The men’s start list for the first IRONMAN Pro Series race on US soil in 2025 is littered with star-studded names that we all know for Saturday’s blockbuster 70.3 showdown in Oceanside.
Lionel Sanders, Patrick Lange, Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden, Rudy Von Berg, Ben Kanute, Braden Currie, Cam Wurf, Sam Appleton, Joe Skipper. Need I go on!
These are the established stars of today. I’d need a calculator to add up the total number of big races these guys have all won over their careers.
Big names, big question marks
But what’s incredibly interesting about this list is that in my opinion there’s a question mark after each of their names as to how they will perform in California this weekend.
Lionel is the returning champ, but in looking back at last year, this was the only race where his prowess shone through. Is he ready once again to take the opening event of his season? I don’t know!
What about Patrick Lange? The 3-Time IRONMAN World Champ finished 17th here last season. That’s nowhere near high enough to be sparking fear in many of the other competitors.
How about the Norwegians? For about two years, Iden and Blummenfelt were essentially unbeatable. But since then, Gustav hasn’t come close to his winning form. And yes, his training partner ‘Big Blu’ won IRONMAN Frankfurt last year, but then followed that up with a 35th place in Kona. Which Blummenfelt will show up at the start line for this race? It’s anyone’s guess.
Rudy Von Berg and Ben Kanute are arguably two of the most talented boys from the US at this distance at the moment. Of those two, Rudy has been progressively hitting some big wins and top finishes: 70.3 Worlds Nice 2019 (3rd), Ironman Nice 2022 (1st), wins at Ironman Texas and Florida in 2023, then a 3rd in Kona last year. But at this distance against this kind of opposition, he hasn’t put together a race which earned him top spot. Will this be his breakthrough? Unknown.
If I had to pick which man could be crowned the champion in Oceanside this year, I would need to give you a list of at least those 10 names I first mentioned. It’s predictably unpredictable!
“Bone-chilling cold”
One of the reasons for this huge unpredictability is where this race sits on the calendar. It’s incredibly early in the year to be in top world-class shape. But some of the athletes will be there. They may pay the price late in the season, but for now they could make some big noise. Others will only be in the middle of their early-season fitness curve. Yes, they will be strong but not as strong as those who went somewhere warm for a few months in preparation for this event.
Second is the unique weather that Oceanside always gets. It’s bone-chilling cold at the start…always. The water is cold, even with a wetsuit. But then by the finish if it’s a sunny day, the heat can be on. That takes a unique athletic makeup to manage both extremes on the same day. Some have that gift while others, no matter how fit they are, will suffer from one or the other of those temperature swings.
All that babble said, for me it’s the unpredictability of who will win that makes this race so dang exciting! This is the first time out of the blocks for all the men this season. We, as outside observers, have no ideas who’s been doing huge super-secret training and is ready. We just know the names to follow and a few others who are dark horses and potential spoilers.
Make sure to watch the race live. I’ll be there checking out all the action in person. See you there!
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