**This is a preview of the IRONMAN 70.3 at Geelong. For the reports, click for the MEN’S or WOMEN’S**
Four titans of triathlon will line up in Geelong as a cast of champions headline the second Pro Series event of the new IRONMAN season.
Last year’s Pro Series winners, Kat Matthews (GBR) and Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), are joined by 70.3 world champion Jelle Geens (BEL) and Kiwi superstar Hayden Wilde, who was imperious as he took the T100 Triathlon World Tour crown.
With such a wonderful cast of world-class competitors lined up, it promises to be a truly thrilling race on the shores of Corio Bay.
Here’s all you need to know…
Start time and how to watch
The IRONMAN 70.3 takes place on Sunday, March 22, with the pro men starting at 07:30 and the women five minutes later. The age group rolling start is due to start at 07:45.
Free coverage of the race is live on the IRONMAN YouTube channel for all international audiences, including the US and Canada and it’s embedded below so you don’t have to leave this page.
Viewers can also tune into DAZN to watch the race, while it is also on ESPN and Disney+ in Latin America and the Caribbean; on L’Equipe in France; hr-Fernsehen in Germany; rtve in Spain; Supersport in South Africa; and iQIYI in China.
Global timings for the race are 20:30 in the UK, 21:30 in Central Europe, 16:30 on the East Coast of the USA, 15:30 in Central USA, and 13:30 on the West Coast.
The Geelong course
The 1.9km swim takes athletes out into the calm waters of Corio Bay, where water temperatures are expected to be just over 18C.
A 90km bike course will include two laps of a route which heads out along the open roads of Geelong towards Eastern Beach. After a ride through the picturesque Eastern Park Circuit, the athletes will head to the northern tip of the bay, past the salt lakes, and then turn around at Curlewis Golf Club before heading back to town.
Once onto the run part of the course, competitors will truly start to enjoy the stunning Geelong waterfront as the 2.5-lap, 21.1km course takes them out along the Esplanade and through Rippleside Park before heading to the water’s edge, past the iconic Geelong Pier and under the Geelong Star. A turn into Steampacket Gardens on the final lap will then bring the finish line into view.
Pro women – Can anyone stop Matthews?
While much of the pre-race talk has focused on the terrific trio of Blummenfelt, Wilde and Geens doing battle in the men’s race, it would be entirely wrong to think that the women’s race will simply serve as an ‘undercard’ event.
Matthews arrives fresh from her impressive opening-season win at IRONMAN New Zealand and will have some stiff competition in Victoria from four of the top 50-ranked triathletes in the world – with Tamara Jewett (CAN), Grace Thek (USA), Milan Agnew (AUS) and Nina Derron (SUI) all lined up to challenge her.
Pro men – All eyes on the big three
From the moment it was announced that Kiwi superstar and world number one, Wilde, had added his name to the start list in Geelong, there has been a real buzz about this weekend’s event.
Wilde, who fought back from a career-threatening bike crash last season, last took part in an IRONMAN race at the 2024 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, where he was looking good for victory until being overhauled by Geens and eventually finishing in second.
World number two Geens, who won at Geelong last year, also broke Blummenfelt’s heart at the 70.3 World Championships in Marbella in what was one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, and the idea of them all doing battle together really has whetted the appetite.
When you also add to the mix the likes of Jake Birtwhistle (AUS), Kyle Smith (NZL), Henrik Goesch (FIN), and Pierre Le Corre (FRA), you realise just how strong the men’s field is, with all the ingredients there for a true classic.
Indeed, there are seven of the current world’s top 50 triathletes due to do battle on Sunday in one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the season so far.
Tale of the tape
With Blummenfelt focusing his time more on the IRONMAN Pro Series and both Geens and Wilde mixing more between the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) and T100, the trio have not actually raced against each other too many times as a trio.
Indeed, if it weren’t for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, then Wilde would have been at the now-postponed WTCS pro fixture in Abu Dhabi next week instead of racing in Australia.
The Paris Olympics were the last time they did battle, in what was an epic tussle for Wilde as he took silver behind Britain’s Alex Yee; however, both Blummenfelt and Geens struggled back in 12th and 42nd, respectively.
Outside of the Olympics, Geens has raced Wilde six times, and on five of those occasions, the Kiwi has taken top spot on the podium, with Geens finishing second twice and third once in a show of just how dominant they have become. The one other race was the 2024 70.3 World Championship, where Geens managed to turn the tables and take the victory.
Wilde and Blummenfelt have raced each other on two occasions aside from that date in Paris: the 2024 WTCS event in Cagliari, where Wilde finished second, and Blu was back in 31st. And the 2022 Collins Cup in Slovakia, where Blummenfelt came out on top as Team Europe beat Team International and Team USA.
Apart from Paris and the 2025 World Championships, Blu and Geens have only raced each other one other time, when they lined up at the WTCS Yokohama in 2024 and the Norwegian finished 10th to Geens’ 15th.
Prizes and qualifications
For the pro athletes, there are six 70.3 World Championship places up for grabs (three for each gender), while there are another 60 slots available for the age group athletes, again split down the middle with 30 each for the men and women.
As well as points being awarded for the Pro Series, there is also a $50,000 prize purse on offer for the pro athletes.
