Greek triathlon phenom Panagiotis Bitados struck again at IRONMAN 70.3 Venice-Jesolo on Sunday, sprinting to a stunning victory in the Pro Series showdown in Italy.
The prodigiously talented 21-year-old starred once again to claim his second victory in IRONMAN 70.3 combat – having already claimed the win at last year’s European Championship in Tallinn. He is now two from two.
Britain’s Cameron Main claimed an excellent second place with Denmark’s Emil Holm completing the podium. British Olympian Sam Dickinson finished well for fourth but long-time leader – Germany’s former 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen – fell away to end the day in seventh.
Race Report
Jannik Schaufler (GER) was first out of the water, closely followed by eventual winner Bitados, Jonas Schomburg (GER) and Simon Westermann (SUI). Bitados put on an aggressive display of racing as he took the lead early on the bike course, but Bogen quickly got to work to lead the 11-strong chase pack for most of the leg.
Bogen had a three-and-a-half-minute lead as he headed out onto the run course after a blistering course record bike split of 1:53:34. And early in the half-marathon he looked composed and in control.
Behind him, 11 men had entered T2 within about 15 seconds of each other, and a chase pack including Main, Holm and Bitados began chasing down Bogen, with the 21-year-old Greek talent catching Rico just past halfway on the run.
An epic run battle then ensued, with both Main and Holm putting down blistering run splits to finish in second and third places respectively, with Main only six seconds behind Bitados. Bogen failed to keep the aggressive run pace up, and eventually fell back to seventh place, with Dickinson, Schomburg and Pierre Le Corre (FRA) all overtaking him in the later stages.
Afterwards a delighted Bitados said: “That’s my first [IRONMAN] 70.3 for this year, and I am really happy to win… I had a bad, slow, transition, but then I found my rhythm on the run and then I catch Cameron [Main] and Emil [Holm]… and I ran to just finish second, but then I understood I was so close to Rico, so I said; ‘ok, let’s go to win’”
IRONMAN 70.3 Venice-Jesolo Results – Pro Men
Sunday May 4, 2025
| Pos | Name (Country) | Swim | Bike | Run | Time | Pro Series Points (unofficial) | Prize Money |
| 1 | Panagiotis Bitados (GRC) | 21:21 | 1:57:53 | 1:07:59 | 3:31:01 | 2,500 | $7,500 |
| 2 | Cameron Main (GBR) | 21:46 | 1:57:38 | 1:08:25 | 3:31:07 | 2,494 | $5,000 |
| 3 | Emil Holm (DEN) | 21:47 | 1:57:32 | 1:09:58 | 3:32:47 | 2,394 | $3,750 |
| 4 | Sam Dickinson (GBR) | 21:39 | 1:57:51 | 1:10:06 | 3:33:03 | 2,378 | $3,000 |
| 5 | Jonas Schomburg (GER) | 21:21 | 1:58:03 | 1:10:24 | 03:33:27 | 2,354 | $2,000 |
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