Mixed Relay stole the show at the 2015 ETU European Championships in Geneva when it came down to a sprint finish between France, Switzerland and Great Britain with France edging its competitors out by a narrow nine seconds.
Great Britain got started with a bang when Commonwealth Games Mixed Relay gold medallist Jodie Stimpson secured her woman-man-woman-man team a lead. While Italy's Annamaria Mazzetti and Hungary's Margit Vanek managed to stay with Stimpson, that would change when the women changed over to the first man.
Matthew Sharp took over the responsibility of keeping Great Britain out front, but France's Simon Viain got France back into fighting position after the team suffered a 40-second deficit following the first competitor. Despite having the fastest split of the second leg, Great Britain remained out in front.
However, with the European Champion Nicola Spirig took over for the Swiss team, Spirig sprinted out a time 10 seconds faster than anyone else to edge Switzerland closer to the top. Her performance was no match for Lucy Hall (GBR) or Sara Dossena (ITA), making the race suddenly anybody's for the taking.
France capitalized on their new spot ahead to catapult into the lead with men's European Champion David Hauss as the anchor. Just as he did in the individual race, a shoe-less Hauss hauled it home with a stunning final run leg, keeping Switzerland's Sven Riederer and Great Britain's Thomas Bishop at bay long enough to steal him in 1:25:21.
Just meters behind, Bishop and Riederer sprinted it out in a battle down the finish line. With a roaring Swiss crowd on its feet to bring him home, Riederer outpaced Bishop to clench silver by just a second in 1:25:30, leaving bronze for the Brits in 1:25:31.
The ITU Mixed Relay World Championships will be contested this weekend in Hamburg on Sunday.
Results: ETU European Champs - Mixed Relay
1. Team I France 1:25:21
2. Team I Switzerland 1:25:30
3. Team I Great Britain 1:25:31
4. Team I Russia 1:27:04
5. Team I Italy 1:27:10
6. Team I Hungary 1:27:19
7. Team I Germany 1:27:45
8. Team I Austria 1:28:10
9. Team I Czech Republic 1:28:20
10. Team I Ukraine 1:28:52
