Skye Moench (USA) and Andi Boecherer (DEU) Earn Victories During the IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge

June 20, 2020

– Over 9,000 athletes from 117 nations registered to compete in IRONMAN VR12 an IRONMAN 70.3 half-distance simulation with 5 km Run, 90 km Ride, and 21 km Run 

– More than 1,900 age-group athletes registered to compete in the third IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series event 

– More than 107,000 people from around the globe have now joined IRONMAN Virtual Club platform 

TAMPA, Fla. (June 20, 2020) – The 12th edition of the IRONMAN^® VR™ Pro Challenge saw Skye Moench of Salt Lake City, Utah and Andi Boecherer of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany take top honors in the professional women’s and professional men’s races, respectively. Three professional women and three professional men took to the virtual pavement battling it out for IRONMAN VR12 Pro Challenge bragging rights. Athletes undertook an outdoor 5 km run in a setting of their choice, before hopping on their trainers to tackle a 90 km bike ride on a portion of the iconic IRONMAN World Championship bike course in stunning Kona, Hawai`i, utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality.

Skye Moench (USA) took the professional women’s victory with an impressive performance, finishing the 5 km run and 90 km bike in an overall time of 2:41:41. Kelsey Withrow (USA) followed Moench, finishing in second place with a combined time of 2:48:12. IRONMAN VR5 Champion Judith Corachán (ESP) rounded out the group with a time of 2:54:57.

Professional women’s results:

In the men’s professional race, IRONMAN VR8 Champion Andi Boecherer (DEU) narrowly edged out the field with an overall time of 2:24:03. Behind Boecherer was Matt Russell (USA), finishing in second clocking a time of 2:26:32. The 2013 IRONMAN World Champion, Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) dealt with some technical internet difficulties at the start of the bike portion, but ultimately finished and rounded out the men’s group with a time of 2:31:15.

Professional men’s results:

The full broadcast of both the professional women’s and professional men’s IRONMAN VR12 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.

In total, over 9,000 athletes from more than 117 nations and 48 states set out to participate in IRONMAN VR12. The IRONMAN VR12 IRONMAN 70.3 half-distance simulation requires athletes to complete a 5 km Run, 90 km Ride, and 21 km Run between Friday, June 19 at 2 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT) and race close on Sunday, June 21 at 7:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT). Competitors who race in the Classic Division can do so anywhere, indoors or outdoors, can complete the three segments in any order, and are not required to do the segments consecutively.

The 1,900 athletes who are registered for the third race in the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series are bound by a different set of rules over a four-week long regulated age-group competition designed to reward top-performing athletes in a structured and competitive virtual environment. An athletes overall standing is based upon their top three performances in aggregate over a four-week period. Athletes competing will have the opportunity to earn race slots to the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship with a total of 75 qualifying slots allocated across age groups for top performers.

IRONMAN VR12 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.

Bringing the IRONMAN community together virtually, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Club™ continues to grow and now has more than 107,000 members on the platform with thousands completing IRONMAN Virtual Club Challenges since its recent launch.

Full details and specifics regarding the IRONMAN Virtual Club are available on www.ironmanvirtualclub.com. For questions about the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series, athletes can email ironmanvr@ironman.com. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com. 

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About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^® presented by Westpac, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with more than 235 events across 55+ countries. On March 26, 2020, Wanda Sports Group (Nasdaq: WSG) entered into an agreement to sell The IRONMAN Group to Advance; closing is anticipated in mid-2020. For more information, visit www.ironman.com