The start lists for next weekend’s IRONMAN Florida have been announced, with a stellar cast of professional triathletes set to battle it out for a slice of the $100,000 prize purse.
Denmark’s Magnus Ditlev and home favourite Skye Moench headline the fields, with three slots available to both the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona and Nice next season.
With such strength in depth on the start list, we look through the big names and try to give you an idea of what can be expected at Panama City Beach in just over a week.
Pro Men at IRONMAN Florida
Having originally been down to race the now postponed IRONMAN Israel, PTO World #2 and IRONMAN World Championship third place finisher Ditlev will look to validate his Kona slot nice and early in the Sunshine State.
The Challenge Roth champion, who also finished on the podium at the PTO Tour European Open this season, had a similar strategy of getting qualification out of the way as soon as possible last year, where he won IRONMAN Cozumel in November.
This year, whilst he doesn’t have to “qualify” as a podium finisher in Nice, Ditlev just needs to complete the race to validate his slot, but will undoubtedly be gunning for the win after a training camp with fellow Dane Daniel Baekkegard at Club La Santa in Lanzarote.
Ditlev will face the likes of American Rudy von Berg in Florida, who he battled with for the final spot on the podium in a tense marathon in the South of France. Hoping for some revenge, von Berg will have his eyes on a second full-distance win of the season on US soil.
British fan favourite Joe Skipper is another athlete who the field will have their eye on, as the Norfolk-based pro looks to redeem himself following a poor showing in Nice. The winner of IRONMAN Lake Placid, Skipper has the calibre and experience to take down Ditlev.
Elsewhere on the start list, French duo Denis Chevrot and Arthur Horseau will be threats for the podium, as will Polish professional Kacper Stepniak, who has yet to prove himself over the full distance after making his debut at IRONMAN Israel last season.
Finally, Americans Matthew Marquardt and Matt Hanson will look to usurp von Berg as the American favourite, with Marquardt almost taking down the Boulder-based pro at IRONMAN Texas back at the start of the season.
Pro Women
Having finished a brilliant seventh at the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii, American Moench will be battling for her first win since June 2022 next weekend in Florida, as the 35-year-old also looks to secure a spot on the start line in Nice next September.
Jocelyn McCauley, who finished just behind Moench in 10th in Hawaii, will be another athlete looking for a first win in some time when she takes the start line in Panama City Beach, with her last victory coming in April 2022 at IRONMAN Texas.
Alongside Moench and McCauley, a lesser known American pro Alice Alberts will have quiet ambitions of picking up another win to round out the season. Alberts, who won in Lake Placid and Maryland this season, did not make the trip to Hawaii and could benefit from some fresher legs on race day.
Finally, British pro India Lee will race just her second full-distance event, having made her debut at IRONMAN Israel last season, where she finished sixth. Ranked PTO World #19, the 35 year old will be looking to bounce back from a DNF at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in August.
