The race returns of Kat Matthews and Marten Van Riel headline the start list announcements for IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore on 21 June, the eighth stop on the 2026 IRONMAN Pro Series schedule and known for its scenic setting and iconic Kronborg Castle.

Defending women’s Pro Series champion Matthews had a busy start to the season, winning IRONMAN New Zealand and 70.3 Geelong in March before a horror bike puncture scuppered her chances at IRONMAN Texas.

The Brit is currently building up to a first appearance at Challenge Roth in early July and before then will take in the half-distance event in Denmark.

Van Riel meanwhile found only the all-conquering Kristian Blummenfelt too good on his one race so far in 2026 – IRONMAN Texas – and the Belgian, like Matthews, will wear the number one bib in Elsinore.

Women’s Pro field

There will be plenty of opposition to the duo, with over 90 professionals on the latest start lists and a $50,000 prize purse, along with three qualifying slots per gender for the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice.

Two women who raced IRONMAN Hamburg just last weekend, third-placed Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN) and sixth-placed Lotte Wilms (NED) will line up against Matthews.

Christensen will lead the home hopes while Wilms has already raced four times this season and made the podium alongside Matthews at IRONMAN New Zealand.

Marta Sanchez (ESP) will also be confident of securing a good result in Elsinore, refreshed after a mid-season break following earlier sixth and third place results at 70.3 Oceanside and IRONMAN Texas.

Another athlete in contention for a podium finish will be Lena Meißner (DEU), with the German having already secured two third place finishes at European IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons this year (Valencia and Kraichgau) as well as a runner-up spot at Challenge Family’s ‘The Championship’.

Others to look out for are Audrey Merle (FRA), third place in Oceanside, and Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS), winner of 70.3 Western Sydney in May.

Men’s Pro field

Van Riel, who has never been beaten in an IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon, with five wins in total, will be favourite for the men’s race.

Behind him, the likes of Jamie Riddle (ZAF) and Kyle Smith (NZL) will be hoping to bank a positive result after challenging starts to their seasons. Riddle finished seventh at last year’s 70.3 World Championship and Smith fourth at the event in 2024.

Denmark’s Kristian Høgenhaug will hope the roar of a home crowd can kickstart his 2026 campaign, which hasn’t started as strongly as the previous two in which the Dane performed consistently well, earning him two third place finishes in the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

And Jeremy Maclean (USA) catches the eye as he looks to back up his shock recent victory at 70.3 Chattanooga.

The last three 70.3 Worlds men’s qualifying spots will be up for grabs in this race – on the women’s side there is one more race (and just one more place left) at 70.3 Nice.

Start lists in full

(subject to change but correct on 09/06/2026)

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL FIELD
Bib	First Name	Last Name	Country Represented
F1	Kat	Matthews	GBR
F2	Natalie	Van Coevorden	AUS
F3	Audrey	Merle	FRA
F4	Lena	Meißner	DEU
F5	Hanne	De Vet	BEL
F6	Katrine	Christensen	DNK
F7	Lotte	Wilms	NLD
F8	Marta	Sanchez	ESP
F9	Kate	Curran	GBR
F10	Franziska	Hofmann	DEU
F11	Sara	Svensk	SWE
F12	Jeanne	Collonge	FRA
F13	Nina	Derron	CHE
F14	Fenella	Langridge	GBR
F15	Luisa	Iogna Prat	ITA
F16	Merle	Brunnee	DEU
F17	Henrike	Güber	DEU
F18	Leana	Bissig	CHE
F19	Stephanie	Clutterbuck	GBR
F20	Marie	Ingerhed	SWE
F21	Anastacia Damm	Nielsen	DNK
F22	Shiva	Leisner	DNK
F23	Jenny	Jendryschik	DEU
F24	Giorgia	Priarone	ITA
F25	Nicole	Pelin	SWE
F26	Baiba	Medne	LVA
F27	Joeanna	Nielsen	DNK
F28	Francesca	Crestani	ITA
F29	Linda	Brännlund	SWE

MEN’S PROFESSIONAL FIELD
Bib	First Name	Last Name	Country Represented
M1	Marten	Van Riel	BEL
M2	Jamie	Riddle	ZAF
M3	Kyle	Smith	NZL
M4	Leonard	Arnold	DEU
M5	Jonas	Hoffmann	DEU
M7	Kristian	Høgenhaug	DNK
M8	Mathias	Lyngsø Petersen	DNK
M9	Valdemar	Solok	DNK
M10	Jens Emil	Sloth Nielsen	DNK
M11	Federico	Scarabino	URY
M12	Jeremy	Maclean	USA
M13	Cameron	Wurf	AUS
M14	Leon	Chevalier	FRA
M15	Simon	Viain	FRA
M16	Emil	Holm	DNK
M17	Dylan	Magnien	FRA
M18	Matthew	Collins	GBR
M19	Johannes	Vogel	DEU
M20	Rasmus	Svenningsson	SWE
M21	Filipe	Azevedo	PRT
M22	Paul	Schuster	DEU
M23	Pamphiel	Pareyn	BEL
M24	Louis	Buttrick	GBR
M25	Ollie	Turner	JEY
M26	Thor	Bendix Madsen	DNK
M27	Fabian	Meeusen	CHE
M28	Nicolas	Mann	DEU
M29	Almog	Elazary	ISR
M30	Sebastian	Norberg	SWE
M31	Hannes	Butters	DEU
M32	Ivan	Abele	NZL
M33	Pierre	Dupuy	FRA
M34	Lars	Lomholt	DNK
M35	Ben	Faeh	CHE
M36	Bastian	Peitersen	DNK
M37	Oliver	Waymark	GBR
M38	Thomas	Ott	DEU
M39	Gustav	Palm-Henriksen	DNK
M40	Thomas	Nielsen	DNK
M41	Matthew	Palmer	DNK
M42	Neilan	Kempmann	DEU
M43	Dylan	Clough	AUS
M44	Florin	Parfuss	CHE
M45	Marcus	Herbst	DEU
M46	Rafael	Lukatsch	AUT
M47	Lukas	Stahl	DEU
M48	Fraser	Minnican	GBR
M49	Albert	Askengren	SWE
M50	Finn	Arentz	GBR
M51	Frederik	Mathiesen	DNK
M52	Joona	Lehtonen	FIN
M53	Frederik	Wester	DNK
M54	Silas	Plambæk	DNK
M55	Mikel	Txopitea	ESP
M56	Lennart	Sievers	DEU
M57	Julian	Becker	DEU
M58	Frederick	Webb	GBR
M59	Daniel	Nöu	SWE
M60	Lukas	Bentsen	DNK
M61	Hampus	Månsson	SWE
M62	Xabier	Tijero	ESP