SLT Arena Games Recap
This weekend saw a handful of the best short distance athletes compete in this year’s second fixture of the Super League Arena Games in Rotterdam.
Marten Van Riel of Belgium was one of the favourites leading into the race after winning the London Arena Games just under a month ago and didn’t fail to disappoint, taking the win from Brit Alex Yee and the veteran Frenchman Aurelien Raphael. Sophie Coldwell of GB was whilst always in contention perhaps not the favourite to take the top spot in Rotterdam but raced exceptionally strongly to keep the in-form Beth Potter from taking back-to-back Arena Games wins in 2021. Spaniard Anna Godoy took third place ahead of home favourites Rachel Klamer, Maya Kingma and Rani Skrabanja.
Men’s Race
Marten van Riel was quite frankly a different class in Rotterdam this weekend. The 2016 Rio Olympian won the maximum number of points on offer as he swept the triple mix with three wins from three. Whilst normally heralded for his cycling prowess, Van Riel demonstrated his all-round ability on Sunday and coupled with his superior aerobic ability to recover between each round he stayed head and shoulders above the field throughout, holding off the challenges of uber runner Alex Yee, with the young Super League fan favorite having to settle for second this time around. Aurelien Raphael showed his strength in the swim but was never able to use it to make a decisive move to get away from the field and finished in third ahead of a strong field including Jonas Schomburg and Vasco Vilaca, who was second in Rotterdam in 2020 but could only manage 6th this time around.
Women’s Race
Beth Potter has been in fearsome form so far this year, with a win at the London Arena Games and an unofficial 5km road world record putting her as the firm favorite for the win this weekend. However, Sophie Coldwell had other ideas, outrunning Potter in 2 of the 3 run legs to win in emphatic fashion, by outdoing one of triathlon’s most improved athletes in her best discipline to take the crown. Coldwell, like Van Riel, showed that triathlon is a sport comprising of three different stages, not three separate parts this weekend with incredible consistency across all three of the disciplines. Potter and Coldwell raced head-to-head throughout, leaving a free for all behind them for third place, which was eventually taken by Anna Godoy of Spain, the Spaniard putting herself on her first Super League podium with an impressive performance ahead of some seasoned veterans like the Netherlands Rachel Klamer and Maya Kingma.
