Challenge Sanremo 2025 results: Arnold and Guerard prove unbeatable in the saddle

Leonard Arnold and Justine Guerard mastered the conditions and the course to record impressive middle distance triathlon wins at Challenge Sanremo.

With temperatures on the Italian Riviera rising to an oppressive 28C, the German and French competitors both put in strong bike legs to secure their first wins on the Challenge Family circuit.

Here’s how they did it…

Pro Men – Arnold makes the most of shady climbs

Arnold’s victory was born out of an impressive section on the bike where he took advantage of the shadier parts of the route to open up a clear gap over his nearest rivals.

Coming out of the non-wetsuit swim, the German was behind the the leading group of Michele Sarzilla (ITA), Justus Töpper (GER), David Breinlinger (GER), Malachi Cashmore (GBR) and Jannik Stoll (GER).

However, once in the saddle, he was soon in contention as he used the uphill climbs to his advantage and surged ahead at the 20-kilometre marker.

“It was a tough one, the hills are quite intense and the heat doesn’t make it any easier,” said Arnold. “The bike course was awesome. I wanted to get a little gap between me and the other riders on the uphill where you have the shadow and it is not too hot, and then perhaps have the opportunity to take things a little bit easier on the run… and that played out. I had fun on the bike.”

Extending his lead to more than three minutes, the German reached T2 in 2:18:57 ahead of Sarzilla, Stoll and the chasing pack.
With his game plan seemingly working to perfection, Arnold was able to let his Italian rival close the gap to just 90 seconds at one point, but having conserved his energy for much of the 21-kilometre run along the Riviera dei Fiori cycle path, he was able to respond in the final stages and secure victory in 3:55:49.

Sarzilla finished in second with a time of 3:58:57, while Thomas Navarro (FRA) claimed the final podium place after pulling away from Joost Friderichs of the Netherlands halfway through the run

Finish line reaction from Arnold is below…

Pro Women – Guerard eases to victory

As someone who has ridden the course twice and who knows the 80-kilometre cycling section well, Guerard admits that it still surprises her just how tough it is to race on a circuit which rises 1,500 metres in altitude.

As with Arnold in the men’s race, she came out of the water behind the leading group, as Maëla Moison (FRA) and Luisa Iogna-Prat (ITA) set the pace at 28:29. But once in the saddle she quickly moved to the front, climbing strongly to build her lead over Johanna Ahrens (GER), Iogna-Prat and Sofia Aguayo (ESP).

With Lisa-Maria Dornauer (AUT), Magda Nieuwoudt (RSA), and Gabriella Zelinka (HUN) joining the pursuit, Guerard kicked on to reach T2 in 2:44:26 – a lead over the Austrian of just under two minutes.

And it was a lead that was never truly under threat as she pushed on at a steady pace, keeping the likes of Zelinka and Iogna-Prat very much at arms length to cross the line in 4:35:13.

Delighted at the win, she admitted that the bike section nearly caught her out.

“It was a beautiful race. A very hard race, but today I was really good. It was a perfect day for me,” she said. “I already did this race two times, and I know the bike course is very hard, but every time I’m surprised again, because the hill is really, really long, and at the end of the climb I was just dead today, and I was like, how will I run?

“But after the downhill, I was OK, and I was pretty good on the run, which was a good thing. I tried to do the first lap, not slowly, but okay, and then tried to push harder on the other laps, and it was perfect.”

Again, the reaction is below…