The final regular-season stop on this year’s IRONMAN Pro Series takes place this weekend as some of triathlon’s biggest names scramble for crucial points and morale-boosting performances ahead of what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the 2026 campaign.
Throw in several eagerly anticipated returns from injury, and this race, played out amid the picturesque setting of the Austrian Alps, promises much drama and intrigue.
A win for Germany’s in-form Laura Philipp will see her climb up the women’s standings with only the 70.3 and IRONMAN World Championships remaining, while the challenge for Jelle Geens will be to prove – more to himself than anyone else – that his injury worries are behind him and that he can bid for an historic third successive 70.3 title in Nice next month.
Here is all you need to know ahead of IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See…
Start times and how to watch live
The action at Zell am See gets underway at 11:00 local Central European time on Sunday, August 30, when the Pro men swim out into Lake Zell from the lakeside beach resort at Strandbad Schüttdorf. The Pro women will then follow five minutes later.
The UK start time will be 10:00; on the USA’s East Coast, it will start at 05:00; in the central USA area, it will be 04:00; and on the Pacific Coast, viewers will need to tune in at 02:00.
Eastern Australia coverage will begin at 19:00, Central Australia at 18:30, and Western Australia at 17:00. The race will begin at 21:00 for those watching in New Zealand.
Because this is a Pro Series event, live coverage of both races will be streamed for free on the IRONMAN YouTube channel, with the link embedded into this story below.
The course
Starting with a single-loop, out-and-back 1.9km swim in the crystal-clear waters of Lake Zell, the athletes will embark on a true Alpine adventure as they tackle one of the most stunning courses on the IRONMAN roster.
Once out of the water, they must navigate a demanding 90.1km bike course which takes them through rugged mountain terrain, offering both challenging climbs (with an overall elevation of 1,026m) and some exhilarating descents.
The run brings them back to the stunning Lake Zell with the flat and fast 21.1km route set amid the breathtaking landscape and natural beauty of the Austrian Alps.
Pro women – Can Perterer stop Philipp’s charge?
Home favourite Lisa Perterer will be looking to put a tricky first half of the 2026 season behind her when she returns to Zell am See on Sunday, hungry to go one better than the runner-up spot she achieved last year.
Having undergone surgery at the end of last season in a bid to resolve a rare vascular condition, the 34-year-old – who finished behind Brit Kat Matthews at this race in 2025 – has only been able to start three times in a campaign she admits has been ‘challenging’.
Recovery from the operation – to treat her iliac artery endofibrosis – clearly took longer than expected, and in April she spoke of the need to restructure her race plans in the hope that she could return stronger and mount a challenge at Kona.
Very much among the podium contenders this weekend, she wrote on Instagram this week that she was feeling confident, fit and healthy, having targeted Zell am See as the race for which she wanted to be ready.
“Since the beginning of the year, IM 70.3 Zell am See has been one of the races I really wanted to target,” she wrote. “The past few months have brought their challenges, but I’m grateful to be healthy, back in training, and ready to give it my all.
“My last few training sessions have given me confidence – and I’m ready to fight for every second out there. So many good memories from last year, and I can’t wait to race in front of a home crowd again. 🇦🇹❤️
“I still get goosebumps thinking about turning that last corner onto the finish line last year, with only 200m to go and hearing everyone cheering. 🥹”
Of course, to win this weekend, she will first need to negotiate the not-insignificant task of beating in-form German Laura Philipp, who recently won in Kalmar and is now using Zell am See as preparation for both the 70.3 and IRONMAN World Championships.
After a slow start to the campaign due to injury and illness, Philipp has propelled herself to within touching distance of the Pro Series leaders, thanks in the main to her brilliant win at IRONMAN Kalmar earlier this month.
Victory would earn Philipp the maximum 2,500 points, replacing the 2,241 she collected for third place at Aix-en-Provence and lifting her overall total from 12,163 to 12,422. That would move her from sixth to fourth in the standings and leave her with everything to race for as the 2026 campaign enters crunch time.
Other names worth keeping an eye on include Poland’s Marta Łagownik, the British duo of India Lee and Rebecca Anderbury, and Daniela Kleiser of Germany.
Pro men – Geens returns after 134-day absence
It has certainly been a while since Belgian superstar Jelle Geens lined up on race day, but this weekend should finally see one of triathlon’s most popular athletes pull on his tri-suit and step onto a start line – 134 days after his last competitive appearance.
His last race was the DNF he recorded in April when his hopes of a successful full-distance IRONMAN debut came crashing down on the run in Texas, a disappointment subsequently compounded by a Grade 2 femoral shaft stress reaction.
A rightly cautious recovery has seen him put all thoughts of a potential qualifying bid for Kona on hold as he instead focuses on becoming the first male athlete to win three successive 70.3 World Championship titles.
Having already spent a few days in Nice ahead of next month’s middle-distance showdown, he is now in Austria and looking to hone his skills in preparation for what he hopes will be a historic day in Nice.
Stating there was finally some ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ on his Instagram page last week, he added: “I raced IM 70.3 Zell am See two years ago as one of my first 70.3s in my middle-distance career and absolutely loved the place and course! A lot has changed since then, but ooh boy, am I excited to go back!”
Last year’s winner Fabian Kraft (GER) will pose a major threat to Geens’ hopes of marking his comeback with a morale-boosting victory, while the USA’s Trevor Foley has shown 70.3 form this season with a fine win at Pennsylvania Happy Valley in June. Currently second in the Pro Series standings, a win in Austria would send him to the top of the men’s rankings heading into the two World Championship races.
Among the other athletes who could challenge in the Alps are Lasse Nygaard Priester (GER), who has achieved four podium finishes from as many races this season, including a win at 70.3 Sweden, and Brit Kieran Lindars, who was second recently at 70.3 Swansea.
What are they racing for?
There are two pro 70.3 World Championship slots for 2027’s race in Chattanooga up for grabs per gender on Sunday, along with a total prize pot of $50,000 split evenly between the men’s and women’s fields.
Athletes are paid down to eighth place as follows:
1st – $7,500
2nd – $5,000
3rd – $3,750
4th – $3,000
5th – $2,000
6th – $1,500
7th – $1,250
8th – $1,000
With this being the final regular-season race of the 2026 Pro Series, the 2,500 points available to each winner could yet prove crucial as the athletes battle for their share of the $1.7m end-of-season bonus prize purse.
IRONMAN Pro Series 2026 women’s standings
Only an athlete’s top five race performances count toward their final series standing.
A maximum of three full-distance IRONMAN results can be included in those top five scores.
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katrine Christensen | DEN | 13,156 |
| 2 | Grace Thek | AUS | 12,996 |
| 3 | Marta Sanchez | ESP | 12,444 |
| 4 | Solveig Løvseth | NOR | 12,385 |
| 5 | Tamara Jewett | CAN | 12,196 |
| 6 | Laura Philipp | GER | 12,163 |
| 7 | Hannah Berry | NZL | 12,159 |
| 8 | Jackie Hering | USA | 10,756 |
| 9 | Lotte Wilms | NED | 10,691 |
| 10 | Jenny Jendryschik | GER | 10,268 |
IRONMAN Pro Series 2026 men’s standings
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Hanson | USA | 16,744 |
| 2 | Trevor Foley | USA | 14,577 |
| 3 | Kristian Blummenfelt | NOR | 14,142 |
| 4 | Andrea Salvisberg | SUI | 13,156 |
| 5 | Marten Van Riel | BEL | 12,408 |
| 6 | Rudy Von Berg | USA | 12,278 |
| 7 | Casper Stornes | NOR | 12,244 |
| 8 | Ben Kanute | USA | 12,169 |
| 9 | Jonas Schomburg | GER | 11,950 |
| 10 | Matthew Marquardt | USA | 11,698 |
