Reigning IRONMAN World Champion Solveig Løvseth has withdrawn from 70.3 Swansea this weekend.
The Norwegian star was a clear favourite for the win and a maximum 2,500 points haul in her bid for the IRONMAN Pro Series title, having finished second at 70.3 Oceanside before winning IRONMAN Texas and IRONMAN Hamburg.
But it would appear her hard-fought victory in Germany over Laura Philipp has taken its toll.
‘The body just isn’t ready’
Writing on Instagram on Thursday night, she explained: “3.5 weeks in Font Romeu ✅ and my least successful training camp ever😃.
“I wasn’t feeling 100% going into Hamburg, and while the race itself went much better than expected, the cost was also much higher than expected. The past four weeks have unfortunately consisted of minimal training load and maximal resting load :):):)
“I was really looking forward to racing in Swansea this weekend, and I’m already in the UK, buuut the body just isn’t ready. (At least that’s what @mikaliden says and he’s usually right:)).”
Pierré the new favourite
Mikal Iden is Løvseth’s coach who has helped mastermind a brilliant transition from short course racing to middle and long-distance as she’s won five of her nine races over the last two seasons.
In her absence in Wales, France’s Marjolaine Pierré is the highest-ranked female athlete but she faces stiff competition from several Brits including India Lee, Lizzie Rayner and 2024 winner Nikki Bartlett.
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