Lisa Tertsch ninth in Hamburg

Lisa Tertsch achieved another top ten result today in Hamburg in the fourth of eight races in the World Triathlon Championship Series, finishing ninth, but had to relinquish her lead in the World Championship standings.

The 26-year-old had previously impressed with a fantastic swim and repeatedly showed herself at the front of the pack on the bike course, but was then unable to keep up with the fast pace of her competitors in the rain during the run. Ultimately, the Darmstadt native finished the sprint distance race, consisting of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride, and 5-kilometer run, in 56:58 minutes in ninth place.

“Of course, I had hoped for a better result, but I also focused more on the swimming and cycling and am glad that it paid off because I was among the leaders for a long time,” said Tertsch.

When asked about her solo ride on the bike, which lasted more than one lap, Tertsch added: "I wanted to be brave and try something new. I've invested a lot and worked hard over the last few months. It worked and makes me proud. I know I can come from behind. I've been doing it for years. I did notice towards the end that I had put a lot into it, but it's just a learning process."

The victory went to Leonie Periault (FRA; 56:25), who relegated her compatriot and Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand to second place (56:29). Britain's Beth Potter completed the podium in third place (56:32) and took the World Championship lead from Tertsch (2,282.82) with 2,360.05 points, who is now third behind the day's fastest rider Periault (2,325.68).

Tanja Neubert narrowly missed out on a top-ten finish in eleventh place (57:00), but as the second-fastest member of the German women's team, she will join Tertsch, Henry Graf, and Lasse Nygaard Priester in the German relay team, which will attempt to defend its title tomorrow at 1:50 p.m. (live on ARD from 2:05 p.m.).

Tertsch said of the quartet: “I'm the only one from the gold relay team, but I think we have many other strong men and women in Germany. So our chances aren't bad.”

Nina Eim finished 12th (57:02), Julia Bröcker surprised in her WTCS debut with 15th place (57:11). Franka Rust finished 23rd (57:25), Annika Koch 29th (57:37) and Selina Klamt 50th (1:00:01).

The complete results list is available online.