It feels like Christmas has come early for triathlon fans this week, after IRONMAN announced the professional fields for the first race of the Pro Series in Oceanside next month.
The start list, which contains multiple IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Champions, is guaranteed to have viewers on the edge of their seats on April 6.
Headlining the women’s field, two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Taylor Knibb will look to regain her title, whilst on the men’s side, two-time IRONMAN Champion Patrick Lange debuts in SoCal.
Battle of the champions
In Oceanside, Knibb will be joined on the start list by a number of other former Oceanside winners, including Canadians Paula Findlay and Tamara Jewett, the defending champion.
British stars Fenella Langridge and Emma Pallant-Browne will also lineup in California, with Pallant-Browne looking to bounce back from a disappointing DNF at the Miami T100 earlier this month.
Elsewhere on the start list, Grace Thek of Australia makes the trip over to the West Coast, having already secured her slot to the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship this season with a second place finish in Tasmania.
Other names to look out for are Americans Daniella Lewis and Lauren Brandon, with Danish pro Maja Stage Nielsen another strong contender who will look to make her mark on a top tier race.
Lionel v Lange v Laundry
Whilst Lange isn’t best known for his middle distance prowess, the German’s talents speak for themselves, with the 37-year-old possessing a run leg that even the fastest runners in the field will be wary of.
Up against him, former champions Jackson Laundry and Lionel Sanders of Canada will hope to add another title to their collections, with Sanders in particular garnering a huge amount of interest with his pre-season preparations.
From the short course world, Belgian Olympian Jelle Geens will hope to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner Leo Bergere, who used his Olympic distance skills to his advantage as he took down a quality long course contingent in 2023.
Finally, flying the flag for Team USA, Miami T100 podium finisher Sam Long will be a heavy favourite to take the crown in Oceanside after a stellar showing in Florida earlier this month.
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