taylor-Brown. She had middling performances in London and Munich but then won the season finale in a remarkable display in Singapore to elevate herself up the leaderboard.

Again, similar to Knoll she did not have any particular stand out discipline but performed strongly across the board. It could be that she benefited from the extreme heat and humidity in the Singapore race to take out the cold blooded Brits, but either way she put in a memorable performance.

Luisa Iogna-Prat

Has raced Arena Games before in London and finished in ninth. Beat Bragmayer, however, who finished in 10th.

Cathia Schar

Hasn’t raced Arena Games before, but raced in the 2022 Championship Series for the Bahrain Victorious Scorpions. Finished 12th in the series and clearly contributed vital points to the Scorpions victory.

Petra Kurikova

Raced in the 2022 Arena Games Triathlon events in London and Munich. Best result was seventh in London. Set strong run times across all three stages, well up the leaderboard.