Challenge St Pölten: Start time, preview and how to watch live

The iconic Challenge St Pölten will take place this weekend in Austria, as the Challenge Family host back-to-back race weekends in Central Europe following the seventh edition of The Championship last week.

With over 1,700 athletes from 36 athletes lining up in the amateur race, there will be plenty of athletes out on course, at a race which also features an 80-strong pro field.

Below, we have all the information you need on the professional field, and more details on start times and how to watch the race live this weekend.

Start time and how to watch live

Challenge St Pölten will take place on Sunday May 26. The women will begin first, with the gun going off at 07:00 local time. This corresponds to 06:00 in the UK, 01:00 on the East Coast and 22:00 on the West Coast on Saturday May 25.

The pro men’s race will begin twenty minutes later, at 07:20 local time. This corresponds to 06:20 in the UK, 01:20 on the East Coast and 22:20 on the West Coast on Saturday.

The race doubles as the Austrian National Championship and will be broadcast live on both Austrian television and the Challenge Family website, plus via the embed below.

Pro Field

In the men’s race, German Tom Hug will hope to defend his title from last year, with the German racing for the second time this season in St Pölten after taking a win last weekend at the Apfelland Triathlon.

His competition includes home favourite Michael Weiss, the 43-year-old Austrian who has secured two Top 10 finishes here in recent years, plus fellow German Nicolas Mann, the recent winner of IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca.

Other notable names include Serbians Ognjen Stojanović and Ondrej Kubo, plus former IRONMAN Austria winner Ivan Tutukin of Kazakstan, who previously competed in short course racing for Russia.

In the women’s race, Germans Laura Zimmerman and Daniela Kleiser are the heavy favourites for the win, with Zimmerman last month finishing third at IRONMAN South Africa and Kleiser second last weekend at the Apfelland Triathlon.

Other contenders include Gabriele Obmann of Austria, who recently took third at Challenge Cesenatico, plus top Finnish athlete Tiina Pohjalainen and American Brittany Higgins.

Prize Money: What’s on the line?

Athletes will be racing for a total prize purse of $19,000, payable six deep as follows:

• 1st – €3,500
• 2nd – €2,100
• 3rd – €1,400
• 4th – €1,150
• 5th – €850
• 6th – €500