This is a preview of the race – click on the names to read more about closely-fought victories for Laura Madsen and Nicolas Mann.
IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables hosts an enthralling battle today (Saturday June 29), with former IRONMAN World Champion Gustav Iden going head-to-head with German rising star and reigning IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen.
In the women’s race, French professionals Marjolaine Pierre and Emilie Morier will look to take down a strong field on home turf, as the IRONMAN Pro Series makes it second stop in Europe.
In our preview below, you can find when and where to watch the race, in addition to a full preview of the men and women’s professional field.
Start times and how to watch live
This year, IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables takes place today – Saturday June 29. In France, the pro men will start first, with the gun going off at 07:00 local time. This corresponds to 06:00 UK, 01:00 on the East Coast and 22:00 on Friday June 28 on the West Coast.
The pro women will start less than five minutes after the men, with the gun going off at 07:04 local time. This corresponds to 06:04 UK, 01:04 on the East Coast and 22:04 on Friday on the West Coast.
In the US and Canada, the race can be streamed live on Outside TV, with coverage in the rest of the world available via the IRONMAN Pro Series website or DAZN. The action will also be streamed via YouTube, and we’ve embedded the stream for you right here…
As always, the ever reliable IRONMAN Tracker is the perfect data addition to support your viewing. If you haven’t got it on your phone already, where have you been?!
Pro Men – Who is racing?
Whilst reigning world champion and recent San Francisco T100 third place finisher Bogen is the top seeded starter, all eyes will be on how Iden performs in his third race of the season.
After a DNF at IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca, the 2022 Kona champion just missed out on the podium at IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw behind fellow countryman Casper Stornes, who will not be racing in Les Sables.
Chasing validation to the IRONMAN World Championship in October, Iden just needs to finish to secure his spot in Kona, but will surely have his sights set on a first podium since winning on the Big Island in 2022.
Other notable names on the start list include Youri Keulen, who has struggled for form since his win at the Singapore T100 in April, and Clement Mignon, who is another in-form T100 Tour athlete racing off the back of a Top 10 in San Francisco.
Swedish athlete Rasmus Sveningsson, racing for the first time since his win at IRONMAN South Africa, will be one to watch, with Team BMC athlete Thor Bendix Madsen of Denmark another athlete to keep an eye out for.
Finally, Frenchman Arnaud Guilloux will be a dark horse for the podium, following his recent fourth-place finish at the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship in Cairns.
Pro Women – Who is racing?
In Les Sables, home stars dominate the women’s field, with Pierre and Morier both looking to kickstart their seasons after below par results at the Singapore T100 and IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland respectively.
Pierre, who had a break through season in 2024, has struggled with health issues so far this season. However, if the 24-year-old is back to full health, she will be the overwhelming favourite this weekend.
Podium contenders include Danish athlete Laura Madsen, who so far this season has won IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia and finished runner-up to India Lee at The Championship in Slovakia last month.
Anna Bergsten, third in Slovakia, is another podium threat, with Estonian Olympian Kaidi Kivioja, who has been incredibly consistent so far this season, in the hunt for her first podium of 2024.
Rounding out the contenders, British pair Kate Curran and Nikki Bartlett can both compete at the front of this field, with Curran looking to build on solid IRONMAN Pro Series results Stateside.
Prize Money: What’s on the line?
The prize purse on offer this weekend is $50,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $7,500 share of that total.
As part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, athletes will also earn points as they seek to become the IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and win a share of the $1.7 million bonus prize purse.
In France, the maximum possible score will be 2,500 points for 1st place, with points for all remaining professional finishers diminishing based on the time deficit to first place, at a rate of 1 point per 1 second deficit to the winner’s finishing time.
In addition to money and series points, there will be a total of six qualifying slots (three MPRO/three FPRO) for IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo later this season.
The total funds will be paid eight-deep, as follows:
- $7,500
- $5,000
- $3,750
- $3,000
- $2,000
- $1,500
- $1,250
- $1,000