Ironman thriller in Frankfurt. Timo Bracht pulls away

Timo Bracht celebrates his second European title after an enthralling race/ “This has been the hardest race of my life.”
 
Timo Bracht was already celebrating during the last meters of the finish: He waved the German flag, raised his hands in the air and handshaked the fans in Frankfurt. The athlete from Eberbach crossed the finish line after 7:59:00 hours – course record. He enjoyed the last meters to the full, took his time for the fans
and dropped himself overhappy to the floor. 
 
“This has been the hardest race of my life”, said the 32-year-old. And for the spectators, this was probably one of the most exciting races ever. Before they got to the top flight, Timo Bracht and Chris McCormack had been for a long time in the second group on the bike.
 
At the run course it seemed that Eneko Llanos wandered off with his 3 minutes advance. Bracht and McCormack gave one another the chase and got closer to the Spaniard in front. Then McCormack was searching for a decision and speeded up. Bracht continued running his speed while Chris McCormack had to walk from time to time. The moment Timo passed him, the Australian gave him a pat on the back.
 
“Chris is a real Champion”, said Timo Bracht after the race. “He won so many titles in his career and I will never forget what he told me when I passed him: “Now, win it!” Due to the fans in Frankfurt, Bracht seemed to have a fly-high feeling on the last kilometres. “I heard “Timo, Timo!” everywhere. That was overwhelming. Thank you, Frankfurt! See you in Hawaii - together with the seven awesome guys from the team.”
 
Mathias Hecht, a young teammate of Timo Bracht, reached a respectable fifth place and fulfilled what he expected. During the bike course and I couldn’t go with the other athletes who raced very fast. Congratulations to Timo who performed very well and showed a tactical masterpiece and brilliant fight.”
 
Markus Fachbach and Jan Raphael raced with the top athletes for quite a long time. After 120 kilometers, both of them had to give up because of strong stomach trouble. 
 
Normann Stadler: “I’m very proud of our new teammate Timo. There’s no way to do a better race. I haven’t seen such an exciting competition for a very long time. In addition to that, there was Marino winning at Ironman Austria - what a perfect weekend! Congratulations to Mathias who showed us his fighting spirit.”