Joe Skipper will go back to the drawing board as he looks to return to top form after a disappointing DNF at IRONMAN Kaernten-Klagenfurt, Austria on Sunday.

The 37-year-old long-distance ace admitted that retirement had briefly entered his mind during a miserable 2024 season which had him contemplating his future in the sport. It appeared better times were ahead though when he began 2025 by chasing home Mike Phillips at IRONMAN New Zealand.

Skipper was looking ahead to a big summer as he returned to action in Austria on Sunday, and had high hopes going into the race after a good preparation.

On race day though he was shocked to find he had ‘nothing in the tank’ on the bike leg, and eventually was forced to DNF. He was left searching for answers as young German star Finn Große-Freese claimed the win in a time of 7:52:55.

Skipper on Austria DNF

Joe took to social media after the race to update his fans on what had happened, writing on his Instagram account: “Bit of an update regarding my race at ironman Austria. Unfortunately a dnf, i had a good swim but out on to the bike and just felt like I had absolutely nothing in the tank from the off.

“Was so out of the blue as my training had gone great and all week leading into the race I felt really good so I had high hopes of a good result. It absolutely sucks when you are unable to get out on the race day what you see in training.”

Joe is on to Roth

Now Joe has three weeks to find those answers as he looks ahead to his next big test – the iconic Challenge Roth in Germany on Sunday July 6.

He added: There’s no point in dwelling on it though and Roth is next up in 3 weeks. My aim is to just be able to have a good dah and race to the best of my abilities. If i can do that I think i will be on for a good result but honestly it would just be great to have a race where I am able to execute a good race.

“Thanks for the messages and for following along guys and sorry for the sub par performance.”