Best of 2015: David Hauss' shoeless ETU win

The 2015 season saw non-stop action that awed the triathlon world over and over again.

The World Triathlon Series was nothing short of historical, the World Cup circuit saw 12 new athletes claim their first titles, Paratriathlon saw new and old champions earn gold, the Rio Test Event gave a preview of what is to come next summer at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and multiple champions were crowned in other Games settings that would all add up to total one of the best years that this sport has ever seen.

So, in order to wrap up the year and gear up for what is also going to be a momentous and epic 2016, we write an ode to 2015 and share the top 15 best of 2015 moments from the year.

Starting things off is the European Triathlon Championship win by Frenchman David Hauss in Geneva in July. After a solid swim and maintaining his place within a 20-man pack during the bike, Hauss seized his ETU title after a blistering breakaway run. His performance granted him his first ETU crown and gave him the momentum to go on to also claim the gold in the 4X Mixed Relay race two days later.

And while winning in Geneva twice was impressive and surely worth a “Best of” spot in our countdown, what really makes Hauss’ victories remarkable was that he won both titles barefoot - without shoes!

And the reason for running the final leg barefoot? Did he have comfort issues with his shoes? Did he not want to waste a few precious seconds on his transition time? Did he not like the look of his shoes that day? Nope! He just wanted to. He thought it would be fun, simple as that!

We need fun in triathlon ahaha ... Because we all love it #barefootstyle @NewtonRunning #Triathlon pic.twitter.com/9f4yXgNHnv

— David Hauss (@davhauss) July 12, 2015