Germany dominated at IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See on Sunday as Caroline Pohle and Mika Noodt notched terrific victories.
Pohle produced another incredible performance just a week on from being crowned IRONMAN 70.3 European Champion in Tallinn as she came home just over a minute-and-a-half ahead of Australia’s Grace Thek.
Noodt meanwhile blasted clear during a superb bike leg to build an advantage over Belgian Olympian Jelle Geens that he would not relinquish for the rest of the day.
Pro Women – Pohle too good again
Pohle was second out of the water, right on Lauren Brandon’s shoulder, but managed to overtake the American in T1, meaning she was first on the bike and maintained her lead right up until the end. Behind her, a chase pack formed on the bike made up of the likes of Lena Meißner, Els Visser, Laura Madsen, and Thek.
As Pohle increased her lead on the run becoming more and more untouchable, a battle unfolded for the final podium places between Laura Madsen, Els Visser, and Grace Thek. At around 2km from the end, Madsen started to fade as Thek picked up the place, running herself down the red carpet in second, and leaving the Dane in third. Thek and Madsen finished within two minutes of Pohle, meaning the all-important IRONMAN Pro Series points remained tight.
Pohle said afterwards: “It was my first back-to-back racing, so we had no experience about how my body reacted (sic), but I felt very, very good today, very strong and confident about last week, and yeah, I don’t know how it happened! My parents are here, they surprised me. I’m super happy.”
Pro Men – Mika magnificent
A similar dynamic unfolded in the men’s pro race with Noodt taking the lead early on the bike, resulting in him having the fastest bike split of the day and securing a course best time in the process (2:02:11). He started the run with a 4:47 minute lead over Jelle Geens, which he managed to maintain throughout the course.
Last year’s champion, Jan Stratmann (DEU) was third off the bike, but slowed slightly on run with Gregor Payet (LUX) and Tom Hug (DEU) overtaking him to take third and fourth place respectively. For Payet, this marked his first ever IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon.
When talking about the bike, Noodt said: “I didn’t have any numbers, so I just rode to speed. I was quite relaxed. I really enjoyed that course, I think it’s the best bike course – some small rolls, and then some straights. Such a nice rhythm and great spectators.”
Noodt added: “I was a little worried about the last 5km as that was my longest run since last October when I had to crawl the last few meters. I kept it quite conservative but I heard that Jelle didn’t come in close…With 2km to go I was quite sure I was going to make it, so I could enjoy the finish line, it was amazing with all those flags. I’m from Germany so it’s sort of like home to me.”
IRONMAN 70.3 Zell Am See 2024 Results
Sunday September 1, 2024
Pro Women
| Place | Name (Country) | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time | Pro Series Points | Event Prize Money |
| 1 | Caroline Pohle (DEU) | 25:23 | 2:21:47 | 1:24:45 | 04:17:24 | 2,500 | $7,500 |
| 2 | Grace Thek (AUS) | 27:39 | 2:23:27 | 1:21:43 | 04:18:58 | 2,406 | $5,000 |
| 3 | Laura Madsen (DEN) | 27:41 | 2:21:20 | 1:24:42 | 04:19:23 | 2,381 | $3,750 |
| 4 | Ellie Salthouse (AUS) | 26:17 | 2:24:51 | 1:23:53 | 04:20:57 | 2,287 | $3,000 |
| 5 | Els Visser (NLD) | 27:49 | 2:21:19 | 1:26:25 | 04:21:29 | 2,255 | $2,000 |
Pro Men
| Place | Name (Country) | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time | Pro Series Points | Event Prize Money |
| 1 | Mika Noodt (DEU) | 24:43 | 2:02:11 | 1:14:09 | 03:46:04 | 2,500 | $7,500 |
| 2 | Jelle Geens (BEL) | 24:41 | 2:06:46 | 1:14:26 | 03:51:09 | 2,195 | $5,000 |
| 3 | Gregory Payet (LUX) | 24:57 | 2:08:48 | 1:13:12 | 03:51:59 | 2,145 | $3,750 |
| 4 | Tom Hug (DEU) | 25:25 | 2:09:28 | 1:12:07 | 03:52:18 | 2,126 | $3,000 |
| 5 | Jan Stratmann (DEU) | 24:21 | 2:08:12 | 1:15:42 | 03:53:34 | 2,050 | $2,000 |
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