For the German professional triathlete Till Schramm, the new season begins where the old one ended. After the 28-year-old father ended the 2013 season with a tenth place in the Challenge Phuket graduated, the native of Cologne is drawn back to Asia early in the 2014 season. Next Saturday, February 22nd, he will start at the Challenge Philippines over the triathlon half distance.
“I feel really comfortable here, trained well, met great people and had a lot of fun with my professional colleague Rasmus Petraeus. Now it's finally time to get started. The track is tough, but I know what I can do”, Till Schramm is looking forward to the start of the season. “Since December I have been training according to my own plans and listening to my body more. This has worked very well so far. I was able to improve a lot, especially in swimming.”
Within the Challenge Philippines the only German professional present meets strong international competition. The top field is led by the two-time Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack, who is at the start with a strong Australian delegation. From Europe, the Spaniard Eneko Elosegui, the Dane Rasmus Petraeus and the Swede Fredrik Croneberg will tackle the half-distance triathlon.
Till Schramm wants to focus more on the races of the international triathlon scene this season. "My family and I like the international lifestyle much better and the races with the top athletes are much more fun. You can only develop personally and athletically if you measure yourself against the big names in the scene. My goal is to assert myself at prestigious races at an international level.”