Just a matter of weeks after Kona, the IROMAN 70.3 World Championships are taking place this week in St George, USA with a plethora of British athletes taking to the pro start line.
In the women’s race (Friday 28 October), Lucy Charles-Barclay is setting out to defend her crown having taken the win in 2021. The silver medallist from Kona and winner of the World Triathlon Long Distance Championships heads to the US as one of nine Brits on the women’s start list.
Joining her are Emma Pallant-Browne who has four 70.3 wins to her name this year; Holly Lawrence who took a top-ten place last year; Ruth Astle who finished fifth at the 2021 IRONMAN World Championships in St George earlier this year; Lydia Dant and her two gold and two silver medals at 70.3 distance this year; bronze medallist from 70.3 Elsinore, India Lee; Frankie Sanjana who qualified at Les Sables d’Olonne; and 70.3 World Championship debutant Olivia Mitchell.
Completing the British nonuplet is Nikki Bartlett, who races in St George off the back of three 70.3 silver medals and a 70.3 gold from Marbella.
“I feel like training has been going super well for this race,” Bartlett said. “I’ve had a fantastic 10-12 week training block, I got some heat prep in in Lanzarote because we thought this race could be super-hot but it’s quite up and down with the temperature, so they’ve suddenly dropped, and it could be a cold race. The Brits can hopefully use our hardy nature and shine through in this race.
“I did Dresden 70.3 and came second and Portugal 70.3 and came second, and they were in pretty big blocks of training as well, so I’m fully tapered for this one. The last race of the season, all in, coming here as fit and as well prepared as I can be, so I know I’ve done everything possible to give my best performance on race day which is really exciting.”
Bartlett’s 2022 season came off the back of an injury hit winter and will be racing in St George for the third time in 12 months after the 2021 IRONMAN and 70.3 IRONMAN World Championships.
“I pretty much pick races based on location and inspiring courses and an amazing community feel, which St George is,” Bartlett added.
“Our home stays basically make this trip for us, not just them but also their wider family and friends, we’ve just got to know them so well and they feel like family now, and that’s what the sport is all about for us.
“The course is stunning, it just oozes up energy on the course, so we’re super excited back for the third time in a year. The lake is just in the middle of absolutely nowhere, it’s gorgeous, the red rock here is just wow-factor, Snow Canyon Climb is stunning although on race day you don’t really soak it in, so we’ve done plenty of climbing up there to appreciate the views. It ticks every single box for what we look for in a race and it really excites me to be here.
“It’s just a fantastic opportunity to race the best athletes in the world and what I feel in such a privileged position. I got into the sport as a complete novice, worked my way up through the age group ranks and I’m at my second world champs in 2022, which is just incredible so I’m going to take every opportunity I get on race day, and I feel very good for a good performance.
“I’m going to have a bit of extra fight on race day for George [Peasgood]. When I’m suffering I’m going to hear his voice telling me to keep going, so I’ll have an extra buddy all day long on race day, and I know he’s going to push me on and help me get the best out of myself.”
James Teagle is the sole British man on the pro start list for the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run in St George.
After a Covid-hit first part of the season, Teagle claimed third place at Gerardmer XL before taking the win at Outlaw X in September and will line up against the likes of Norwegian athletes Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt who finished first and third respectively in Kona this year.
The men’s pro race takes place on Saturday 29 October, the day after the women’s, with both days seeing the pro racing kick off at 14:30 BST with coverage live on Outside TV.
As well as the pro racing in St George, thousands of age group athletes will also compete having earned their spot on the start line in their respective age categories.
Close to 400 Brits will make the trip to St George to compete, hitting the water of Sand Hollow Reservoir shortly after the pros.
The women’s and men’s age group racing will take place on the same days as the respective pro racing, with women taking to the course on Friday and men on Saturday.
Start lists for the age group races are available on the IRONMAN website here: https://www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship-2022-athletes
