Caroline Pohle secured a record-breaking victory at St Pölten on Sunday as the German star led from start to finish in earning her third Challenge Family race of the season.
Fresh from her success at ‘The Championship’ the weekend before, she stormed to the line once again, setting new bike and overall course records in the process.
There was also a convincing win for her compatriot, Fred Funk, who simply proved too strong for the men’s field as he secured his first race success since 2023.
Here’s how the races happened…
Elite women’s race
Pohle quickly took control in the swim, exiting the water with a time of 27:00. Right on her heels were Lilli Gelmini (ITA), Juliette Lucet (FRA) and Luisa Iogna-Prat (ITA), but with a fast transition, the German started the ride with a 14-second lead, and from that moment she was untouchable.
By 60km, she was already more than five minutes ahead of the chasers and eventually came into T2, an impressive 5:41 ahead of her nearest rivals with a new bike course best of 2:20:05 – beating the previous record by just over four minutes.
Behind her, the race was now already focused on who could get silver and bronze, with Lucet, Abigail Bedwell (GBR) and Iogna-Prat playing catch-up.
However, they were unable to keep up the pace, and Diede Diederiks (NED) and Sarah Schönfelder (GER) – having made their way up through the field – entered T2 in second and third places, respectively.
The dominance of Pohle continued on the run as she extended her lead over closest chaser Diederiks, who in turn had pulled away from Schönfelder in a distant third.
Pohle eventually crossed the line with a new course record of 4:14:17, making it three wins from three races following last week’s victory at ‘The Championship’ and her win at Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria in April.
Diederiks secured second, crossing the line in 4:21:30; however, the race for third changed in the final kilometre as Finland’s Minttu Hukka burst through to take the final place on the podium in 4:26:57, just seconds ahead of Schönfelder.
“I’m really, really proud of today,” said Pohle. “It was a really tough week after my win in Šamorin, so I’m really proud of today. It was a hard day, as I was alone the whole time and my body didn’t work so well, but I found my rhythm on the bike and had a good run. A win is never sure, and it’s always hard work. I had a bad swim for me, and on the bike I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted, but I had really good legs on the run, and now all eyes are on Challenge Roth!”
Elite men’s race
In the men’s race, Hannes Butters (GER) took an early lead in the swim, as expected, exiting the water in 23:26 with a nearly two-minute lead.
Indeed, it took until the 55km mark for Funk to catch him, bringing Josh Lewis (GBR), Simon Davis (GBR) and Jonas Wechsler (GER) with him.
As they hit the second of the three big climbs on the bike course, Davis powered up into the lead, putting 38 seconds into Funk by the top. However, the German retook the lead in the closing stages of the bike as Davis, Butters, Lewis and Wechsler all stayed with him.
Funk entered T2 in first, but Butters and Wechsler were hot on his heels, and it was Butters who exited for the run first.
His lead did not last long, though, and within a kilometre, Funk and Wechsler had broken away, dropping Butters. And the pace was soon too much for Wechsler also, as Funk started to turn on the power and slowly extend his lead.
By the halfway point, that lead was 37 seconds, and as with the women’s race, the real drama came in the push for third place.
Davis overtook Wechsler for second, and Mattia Ceccarelli (ITA) snatched third in the final metres, with just seven seconds separating him, fourth-place Wechsler and fifth-place Ondrej Kubo (SVK).
Davis secured second in 3:50:35, with Cecccarelli in third in 3:52:20. Funk took the win in 3:49:11, his second at Challenge St Pölten, where he had his first-ever pro win back in 2021.
“I’m a bit tired, but super happy and relieved,” said Funk on the finish line. “It was definitely my goal for this race, and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after racing last week at ‘The Championship’ and coming down from altitude.
“I felt super strong from the beginning. I finally had a good swim and had really good legs on the bike, and pushed hard. On the run, I just wanted to put pressure on the others early on. I was glad it wasn’t any closer, as conditions on the second lap were tough with the heat and the wind!
“But I was happy to enjoy the last kilometre with the amazing crowds here at Challenge St Pölten and super happy with finally earning a win again. It’s a really good confidence booster going into the next training block for Roth.”
