The IRONMAN Pro Series™ remains in Europe for its next stop, with the Basque Country of Spain hosting IRONMAN® Vitoria-Gasteiz, the 11th race, and fourth full distance IRONMAN® triathlon of the series. Approximately 80 of the top male and female triathletes are currently expected to race next Sunday 14 July, and will be battling it out for a maximum of 5,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points, a prize purse of $125,000 and 3 slots per gender for the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons in Nice, France (women), or Kona, Hawai`i (men).
As with all IRONMAN Pro Series events, the race can be seen live in person and will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for viewers around the world including?
proseries.ironman.com, YouTube, Outside TV, DAZN and Équipe in France, among others.
In the men’s professional field, wearing bib #1, and making his IRONMAN Pro Series debut, will be the reigning IRONMAN World Champion, Sam Laidlow (FRA). Laidlow has made no secret that this race will be his attempt to validate his start at the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona this October. Joining Sam will be Kristian H
øgenhaug (DNK) who came fifth at 2024 Zafiro IRONMAN
® 70.3®Alcúdia-Mallorca back in May, and Mathias
Lyngsø
Petersen (DNK) who came second at the IRONMAN African Championship South Africa triathlon earlier this year.
Lyngsø Petersen, who did not finish at this past weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon has said that this has given him ‘more fuel to the fire’ for IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz (quote,
Instagram).
Making their IRONMAN Pro Series debuts will be David McNamee (GBR), Antonio Benito-Lopez (ESP), and Arthur Horseau (FRA) amongst others.
In the women’s field, 2023 IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz champion, Gurutze Frades Larralde (ESP), will wear bib #1. Frades Larralde currently sits in 58th place in the IRONMAN Pro Series, after two top 10 finishes at the Intermountain Health IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship St. Geroge and Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
Daniela Bleymehl (DEU), who currently sits in 13th in the IRONMAN Pro Standings, following a third-place finish at the IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg triathlon, and ninth position at this past weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée is also due to race. A win, or a strong performance from Bleymehl, could catapult her to the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.
Els Visser (NLD), who came third in the 2023 edition of the race, will also be looking to repeat a strong performance. Following a fifth place position at the IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg triathlon, Visser currently sits in 27th place in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings with 4,189 points.
Ruth Astle (GBR) who has been battling injury since the start of the year will also take to the start in her IRONMAN Pro Series debut.
Joining the professional athletes, will be 1,700 registered age-group participants, who will be competing with the hope of securing one of the age-group qualifying slots to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons in Nice, France (women), or Kona, Hawai`i (men).
The race, which takes place in the cultural capital of northern Spain’s Basque Country offers beautiful natural landscapes, rich Basque culture and gastronomy and one of the most passionate and lively crowds on the circuit. Athletes will take on a 3.8km (2.4 mile) long ROKA swim course?in beautiful Ulibarri-Gamboa lake, located in the Landa Provincial Park, just outside Vitoria-Gasteiz. Following a short run into transition, athletes will then embark on the 190km (112 mile) bike course, which consists of three loops, passing by some of most scenic towns of the Álava region and even shares a section with the "Camino de Santiago" - the famous ancient pilgrim route. The four-loop 42.2 km (26.2 mile) HOKA run course?is a flat course along the wonderful city centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, completely crowded with triathlon fans cheering on every athlete. The finish line is located in Plaza España (central square in Vitoria).
The full professional start lists are below (subject to change):
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PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S START LIST
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PROFESSIONAL MEN'S START LIST
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For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series visit Here.??
?
For more information on the 2024 IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon, visit: ironman.com/im-vitoria To learn more about the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and series of events, please visit?www.ironman.com.