The IRONMAN Pro Series continues this weekend in the Austrian lake town of Zell am See near Salzburg.
The 15th event in the Pro Series offers a maximum of 2,500 points towards the standings and a total pro prize purse of $50,000.
The swim is one of most spectacular in European triathlon, with a backdrop of the glacier-covered Austrian Alps in a drinking water quality lake.
It’s a one-loop 90km bike course with steep climbs – including the Hochkönigand – and fast descents, with a total of 860m of elevation and it’s rounded off with a new two-lap run course along the shores of Lake Zell.
In our preview piece below, you can find all the details you need on start times, streaming and who to watch out for in the professional women and men’s fields.
How to watch, start times and live tracking
The race takes place on Sunday September 1. The pro races will begin with the men at 11:00 local time, followed by the women two minutes later. That corresponds to 10:00 / 10:02 in the UK and 05:00 / 05:02 Eastern Time.
As part of the IRONMAN Pro Series there is live coverage – which will be embedded below nearer the time so you don’t have to leave this page.
The race will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, Outside TV, DAZN, L’Équipe in France, and YouTube among others.
The ever reliable IRONMAN Tracker is the perfect data addition to the live coverage too, whether for the pro races or following friends or family in the age-group events.
Pro Women
Defending champion Daniela Bleymehl (GER) returns to the start line in the women’s race hoping to improve on her sixth position in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings, and is joined by plenty of other women currently in the top 20 of the standings.
However that doesn’t include Britain’s Kat Matthews. She’s on the start list but after her runner-up spot at 70.3 Tallinn on Sunday, she confirmed on her Instagram page: “To clarify, no I’m not racing this weekend. Entered as a ‘back up’. Enjoy, all!”
Kylie Simpson (AUS) has been consistent so far this season with four top-10 finishes in the IRONMAN Pro Series races, including third at the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns race. Another Aussie contender is Ellie Salthouse – who has been on the podium in all three of her IRONMAN 70.3 races this year.
Young Danish athelete Laura Madsen is now up into the top 20 in the PTO’s world rankings and has two IRONMAN 70.3 wins to her name in 2024 – at 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée and 70.3 Valencia.
Local Austrian interest comes in the shape of Sabrina Exenberger, Lisa-Maria Dornaeuer and Tanja Stroschneider.
Pro Men
German athletes have a great record in this event and they start as favourites in the men’s race, with Jan Stratmann hoping to improve on his second-place finish from last year, while Nicholas Mann is in great form with two IRONMAN Pro Series race wins to his name this season.
Other athletes racing and contending in the IRONMAN Pro Series include Gregory Barnaby (ITA), currently in 10th position after a podium at the Mainova IRONMAN European Championship race in Frankfurt a fortnight ago, and Arnaud Guilloux (FRA), in 11th place.
And Stenn Goetstouwers (BEL) is back after he finished third at the 2023 Zell am See-Kaprun.
Prize Money: What’s on the line?
The prize purse on offer this weekend is $50,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $7,500 share of that total.
As part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, athletes will also earn points as they seek to become the IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and win a share of the $1.7 million bonus prize purse.
In Austria, the maximum possible score will be 2,500 points for 1st place, with points for all remaining professional finishers diminishing based on the time deficit to first place, at a rate of 1 point per 1 second deficit to the winner’s finishing time.
In addition to money and series points, there will be a total of six qualifying slots (three MPRO + three FPRO) for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, Spain in 2025.
The total funds will be paid ten-deep, as follows:
- $7,500
- $5,000
- $3,750
- $3,000
- $2,000
- $1,500
- $1,250
- $1,000