Less than a month before her race return at IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence, Laura Philipp had been in hospital because of stomach and back pain.
So it was an achievement for the 2024 IRONMAN World Champion just to make the start line and no wonder she was delighted afterwards with a solid third-place finish behind repeat winner Marjolaine Pierré and Imogen Simmonds.
It sets the German star up perfectly for what is a key phase of her season as she looks to defend her titles at both IRONMAN Hamburg and Challenge Roth.
She is also on the current start list for IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau on 31 May, a home race she has won in each of the last four seasons, including last year when it also came just a week before Hamburg.
Nice box is ticked
Speaking after her return to action in Provence, Philipp said: “Two and a half weeks ago, I didn’t think I would make it to this start line.
“So, yeah, I’m pretty happy with the result, to be honest. My main goal was to try to qualify for the 70.3 Worlds and I’ve ticked that box which makes me really, really happy.
“When you’re ill and you’re really down, you have to slowly get back into training. So I could not rush back into it. I took it very easy and I felt that I lost a lot of fitness. I lost some muscle mass and strength so it was obviously a bit of a bummer – and not really great to come to such a stacked field, but I still wanted to give it a chance and this course was amazing.”
Shivering on the bike
Even though it looked picture-postcard conditions with blue skies and sunshine, the temperatures in the south of France were actually only in single figures.
And Philipp added: “I was shivering on the bike and with the technical bike course, you want to have warm hands so you can actually brake and feel safe. So that was a bit tricky here and there, but overall I enjoyed it.
“It was such a close battle with Imo all the time but as soon as I felt I could make it to the podium and secure a qualification slot, that really gave me some motivation and it was just really cool to be up there pushing with the girls.”
The IRONMAN Hamburg start list is yet to be revealed but we know that Roth is looking as special than ever this year, with Philipp set for another epic battle with great rival Kat Matthews among others.
