Today, Dirk Bockel (LUX) of the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team made his comeback in style after a long recovery period from a hip injury. He led strong from start to finish to win in a time of 3:51:16, followed by Thomas Strange (DEN: 3:52:12) and Markus Fachbach (GER: 3:52:45).
This is perfect start of the weekend for the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team. This brings our 2015 total already to 8 wins and 17 podium finishes for the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team.
Dirk Bockel celebrates his comeback with a victory in Challenge Denmark (half distance)
Excellent result
In Billund, near Legoland, Dirk started the day off with a strong swim (1,9km: 25:52). Only 3 other athletes were able to follow him: Paul Schuster (GER), Thomas Strange (DEN) and Martin Jensen (DEN). During the bike leg (90km: 2:06:21), Dirk Bockel pushed hard and managed to finish alone at T2 with a lead of 1:19 on Henrik Hyldelund (DEN) and 1:25 on Thomas Strange (DEN). With a solid run (21,1km: 1:17:36), Dirk managed to secure his first place and the comeback kid took the win in his first race of 2015. Thomas Strange managed to take the 2nd place, while Markus Fachbach moved up from the 5th place at T2 to the 3rd place.
I am back
Dirk Bockel, who really was keen on racing again, was elated with the result: “I am very happy today to win my comeback race. I had a really good swim; although it was cold, real Danish weather. I guess the Vikings arrived today. The bike part was extremely fast. Martin Jensen was pushing the pace. It was tough for me to hold on. On the run, I was able to hold it together. It is also very good that my hip didn’t hurt. It was a very solid day at the office. I am very happy that I started the season with a win. Actually, I set a little message that I am back. I would like to thank my team and my sponsors to support me in the difficult times leading up to this race. Now, it is time for me to recover and taper for the ITU World Championships in 2 weeks. I am really looking forward to this; the distance is a little longer than here. Two weeks of recovery after that we have the biggest race in the world which is challenge Roth, I hope to repeat my earlier win there.”
Race results:
Challenge Denmark:
http://live.ultimate.dk/desktop/front/?eventid=2327&language=us
Post-race interview: