The IRONMAN Pro Series™ makes its way to Italy for the fifth event in the Series, and the first stop in Europe with IRONMAN® 70.3® Venice-Jesolo triathlon with over 100 professional athletes are slated to toe the line at just the fifth edition of the race, and they will be racing for a maximum of 2,500 IRONMAN Pro Series points, a total prize purse of $50,000 USD, and three slots per gender for the 2025 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon in Marbella, Spain.
Taking place in the seaside town of Jesolo, near Venice, the IRONMAN 70.3 Venice-Jesolo triathlon will be available across multiple platforms for viewers around the world, for free, including
proseries.ironman.com, Outside TV for US and Canada viewers, DAZN and L’Équipe in France, iQIYI and YouTube among others.?
The professional men’s field is headlined by 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, Rico Bogen (DEU) who returns to IRONMAN 70.3 racing for the first time since finishing seventh at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon in Taupo last December. As a former competitive swimmer who can also hold his own on the bike amongst some of the best in the sport, viewers can expect to see the young German talent lead from the front and play a big part in the dynamics of the race.
Bogen won’t have it easy however, as a heady group of Olympians will provide stiff competition for the German including; Jonas Schomburg (DEU) who wowed the triathlon world when he came in third at the ISUZU IRONMAN® South Africa African Championship triathlon three weeks ago on a so-called “training day’’; Pierre Le Corre (FRA) who finished fourth at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has one IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon victory under his belt (IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée, 2022); Local interest, Alessandro Fabian (ITA), who won the race back in 2022, and will hope the home crowds along with course experience will carry him to another victory in Jesolo; Sam Dickinson, who won a bronze medal in the mixed team relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics,and also had luck in Italy last year when he won IRONMAN 70.3 Emilia-Romagna triathlon.
Jan Stratmann (DEU) will also be starting his season in Venice. Stratmann’s 2024 campaign saw him take the win at the IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona race and clock two second places at the IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia and Zafiro IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca triathlons.
Rasmus Svenningson (SWE), Leonard Arnold (DEU), and Dylan Magnien (FRA) are also among those to watch in the men’s professional field.
In the women’s professional field, 2025 IRONMAN Africa Champion, Anne Reischmann (DEU) will continue her season in Venice. Reischmann hunted down 2024 champion, Marta Sanchez (ESP) on the bike and ran strongly for an incredible victory in Port Elizabeth less than a month ago. With maximum IRONMAN Pro Series points earned, the German currently sits atop of the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.
Also hot off the ISUZU IRONMAN South Africa African Championship podium is Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DNK), who, perhaps wrongly so, has flown somewhat under the radar. With a successful 2024 season which saw her clock four top 10 finishes last year, including 2nd place at both the IRONMAN 70.3 Gdynia and IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden triathlons, and a strong start to this year, the young Dane should not be counted out of anyone’s top picks.
Fourth place finisher in last year’s IRONMAN Pro Series, Maja Stage Nielsen (DNK) will also continue her season in Venice after coming fifth in South Africa. Stage Nielsen will be hoping to maintain a strong and consistent season once again to keep her at the top end of the IRONMAN Pro Series and in contention for a big bonus payout.
Els Visser (NLD), who unfortunately did not have as much luck in South Africa after pulling herself out of the race halfway through the run, will no doubt be out for redemption as she toes the line in Jesolo. Visser raced 16 times last season, earning one IRONMAN 70.3 title, two IRONMAN podiums, fifth at the IRONMAN European Championship in Hamburg, and three top 10 IRONMAN 70.3 finishes.
Eyes will also be on the up-and-coming Norwegian talent, Solveig Løvseth, whose 2024 season saw her claim a victory at the IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw race and a third place finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship Tallinn triathlon.
Local interest comes in the guise of Luisa Iogna Prat (ITA) who moved from short to middle distance triathlon racing just last year. Other women also likely to be in the mix include IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden champion, Marlene de Boer (NLD), Kate Curran (GBR), and Charlene Clavel (FRA).
Below are the pro start lists (subject to change):
In just its fifth edition of the race, Jesolo, Venice expects to welcome nearly 3,000 registered age-group athletes. The IRONMAN 70.3 Venice-Jesolo triathlon is a fan favourite amongst age-groupers wanting to test their early season fitness, PB hunters and first-timers alike thanks to its flat and fast course. Athletes will start their journey in the Adriatic Sea, where they will complete a 1.2-mile (1.9-kilometre) ROKA swim with a single counterclockwise loop with the iconic lighthouse, which marks the border between the Municipalities of Jesolo and Cavallino, as their backdrop. They will then embark on the 56-mile (90-kilometre) Zoot bike course, which features the Venetian lagoon, Corallezzo and its unforgettable bridge of boats and the municipality of Eraclea which is characterized by the picture-perfect canals.?The 13.1-mile (21.1kilometre) HOKA run course consists of three 7km loops where athletes can enjoy sea views before finishing right on the beach to the roar of spectators.
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