With LOTTO Challenge Gdansk this weekend, Italy’s Elisabetta Curridori, Poland’s Marta Lagownik, Great Britain’s Rebecca Anderbury, and Serbia’s Ognjen Stojanovic are all lining up to win. Based on the world rankings, these are the athletes who will draw the most attention, but they are also the ones who must be reckoned with
Even though Curridori (#53) is ranked just slightly higher than Lagownik (#56), there is likely very little separating the two women, and Lagownik naturally enjoys the home turf advantage: the top Polish athlete will undoubtedly be carried by the home crowd, giving her a mental edge. Lagownik has already raced three times this year, finishing in the top ten all three times, making it clear that her form is good.
Curridori, however, will likely not be easily intimidated by this; she has also raced three times, winning twice (Peniscola Infinitri and Challenge Salou-Costa Daurada) alongside a fourth-place finish at Challenge Family’s The Championship. Home turf advantage for Lagownik or not: Curridori holds the better cards when it comes to form and recent results.
Holding a significantly higher ranking than both Curridori and Lagownik is the British athlete Anderbury (#39), and she already has plenty of racing kilometres in her legs, having completed two Long Distance races this year. While she did not finish in South Africa, she secured a strong fourth place in Lanzarote. One thing is certain: based on her ranking alone, Anderbury will have a big red target on her back and will be viewed by the other women as the competitor to beat. Of course, there are also plenty of dangerous outsiders on the starting list, such as Marta Bernardi and Magda Nieuwoudt.
On the men’s side, Ognjen Stojanovic can call himself the top favourite – at least when looking at his world ranking of #78. With two Long Distance races already under his belt and a solid tenth-place finish at The Championship, the athlete – who thoroughly enjoys racing Challenge Family events – has already put in the necessary work to build toward peak form. That will be much needed, as Challenge Gdansk features a new bike course this year; with just two laps, it requires significantly less turning than in previous years, which is expected to drive a high pace.
Just like in the women’s race, there are plenty of dangerous outsiders in the men’s field who could make things difficult for Stojanovic. The best example is likely Great Britain’s Tom Davis, but men like Andrew Horsfall-Turner, Florent Lefebre, and Trent Thorpe could easily pull off an upset. Either way, it remains to be seen which two athletes will be the first to cross the finish line on the iconic pier of Challenge Gdansk on 21 June. For further information, visit www.challenge-poland.com.