Patrick Lange has announced that his brilliant IRONMAN World Championship victory in Kona will be his last race of the 2024 triathlon season.
The 38-year-old paced it perfectly in Hawaii as he ran through the field with a sublime 2:37 marathon to set a new course record on the Big Island. It was the German superstar’s third world title and came six years after his last one.
The victory also took him up to top spot in the $1.7million IRONMAN Pro Series standings with two races remaining – the IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Australia and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand, both in December.
Lange wasn’t qualified for the 70.3 Worlds – but he could have raced in Western Australia to try and make himself less vulnerable to being overtaken for first place and the $200,000 prize that goes with it – more on that later.
‘Finding the right balance is key’
Writing on his Instagram page, Lange said: “Season 2024: It’s a wrap!
“After that incredible high in Kona, my team and I have decided to close out the year and focus on media and sponsor commitments instead of chasing the last big points in the pro series.
“Finding the right balance is key, and to keep building on this upward trajectory in 2025, I’ll be taking some well-deserved rest soon, followed by a balanced mix of training, important meetings, and the banquet season.
“Thanks for all the support, good luck to all athletes that continue racing. For the rest – see you in suit and tie soon!”
Pro Series puzzle
It’s the first year of the lucrative IRONMAN Pro Series, which sees that $1.7million up for grabs in end-of-season bonuses.
A maximum five races count – three of them full distance, with the biggest points on offer at the IMWC where Lange collected 6,000 to put him onto a grand total of 18,623.
The 70.3 Worlds also have an inflated points tally compared to other 70.3 races – 3,000 to the winner rather than the regular 2,500 which will be on offer at the penultimate Pro Series race, IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Australia.
Lange wasn’t qualified for the 70.3 Worlds but had he headed to Western Australia there was the potential to increase his own points tally by 885 with a win as 2,500 points would have replaced his 1,615 score from 70.3 Oceanside.
However he’s made the call to end a memorable season at this point and neither Matt Hanson in second (not enough room for improvement) nor Bradley Weiss in third (not qualified for Taupo, not enough points in Western Australia) can overhaul him whatever happens.
Who can overtake Lange?
But Matthew Marquardt (16,582), Gregory Barnaby (16,559) and Kristian Høgenhaug (16,291) all can.
They currently sit in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in the standings and all have a slot on the Taupo startlist if they want it. Just as crucial is the fact that all three have just done the four races so far and are missing a second 70.3 event which means every point they earn from that will be added to their current total.
For example, the gap between Marquardt and Lange is 2,041 points which effectively means the American needs to finish within 958 seconds of the winner in Taupo to leapfrog Lange – that’s 15 minutes and 58 seconds so very much do-able.
And Barnaby for example is already in Perth ahead of 70.3 Western Australia on 1 December. Writing on Instagram after Kona where he finished ninth, he said: “This race was definitely the hardest – maybe even the cruelest – I’ve ever experienced in nearly 20 years of triathlon.
“Now, I’m focused on recovering as quickly as possible, as the updated ProSeries ranking is encouraging me to race again in a few weeks at the 70.3 in Western Australia.”
With 2,500 points in that event, he needs 2,065 to usurp Lange which gives him the target of getting to within seven minutes and 16 seconds of the winner in Busselton.
And in terms of the impact on prizemoney for Lange, he’ll net the $200,000 if he stays in top spot, will receive $130,000 if he’s relegated to second, $85,000 for third and $70,000 for fourth so the difference is considerable.
However as he says “finding the right balance is key” and his choice has to be fully respected.
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