Ironman 70.3 Zell am See is one of the most scenic courses on the circuit, set in the Austrian alps. It’s the last chance for the men to earn those precious pro series points before they head to Kona for the Ironman world championships and the hunt for points is on. There is a group of athletes who need to pick up points to challenge for the series. However they are up against a field of middle distance specialists who will all be battling for the win.

The Favourites

Of the 50+ athletes on the start list I have a group of 5 favourites headlined by Nicolas Mann. The 24 year old German is in the midst of a breakout season with wins in the pro series in Mallorca and Les Sables. Another win here would take him into the PTO top 10 ranked athletes in the world, just remember he started the year ranked 170^th. He is an all round talent, a front pack swimmer and he’s been top 3 on the bike and run in both of those races. Both his wins have been by fine margins by 70.3 standards so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him locked in a battle on the run again.

Mann will be up against another young german star in Mika Noodt. It’s easy to forget Noodt is only 23 years old given he finished 4^th at 70.3 world 2 seasons ago. He broke his leg in 2023 which slowed his momentum but so far this years he’s had two top 6 finishes in the T100 series.

Then we’ve got a third german favourite in Jan Stratmann. 3^rd at 70.3 worlds last year and he pushed Mann all the way to the line in Mallorca where he took 2^nd. He raced his first full distance in Roth and struggled at London T100 off the back of it but his attention turns back to the middle distance here.

I’ve got two more favourites I’ll be watching and both are coming off races in the last two weeks. Gregory Barnaby is fresh off a podium in Frankfurt where he catapulted himself into contention for the IM pro series. With two good IM scores and his 3^rd place finish from Mallorca behind Mann and Stratmann he is in a really strong position. He doesn’t need this race to count towards his score as he is qualified for Taupo, however a good result here will take the pressure off that final race.

Finally we’ve got Jelle Geens, calling him a favourite for this race could be a stretch however he’s coming off 3^rd in Tallinn last weekend so if he recovers well he’s definitely a podium contender. As a smaller athlete this course may suit him better. There is over 800m of elevation on the bike course and it all pretty much comes in one hit.

The Pro Series

To do well in the pro series you need to score 3 good Ironman’s and 2 good 70.3s. To maximise points in the series you need to be racing both of the IM and 70.3 championship races as these are worth more points. So if we look at the rankings taking into account the two best IM scores and best 70.3 scores, assuming the other two come from the world champs, then we have the below top 10.

We’ve got four of these athlete racing in Zell am See.

• Gregory Barnaby – coming off IM Frankfurt so could have some fatigue but will be flying high after that result
• Bradley Weiss – he’s also coming off Frankfurt where he struggled in the swim
• Arnoud guilloux – dark horse for the series after two 4^th place finishes in cairns and lake placid
• Robert kallin – whos coming off 70.3 tallinn where he broke away on the bike but faded hard on the run

But with a 70.3 score in the books you may be wondering why they are racing?

There is an interesting trend in the men’s series that 5 of these top 10 men aren’t qualified for 70.3 worlds in Taupo, see below.

Which means we are seeing them race a second 70.3 to bank those precious points. Barnaby has qualified but if he can score similar to his race in Mallorca earlier this year he’ll take the pressure off Taupo. It will be interesting to see if guys suited to long course actually score better points away from Taupo, given the field will be crazy with short course and T100 athletes so the pace will be rapid which could make it tough to get a good score in the books.

The Challengers

Here are the other athletes I can see featuring in the race.

• Clement mignon – he’s coming off a DNF in Texas where he double flatted, he podiumed in les sables but without 3 IM’s his out of contention for the pro series. A good result here could see him salvage top 10
• Thor Bendix Madsen – he’s been building back from injury and is coming off 8^th at IM lake placid. This could be the race we see him back in the Top 5
• Tom Hug – 3 straight podiums this years including two wins, will have a gap out of the water but he’ll come back on the bike and run
• Denis Chevrot – he picked up an injury after his win after IM Austria, this is his first race back and his focus is building up to Kona
• Max Sperl – consecutive DNFs so not sure what form we’ll get. showed promise at the start of the year
• James Teagle – DNF in Frankfurt which damages pro series chances
• Jonas Hoffman – coming off one his career best performances in Frankfurt where he picked up a Kona slot
• Nick Emde – 6^th at Les Sables against a similar field
• Thomas Steger – returned from a 1 year doping suspension this year and is finding form
• Bart Aernouts – coming off 7^th in tallinn
• Cam Wurf – a continuous glitch in the system has him on every single start list

The Race

Jumping into the race I think we’ll have all our favourites in the lead pack on the swim joined by Denis Chevrot, will all the other athletes I’ve mentioned in the first of second chase packs.

This is just the out of the athletes I’ve mentioned but expect to see Magnus Manner and Florian Angert leading out the swim.

The bike course features over 800 metres of elevation which pretty much all comes in one hit which is pretty similar to Mallorca where Mann and Stramann were both really strong. I think this course will suit Geens better than Tallinn but he’ll be carrying that fatigue. Noodt is super strong on the bike so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him driving this pack. Kallinn and Bendix Madsen will be charging from behind. Im interested to see Kallinn race on a hillier course compared to pancake flat Tallinn last weekend.

On to the run and this is where Mann has been so strong this year. He’s won a run battle with Stramann and Rico Bogen already in the pro series and I’ve got him taking his 3^rd win of the year. Ahead of Mika Noodt in second and Jan Stratmann in third. A german sweep of the podium.

Let me know yours picks down below and make sure you tune in for the race.