Maurice Clavel

Crossing the line in third in front of his home fans, and as the first German to finish, at the IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden in 2014 prompted a spontaneous reaction from Maurice Clavel which still raises a smile today.

With a massive grin on his face, he ripped his shirt off his chest in pure joy at his accomplishment. Since then his no-holding-back racing style has endeared him to a wider audience.

His nickname is 'Krawall', which roughly means 'riot'.

"It's giving everything you have; it doesn't matter if you have a bad race, a bad day, a good day, it doesn't matter if you're first or 20th, it's about giving everything you have from start to finish. You go all in," explains Maurice in a little more detail.

There is no doubt he went all in at Kona in 2019 having qualified for the World Championship for the second time.

He was right in the mix in the swim, did lots of work in the front group on the bike but then blew up after 65 miles as he lost more than 20 minutes to finally cross the line in 38th.

Clavel didn't go unnoticed though, just as he hadn’t on his debut there a year earlier. It would be a brave person who backs against him one day coming back and achieving his dream of a podium spot at triathlon's biggest race.

Leaving it all out there

Freiburg-based Maurice was active as a swimmer in his youth, and he switched to triathlon in 2007 after the pool training "got a bit boring".

He started in shorter distance events, but it wasn't until he moved to middle-distance in 2014 that things immediately clicked.

He admits his racing style may not always work out, but argues if you're feeling good, why not go for it? After all, it's better to lose trying to win than not take that chance at all.

It's an honest and aggressive approach, and it has paid dividends.

That Wiesbaden performance catapulted him into the spotlight and to him, it was a perfectly natural joyous reaction crossing the line.

"I didn't plan it at all - I was just so happy to cross that finish line after that performance.

"You're in a tunnel for four hours, and suddenly you see this crazy finish line and you've done it.

"It's all coming out, all the pressure, all the effort."

Not many make Challenge Roth their first try at the full distance, but in 2017 Maurice did just that. And it was an astonishing debut with his podium spot in third only telling part of the story.

He was quickest in both the swim and bike, finding himself in the lead when 2015 winner Nils Frommhold crashed out.

In front of 250,000 buoyant home fans, Clavel had a real chance of adding his name to the legendary list of recent home winners.

He was overhauled on the run by both Bart Aernouts and Joe Skipper, but third place was still a magnificent achievement and his finish-line celebrations again reflected that.

Clearly that first long-distance event hadn't blunted his speed as he was then sixth in the 2017 70.3 World Championship at Chattanooga.

Fast forward to just his second full-distance race a year later where his performance in South Africa booked him a first Kona slot in 2018.

Again he was to the fore early with his swim time of 47:43 just four seconds behind fastest-of-the-day Josh Amberger. Maurice was right in the hunt too on the bike, before dropping back slightly on the run. He still held on for a podium spot though.

Then in August 2018 Clavel notched a maiden 70.3 win at Vichy and it could not have been much more emphatic.

A super-solid swim (24:20) put him within half a minute of the lead, but he had moved to the head of affairs early in the bike leg.

By the time they got to T2, the race looked at his mercy as he led by over four minutes. The gap just grew and grew as a 1:13:16 half marathon saw him underline his dominance.

"It was the perfect day and an emotional moment for me," he said afterwards.

So to his Kona debut, and his first World Championship in Hawaii couldn't have started much better. He was in the select lead group in the swim, three minutes quicker than defending champion Patrick Lange (who would go on to become the first man to break the eight-hour barrier later that day).

Maurice was still in the top five 100 miles into the bike leg.

The run however, with a marathon time of 3:08:42, saw him drop down to 19th. He'd given it everything, just as he would a year later.

In 2019 Maurice added a Challenge half to the win list at Walchsee-Kaiserwinkl in June. His aggressive style was continuing to work, taking the lead on the bike again despite baking hot temperatures, before putting it beyond doubt on the run to win in 3:50:38.

The build-up to a second Kona appearance continued to go well as he was runner-up at 70.3 Gdynia in August. His time of 3:43:43 was impressive enough and there was no disgrace in crossing the line in second. First, four minutes ahead, was Jan Frodeno.

Scared of no one

There is no doubting Maurice's main aim going forward. Just like his racing there is no holding back on his ambitions.

"I really want to go top three at Kona within the next three years."

Looking back on his latest display in Hawaii, he says: "Some people asked me: 'Was it a plan to race like that, to be in the front and blow up?'

"But I felt so good, so comfy and so stable. Olympic champions pretty much surrounded me, but I was totally in my flow, feeling I was going to rock Kona.

"I wanted to do my own race rather than worry about those around me, but I just didn't have any power left."

It is something he's been working on with a new coach since late 2019 and he will continue to combine middle and long-distance events.

But his philosophy remains the same, when asked who or what scares him he quickly replies: "Nobody - and nothing!"