It came down to the closing kilometres of the run. Jakub Mařík made his move, spent the rest of the race with rivals on his shoulder, and only shook them off on the finishing straight at Černá Perla. Nine seconds. That was the final margin over Hungary’s Levente Szabó and it was enough to give the home crowd a Czech winner of the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup in Tábor.
The 41st Tábor Triathlon Festival had plenty more to offer. Edita Pozlerová came home fourth in the junior women’s race, just 32 seconds off the podium. The evening elite race went to Jakub Mittner and Vanda Křížková. And long before the international fields hit the water, the host club Triathlon Team Tábor had already won three youth categories.
📸 A small preview from the photo gallery below
Junior men: Mařík settled it on the run
The men’s race stayed together until the final five kilometres. Mařík held his position through the swim, stayed in contact with the front group on the bike and pulled clear once the running started. He crossed the line in 58:31, holding off Hungary’s Levente Szabó by just under nine seconds. Italy’s Alessandro Villa took third (+11 s).
Mařík admitted afterwards that the swim is usually where he gives ground away. He clawed his way back into the lead group over the first two bike laps, sat in, and saved the decisive attack for the second and third run laps. He rates a win at a home Europe Cup among the biggest results of his career.
Matěj Homola underlined the Czech performance in fifth, with Antonín Michálek making the top ten in eighth.
Junior men – top 5
- Jakub Mařík (CZE) – 58:31
- Levente Szabó (HUN) – +9 s
- Alessandro Villa (ITA) – +11 s
- Jacopo Mapelli (ITA) – +35 s
- Matěj Homola (CZE) – +39 s
Junior women: a Hungarian one-two, Pozlerová 32 seconds short
The junior women’s race belonged to Hungary. Petra Bán won in 1:06:35 ahead of compatriot Zóra Filep (+1:14), with Austria’s Verena Zehentmayr taking bronze (+2:43).
Edita Pozlerová raced at the front all day and was still fighting for a medal on the final run lap. She finished fourth, a mere 32 seconds short of the podium. The hilly bike course, she said, was the hardest part of her day, but the home crowd made up for it. Kristýna Křížová also made the top ten in tenth.
Junior women – top 5
- Petra Bán (HUN) – 1:06:35
- Zóra Filep (HUN) – +1:14
- Verena Zehentmayr (AUT) – +2:43
- Edita Pozlerová (CZE) – +3:15
- Luisa Rohe (GER) – +3:28
Czech championship: Mittner led from the water, Křížková won it in transition
The evening elite race, counting towards the Czech Cup and the Czech National Championships, had one clear protagonist. Jakub Mittner was first out of Lake Jordán, defended the lead on the bike and put the race to bed on the opening run lap. He won in 55:56. David Korous finished second, 16 seconds down despite picking up a time penalty, and Jan Odehnal completed the podium (+1:39).
Among the women, Vanda Křížková took the win in 1:05:16. She built it on the bike, working with Marika Surová, and opened the decisive gap coming into the second transition. Surová was second (+52 s), Radana Lapáčková third (+1:31).
The host club was already winning by lunchtime
Before any of the international fields started, the morning belonged to the kids – and to Triathlon Team Tábor. The host club won three youth categories: Michael Richter (boys 8–9), Petr Kříž (boys 10–11) and Adam Šiška (boys 14–15). Veronika Křížová (2nd, girls 12–13) and Eliška Mikulášová (3rd, girls 10–11) added two more podiums.
Thank you
“The 41st edition gave us the strongest international field in years and the longest race day we have ever put on here. Seeing a home athlete come out on top of it is the best possible ending. Huge thanks to our volunteers, to the City of Tábor, to the police and the medical crew, and to our partners, a race of this level in the middle of a city simply does not happen without them. And above all, thank you to the spectators. We could hear you all the way around the course.”
Šimon Kuncl, Race Director, Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Tábor
Full results + photo sneak peek
- All categories: irontime.cz
- Europe Triathlon Junior Cup: triathlon.org
- Photo preview from Martin Kozojed: EJC Men, EJC Women, Czech championship
