Things Heat Up in Roth

After her record-setting performance in Hamburg last month, all eyes are on defending world champion Laura Philipp this weekend – can she go under 8 hours? Photos: Kevin Mackinnon

We’ve got lots to talk about from here in Roth over the next few days, but we’ll get things rolling with some insights we gleaned from today’s press conference. Likely the biggest news came in the form of some speedy additions to the men’s race – after pulling out of the IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt on Sunday, Jonas Schomburg and Daniel Baekkegard are here in Roth, which will certainly ramp up the competition level in the men’s field on Sunday. (Joe Skipper is another late addition to the race, but he wasn’t at today’s press conference.)

Adding to all that fun at today’s presser, Schomburg also made a bold prediction that Magnus Ditlev’s record will be broken this weekend. Since my German isn’t all that great (I’ve got “Eine grosse bier” down pat, but after that its quite limited), I am not sure if the Olympian was pulling our leg or not, but it certainly added some fun to today’s activities. (Of course you could also have fun asking Schomburg if he’s tightened the bolts on his aerobars for Sunday – but that was somewhat taken care of when the press conference MC Till Schenk handed Schomburg a roll of duct tape in case of any emergencies.)

Before we get to the men’s race, though, let’s begin with the women who were in attendance.

All Eyes on Philipp

She’s the reigning IRONMAN world champion and she just blasted to an incredible 8:03:27 in Hamburg last month, so of course all eyes are on Laura Philipp here in Roth this weekend. (Stay tuned for a more in depth interview with the German.) Philipp is one of the classiest athletes you’ll ever come across, so she was quick to point out that her first goal is to win the race and that will be enough of a challenge thanks to the other women competing on Sunday. The water is so warm that the feeling is that for the first time in Roth history wetsuits won’t be allowed in the canal, which isn’t the best for Philipp. In reality, though, it’s really hard to imagine that anyone will be able to touch her, even if it’s just five weeks since she had her incredible showdown with Kat Mathews in the northern part of the country.

Alanis Siffert

At today’s presser we were introduced to Switzerland’s Alanis Siffert, who made her full-distance debut at IRONMAN New Zealand in March, finishing sixth. The 23-year-old has had some impressive results at races with some major climbing (she won in Gerardmer and Alpe D’Huez last year), but she’s not going to find those kind of climbs here in Roth – it’s going to be all-out fast from the get go.

Grace Thek

Aussie Grace Thek has picked Roth as the spot for her debut over the full distance. Well, maybe “picked” isn’t the right word – she joked that Belinda Granger, who handles the pro liaison duties for Challenge Family and Challenge Roth, “finally got me to the line this year.” For anyone who knows Granger, that’s code for “I got talked into doing this by Belinda because she just wouldn’t give up until I agreed to do it.” Granger was right to push her, though – Thek certainly has lots of potential over the distance. We caught up with her at Western Australia last year:

Nikki Bartlett

It might be her first time competing here in Roth, but after her fifth-place finish in Nice last year, Nikki Bartlett is one to watch this weekend. It’s hard to imagine she’d push Philipp if the German is having a good day, but Bartlett’s steadiness through the bike and run certainly makes her a podium favorite on Sunday. If Philipp falters or has issues, Bartlett could be the one gunning for the top spot on the podium.

Laura Siddall

This will be Laura Siddall’s last pro appearance here in Roth, and could be her last triathlon race ever. She’s “part of the inventory” (as Schenk noted) here in Roth, having finished the race five times and been here in other capacities another four. We caught up with Siddall today, too, so look for my more detailed interview over the next couple of days. (I did say there was a lot coming, right?) Suffice it to say that she was emotional at today’s presser, as were many of us in attendance. She’s finished second at this race a couple of times and would dearly love to finish off in style on Sunday – after her horrific crash at IRONMAN Brazil two years ago, she’s had an incredible struggle to get back here again.

Laura Philipp

Which brings us back to the prohibitive favorite. Philipp would no-doubt love to become the first woman to complete a full-distance race under eight hours this weekend, but knows full well that the conditions have to be near perfect for that to happen. She was here last year to witness first hand Anne Haug’s incredible 8:02:38 finish (Philipp went 8:14:13 for second), so she knows that a lack of a wetsuit, heat banging on 30 C (86 F) along with rain could take out any chances of another record, but don’t be surprised to see her improve on her time from last year despite all that.

Roth was the site of the first men’s full-distance race under eight hours (Lothar Leder went 7:57:02 to win IRONMAN Germany in 1996), so it’s easy to imagine it will be the site where the first woman does the same. As you’ve no-doubt gleaned from all I’ve written so far today – the feeling is that this Sunday might not be the day we’ll see that happen.

Will a Rookie Steal the Show?

Even though he won the IRONMAN World Championship in 2023 in Nice, Sam Laidlow likely wouldn’t have come into this race as the man to beat. When he’s on, the guy is frighteningly good, but the Frenchman hasn’t been the picture of consistency over the years. The year he won in Nice he was eighth here in Roth, recovering from an injury. Last year he looked incredible at T100 London, had a strong runner-up finish at T100 Ibiza, then finished 18th at his world title defence in Kona. Since then he’s struggled to get healthy after a number of issues, so this will be his first race of 2025.

Sam Laidlow

I had a great chat with Laidlow before today’s presser (yes, yet another story I need to get written over the next couple of days). He was the one who pointed out that the addition of Baekkegard and Schomburg is likely to change the race dynamics dramatically on Sunday. That’s also changed his thoughts about the race – last week he figured a solid come back day might be enough for a win. Now he’s fairly sure that’s going to be a stretch. His dad (who is also his coach) is pushing for him to just put together a solid day as he builds back to health and fitness. We all know that’s going to be a tough ask for a guy who loves to blast out on the swim and bike.

Tom Bishop

Last year’s runner-up here in Roth with an impressive debut time of 7:37:54 (behind Magnus Detlef’s 7:23:24) was Tom Bishop. The Brit said he “came to just finish last year” and “would like to get round (the course) in one piece” this year. In other words, he’s looking to lie low and temper expectations for Sunday’s race. Bishop hasn’t exactly lit things up with any of his other race results since last year’s big finish, but he’s proven he can compete. Without a speedster like Detlev, if this race ends up featuring a group at the front, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bishop in that bunch.

Jan Stratmann

The same can be said for last year’s fourth-place finisher, Jan Stratmann. The German would love to get on the podium this year after his fourth-place finish in 2024.

“I have only been focussed on this race since last year,” he said today.

Frederic Funk

It might be his full-distance debut, but Germany’s Frederic Funk has had no issues with the big deal that’s being made about his start in Roth this Sunday.

“I have never looked forward to a race as much as I am looking forward to this one,” he said today.

Funk is all too aware of how boisterous the crowds will be, and is “hoping the fans will get me to the finish line.” The question will be whether or not he’ll be crossing that line in the mix for a top finish, or simply just trying to get there.

Jonas Schomburg

OK, we’ve talked about the big prediction. We’ve shared the joke about duct taping the bars. Is there any chance he wasn’t joking about the fast time? Absolutely. The German loves to push the pace at the front, and he’ll have lots of familiar company up there. We’ll get to Vincent Luis momentarily, but other Olympians in the race who are likely to swim at the front include Aaron Royle and Henri Schoeman. Assuming Laidlow’s swimming has returned to his normal levels, there will be a few folks out of the water early who will be happy to push the pace at the start of the bike.

Now, just to make sure those bars stay on this week. (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.)

Daniel Baekkegard

The Dane spent much of the week trying to recover from whatever the stomach issue he was dealing with in Frankfurt this week, but as we get closer to race day, Daniel Baekkegard he’s looking forward to Sunday’s race. Baekkergard isn’t ready to count out the full-distance rookies on Sunday – “they are some of the best triathletes in the world,” he said, pointing to Luis, who was sitting next to him.

Two years ago Baekkegard went 7:39 here in Roth and didn’t even make the podium, so he’s quite aware of how fast he’ll need to go to take the win here on Sunday. Like so many of the others in this field, he’s very capable of competing at the front as part of a big group, and after a fourth in Texas in April you can be sure he’d very much like a podium finish here on Sunday.

Vincent Luis

The three-time Olympian and two-time world champion might be making his long-distance debut here on Sunday, but it’s not hard to imagine that Vincent Luis could compete for the podium, or even the win. Luis was actually here in Roth 20 years ago to watch his father compete.

“Long distance was always in the cards,” he said.

He’s not getting sucked in to any discussion of a big finish, though.

“If I have a normal day, I will be happy,” the Frenchman said. “I just don’t want to walk in the marathon. I am looking forward to soaking in all the atmosphere.”

Which is exactly what we’re all going to keep doing over the next few days here in Roth. Stay tuned for lots more coverage.

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