Data Dive: Transitions Crucial As Running Dominance Fails To Deliver A Win At Arena Games Triathlon Switzerland

There were some extraordinary performances at Arena Games Triathlon powered by Zwift Switzerland with two outstanding runners dominating on the treadmills – but both failing to win.

In the woman’s field it was all about 15-year-old Fanni Szalai who set the three fastest runs times in the finals with a 3:05 (Stage 1), 3:02 (Stage 2) and 3:04 (Stage 3) as the teenager announced her arrival on the world stage.

Arena Games Triathlon, Sursee, Switzerland 2023,

In the water it was the top two who dominated, but Olivia Mathias was the strongest with the fastest time of 2:11.

The bike was all about winner Zsanett Bragmayer with two of the fastest times ridden on the Tacx^® NEO 2T Smart Trainer as part of Garmin’s ecosystem supporting the Arena Games, including the quickest of 5:43, but it was Petra Kurikova who delivered the highest watts per kg in Stage 1 with 4.8.

The highest heart rates recorded by the HRM-Pro™Plus premium heart rate strap were split between Julia Brocker and Szalai with the German hitting 192bpm twice and the latter once on the last run.

If there is anything for Szalai to work before London then it is transitions as she was four seconds quicker than Mathias on athletic time but two seconds slower in transition and six slower than Bragmayer.

The story was not entirely dissimilar in the men’s where Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger had the three fastest runs with 2:36 (Stage 2), 2:37 (Stage 3) and 2:39 (Stage 1). Winner Henri Schoeman didn’t even have a run time in the top 10 and his final outing on the treadmill was only the 20th fastest of the day.

However, transitions let down Hueber-Moosbrugger. He had a faster athletic time than Schoeman but was nine seconds back on the South African in transitions, and only sixth in the field

The swim was electric. The event did feature a 25m pool for the first time in Arena Games Triathlon history, but the times were beyond what was expected. After sub-2:00 in the heats, there was a 2:01 in the Stage 1 swim of the final from Fabian Meeusen, with all ten athletes separated by just eight seconds. That is compared to an average swim time of 2:15 in Montreal.

On the bike, Justus Nieschlag held the fastest time at 5:18 and watts per kg at 5.7. Schoeman was the most consistent with just one second separating his three efforts in the saddle.