Fred Funk made his full-distance debut at Challenge Roth last year when, by his own admission, he raced “conservatively” en route to fifth place.

This weekend he returns aiming to get into the race more forcefully,, despite it boasting one of the strongest-ever men’s fields.

It’s headed by Kristian Blummenfelt and Sam Laidlow, with a third IRONMAN World Champion in Patrick Lange also taking part.

But Funk also expects big shows from Jonas Schomburg, Rico Bogen, three-time Roth champion Magnus Ditlev and others.

Lead trio on the bike?

Roth was Funk’s first ever triathlon, aged just five, and is clearly an event with a strong emotional attachment. Sitting down with Laura Siddall, who is getting the inside track for TRI247 at Roth this week, he explained how he expects Sunday’s race to play out.

He told her: “This year I will definitely race differently, compared to last year. It’s still a long day and I have to be careful with my energy and everything but I’m definitely here to race.

“I think there’s going to be a lead pack on the bike with probably Sam Laidlow, Jonas Schomburg and Rico Bogen, and they’re definitely going to push the bike really hard and really fast.”

Strength in numbers

Funk reckons he will have plenty of company as he tries to reel in that trio, adding: “I hope to get as close as possible on the bike, maybe even being able to catch them.

“I’ll probably have some companions for that, alongside maybe Magnus Ditlev, Kristian Hogenhaug and Kristian Blummenfelt, who are probably all on a similar level in the swim like me.

“So, yeah, I think it’s going to be these two packs fighting against each other on the bike and then the marathon, of course, is the deciding factor.”