IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée Plays Host to the Tenth Stop in the IRONMAN Pro Series on Saturday June 29
June 26, 2024
– The IRONMAN Pro Series™ returns to Europe this weekend, and will see a high caliber field of professional triathletes converge in Les Sables d’Olonne to fight for a piece of the $50,000 total event pro prize purse and a maximum of 2,500 points towards IRONMAN Pro Series Standings
– Free Live coverage of Saturday’s event to be broadcast across multiple platforms for viewers around the world including proseries.ironman.com, YouTube, Outside TV, DAZN and L’Équipe in France, among others
| What:
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The 2024 IRONMAN® 70.3® Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon
- Set in the seaside town of Les Sables-d’Olonne, on the Atlantic coast of Western France, the IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon will host the tenth stop in the IRONMAN Pro Series™, and the third race in Europe.
- Top professional triathletes from around the world will head to Les Sables d’Olonne to battle for a share of the $50,000 total event pro prize purse, and up to 2,500 points towards the IRONMAN Pro Series Standings
- IRONMAN Pro Series Athlete Panel to take place at 2 p.m. CEST on Friday, June 28 at the finish line and is free and open to the public.
- FREE live coverage of Saturday’s event to be broadcast beginning at 6:30am CEST on proseries.ironman.com, YouTube and DAZN, for international audiences, and L’Équipe in France, and on Outside TV for U.S. and Canadian audiences.
- Age-group athletes will compete alongside the professionals on the same course, looking to earn qualifying slots to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on December 14 & 15, 2024 in Taupō, New Zealand.
- The 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon will start with a single-loop 1.9k (1.2-mile) sea swim in the Vendée Globe canal, famous for the Vendée Globe yacht race. They will then traverse through the breathtaking French countryside on a one-loop 90km (56 mile) bike course, which takes athletes to the east of the city and into the Olonne Forest. Finally, a two-loop run course of 21.1 km (13.1-mile) will see athletes run on the promenade along the Tanchet Lake and cross the finish line in the centre of town, not forgetting a 200m sandy run on the “Grande Plage” beach!
- IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée is the fastest selling IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon in Europe, and as announced earlier this month, will transition for a full-distance IRONMAN triathlon next year.
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| Links:
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Live Broadcast (Coverage starts at 6:30 a.m. CEST)
Other
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| Who: |
Participants
- The IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon will welcome close to 3,000 registered participants, with 83% of athletes local to France.
- In addition to France, the other top represented countries will be UK, Belgium, Jersey and Switzerland.
- Achille Bertrand will be the youngest participant at 18 years old, and Jean -François Gaillard is the oldest participant scheduled to race, both of whom reside in France.
Professional Participants
Please note that since our Professional Start List announcement on Wednesday June, 19, there have been some updates to the athletes scheduled to race. The current start list (still subject to change) can be found HERE.
- The Pro field consists of nearly 70 athletes representing 18 countries, regions, and territories
- Top contenders in IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon include:
- Rico Bogen (DEU)
- 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion
- Gustav Iden (NOR)
- 2022 IRONMAN World Champion
- Cameron Wurf (AUS)
- 5th at the 2019 IRONMAN World Championship
- Clement Mignon (FRA)
- 2023 Qatar Airways IRONMAN France Nice winner
- Charlene Clavel (FRA)
- IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée reigning champion
- Emilie Morier (FRA)
- 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée runner-up
- Maja Stage Nielsen (DNK)
- 2024 IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg runner-up
- Marjolaine Pierre (FRA)
- 2023 IRONMAN Portugal-Cascais Champion
- Professionals ranked in the Top 30 of the IRONMAN Pro Series Standings
Females
- Maja Stage Nielsen (DNK) – 7th
- Julie Iemmolo (FRA) – 16th
- Daniela Bleymehl (DEU) – 23rd
Males
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- Paul Schuster (DEU) – 12th
- Arnaud Guilloux (FRA) – 23rd
- Clement Mignon (FRA) – 26th
- 21-year-old Laura Madsen (DNK) is the youngest Pro athlete competing
- 43-year-old Michael Raelert (DEU) is the oldest Pro athlete competing
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| Schedule: |
Thursday, June 27
- 3p.m. – 8p.m. Athlete Check-In – Les Atlantes, 1 Promenade Maréchal Joffre
- 3p.m. – 8p.m. IRONMAN Village Open
Friday, June 28
- 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Athlete Check-In – Les Atlantes, 1 Promenade Maréchal Joffre
- 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. IRONMAN Village Open
- 2 p.m. – 2.30 p.m. Athlete Pro Panel – Finish Line – Free and open to the public
- 2 p.m. – 10 p.m. Check-in bike and transition bags
Saturday, June 29
- 7:00 a.m. IRONMAN 70.3 Men’s Pro Race Start – Plage (Beach) du Remblai
- 7:04 a.m. IRONMAN 70.3 Women’s Pro Race Start – Plage (Beach) du Remblai
- 7:14 a.m. – Age Group Rolling Start – Plage (Beach) du Remblai
- 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. IRONMAN Village & Official IRONMAN Store
- 5:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony & 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Slot Allocation/Rolldown Ceremony – Les Atlantes, 1 Promenade Maréchal Joffre
*All times listed are Central European Time (CEST).
Full event schedule can be found here. |
| What to Know: |
IRONMAN Pro Series
- The inaugural year of the IRONMAN Pro Series, which was first announced in October of 2023, will see professional triathletes vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and their share of an incremental $1.7 million dollars paid at years end on top of individual event payout creating a total pro prize and bonus purse of nearly $6 million in 2024 season.
- The series is contested over 20 designated races on 19 courses in the 2024 pro circuit, including a combination of six full-distance IRONMAN events and 10 IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons from around the globe in addition to the split location women’s and men’s 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons and two-day women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlons.
Live Event Broadcast
- Free Live coverage of Saturday’s event to be broadcast across multiple platforms for viewers around the world including proseries.ironman.com, Outside TV, YouTube, DAZN and L’Equipe in France, among others.
- Coverage will begin with a pre-race show at 6:30 a.m. CEST (12:30 a.m. ET) that previews the pro field and course while also including exclusive interviews with triathlon personalities and other special guests. Live broadcast programming features all 20 IRONMAN Pro Series races globally throughout the year.
- For information on the 2024 IRONMAN event broadcast, visit here.
Check It Out
- The new IRONMAN Pro Series website has everything anyone needs to follow the new Series from broadcast, triathlete bios, race details, stats, plus the latest point standings, visit proseries.ironman.com.
- For a look at the current overall standings for the IRONMAN Pro Series visit here: Standings – Page | IRONMAN Pro Series
Pro Panel
- Media interested in interviewing some of the top contenders participating in the IRONMAN Pro Series are encouraged to attend the pro athlete panel. The panel, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 2 p.m. CEST on Friday, June 2 at the Finish Line. While this list is subject to change, the IRONMAN Pro Series Panel is expected to include:
| Pro Women |
Pro Men |
| Emilie Morier (FRA) |
Rico Bogen (DEU) |
| Kate Curran (GBR) |
Gustav Iden (NOR) |
| Charlene Clavel (FRA) |
Clément Mignon (FRA) |
| Nikki Bartlett (GBR) |
Nicolas Mann (DEU) |
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| Credentials: |
Registration for media credentials to the upcoming 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée triathlon taking place on Saturday, June 29 is now available. Media interested in covering the event must register at the link below by Thursday, June 27 at 5:00 p.m. CEST to be considered for media credentials.
CREDENTIAL REQUESTS ON RACE DAY WILL NOT BE APPROVED. Media who arrive on day of race without proper registration, will not be provided credentials or access to race venues.
Please visit, www.ironman.com/credential-requests to apply for credentials. |
| IRONMAN Insider™ presented by Maurten podcast: |
The IRONMAN Insider presented by Maurten is available now on all major podcast platforms, as well as podcast.ironman.com and a video version on IRONMAN’s YouTube channel.
Episodes currently live are:
- Ep 1: Sam Laidlow – The reigning IRONMAN World Champion discusses his take on self-belief and being “unstoppable,” overcoming adversity, going back to basics, and who he sees as the biggest threat in his mission to capture the crown at the IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Kailua-Kona this October.
- Ep 2: Lucy Charles Barclay – BONUS episode in which the reigning IRONMAN World Champion reveals her plans to validate for the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France this September.
- Ep 3: Braden Currie – 2x IRONMAN® New Zealand Champion and 3x IRONMAN Asia Pacific Champion discusses his plans for the 2024 season, and how adventure racing has helped him on his path to be a successful pro triathlete.
Coming up:
- Ep 4: Zdeno Chara – The former professional ice hockey legend, well known for his intimidating stature as the tallest person to ever play in the NHL at 6’9” and his multi-decade career which included a Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins, talks about how he has turned his hand to endurance sports in retirement, and reveals some exciting 2024 IRONMAN triathlon plans
Hosted by former professional triathlete and current IRONMAN commentator, Matt Lieto, the podcast is scheduled to be released bi-weekly, plus bonus episodes, and will delve into the culture and sport of long-course triathlon, bringing fans new insights from top triathletes and other leading figures. |
| Media Contacts: |
emeapress@ironman.com |
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About IRONMAN Pro Series
The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally to vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and a share of the lucrative USD $1.7 million year-end bonus prize pool. Athletes will also continue to battle for each individual event’s prize money equating to over USD $2.5 million and coveted world championship qualifying slots. The IRONMAN Pro Series will consist of six full-distance IRONMAN® triathlons and 10 half-distance IRONMAN® 70.3® triathlons in addition to the split location women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons and two-day women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlons. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series will usher in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. An additional 18 events throughout 2024 will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing and world championship qualifying opportunities, as well as over USD $1.6 million in prize money to create a total 2024 professional prize purse of nearly USD $6 million. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com.
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, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll® Running Series, IRONKIDS®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf®, UTMB® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB®, Tarawera Ultra-Trail™ by UTMB® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB®, Epic Series™ 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, providing participants the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. 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 hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business, and Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm focused on building great brands. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.
About Advance
Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 14,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.
