Made in Roth – Mission triathlon in jeopardy?

Sebastian Reinwand talks about his accident and how he is doing now … 

The fact that Sebastian Reinwand is a fighter is a given. If – as a triathlon rookie – you set yourself the ambitious goal to swim 3.8 kilometres, to cycle 180 kilometres and to run 42.2 kilometres – and all that in less than eight hours, you’ve got to be able to grit your teeth! 

But the pro-runner had to suffer a devastating blow during his training journey towards the triathlon challenge “Made in Roth ”: A car accident derailed his plans. His training schedule had to be replaced with rehabilitation treatments for a while. A struggle of a totally new kind began … 

Is his mission triathlon in jeopardy after his accident? Or will Sebastian Reinwand be able to follow through with his project? Read up on all the details in the exclusive blog post!  

Almost-accidents and near-collisions with cars or trucks happen all the time if you’re a cyclist. That’s why some people say that you’ve got to have some guts to ride your bike in city traffic. In December of 2018, Sebastian Reinwand became a victim of the road as well. A left-turning driver didn’t yield right of way while he was going straight. “I’m lucky I reacted and pulled the brakes, so I wasn’t that fast”, he says about his accident now. But despite his quick reaction time, he still hit the bonnet with the full force of his body. 

At first glance, everything seemed alright except for a few scratches and some material damage to the bike. At second glance, however, nothing was like it used to be. His recently healed knee started hurting again. The outcome: Sebastian Reinwand had to take a break from cycling and running. 

The project “Made in Roth” was on the rocks after his accident – for weeks, there were no improvements on his knee. Aside from swim training, the native Middle Franconian couldn’t train for any other discipline. 

“Because of the major lack of training, I started seriously doubting whether my endeavour would be doable”, says the 31-year-old. But thanks to the professional rehab and daily treatments his values in performance diagnostics improved. As a result, the ambitious athlete has decided to place all his bets on one card and focus on his goal. 

Towards the end of January, he took a first stab at running again. By February, he had finally gotten his knees accustomed to tolerating the various stresses and restarted his cycling training. 
 

The pro-runner has a positive outlook on the future: “For me, it doesn’t make sense to look back and feel sorry for myself. I only have four months left in which I will do everything in my power to reach my goal of finishing the triathlon in under eight hours!” At the training camp, he wants to see another major leap in performance. The specific preparations for the Challenge Roth on July 7 start in April. All that matters now is that there won’t be another training lay-off until then …