The Challenge Roth jigsaw is complete – and in some style after it was announced France’s Sam Laidlow is back to defend his men’s title.
It’s taken a little while for the full Roth fields to be announced via a chain of daily press releases but the upshot is that we’ve got two stunning pro races lined up in Bavaria this summer.
Both defending champions – Laidlow and Laura Philipp – are there as are the reigning two IRONMAN Pro Series champions, with Kristian Blummenfelt and Kat Matthews getting to experience the unique atmosphere for the first time.
‘I want the record’
Laidlow’s tongue-in-cheek announcement is embedded below: “Unfortunately for Kristian Blummenfelt, I will be back to defend my title, to break the record and – most importantly – to break Kristian Blummenfelt and all the other amazing pros that are on the start list. I’m coming for you!”
Laidlow added: “I’m not coming back to Roth to play it safe. I want to defend the title and be dominant. I want the record.
“Roth is a special place for me. The atmosphere, the crowd, Solarer Berg, it’s impossible not to feel it. Last year showed me what’s possible there, and coming back as defending champion gives me even more motivation to chase that feeling of crossing the line as champion again.”
After his IRONMAN World Championship title in 2023, last year’s victory in Roth was an emotional one for Laidlow after a challenging build up in the months leading up to it.
Race director Felix Walchshöfer is delighted about the return of the defending champion, saying: “I was already extremely happy last year that Sam committed to Roth. We were in constant contact. When Sam wrote to me during his difficult times in preparation that Roth was the ultimate goal he was working towards, it meant an incredible amount to me. He was one of the first to sign up again for this year. If Sam is as fit as he was last year, anything is possible again.”
Philipp vs Matthews in epic women’s duel
And it’s not just Blummenfelt lining up against Laidlow. Germany’s three-time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange had been confirmed 24 hours earlier and there are a whole host of other big names in both the men’s and women’s races.
So much so that the organisers hailed it as: “The best professional field in Roth’s history.”
Former World 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen makes his step up to full distance in the race while last year’s runner-up Jonas Schomburg is also there.
And in the women’s race, we could see the fastest duel in long-distance history as Philipp and Matthews go head to head again after their fantastic battle at IRONMAN Hamburg last year. Then, the Roth winner won in 8:03:13 – just over the magic eight-hour mark – exactly two minutes ahead of Matthews. After the world record set by Anne Haug in Roth, these are the fastest times ever achieved in long distance.
Matthews said: “Roth deserves great battles at the front of the race, I hope I give it that this year. The German ladies have had it too easy the last couple of years!”
Alanis Siffert and Fenella Langridge already have podium experience in Roth and the two crowd favourites are back. So too is Daisy Davies, who won the European long-distance title at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam in her first long-distance race.
