Ironman acquires Vineman Triathlon
Ironman has announced the acquisition of multiple events from Vineman including the iconic Vineman Triathlon and Ironman 70.3 Vineman, which will operate under its existing name.
The Vineman triathlon will be rebranded as Ironman Vineman and will take place on Saturday July 30, 2016. The Ironman 70.3 Vineman triathlon will take place on July 10, 2016.
“Vineman has been an iconic race for more than 25 years and we feel privileged to have the Vineman team and events join the Ironman family,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman.
“The acquisition of these races furthers our commitment to Northern California and we look forward to continuing the growth and history of these great events.”
The Ironman Vineman triathlon will feature a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, and 42.2 km run through Sonoma County’s wine country. The Ironman Vineman course is a tour of Sonoma County vineyards amd wineries, which passes through five distinct regions.
The swim takes place at Johnson’s Beach in the Russian River, “one of the most rustic and beautiful swim venues you’ll see in the sport.” The bike course is a mix of terrain, and travels through the Russian River, Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, and Chalk Hill grape growing regions. With slightly less than 4,000 feet of climbing for the entire bike course, athletes find the course to be “challenging but not overwhelming.”
The out-and-back, run course takes the athletes to the finish area through the scenic country roads of Sonoma County. On offer are 40 age-group slots to the 2016 Ironman World Championship taking place in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i on October 8, 2016. Professional athletes will compete for a total prize purse of US$50,000.
“When we started these events in 1990 our goal was to produce them at the highest possible level and provide each entrant with a fantastic racing experience,” said Russ Pugh, Founder of the Vineman events.
“We are satisfied that we have achieved this over the past 26 years. In an effort to continue to provide athletes with an exceptional event, we made the decision to team with Ironman. We look forward to working with Ironman to keep the Ironman70.3 Vineman triathlon as one of the most popular events in the world and to build Ironman Vineman into a race with similar status. We are thrilled to be a part of the Ironman family of events.”
General registration for Ironman Vineman will open on Tuesday November 10, 2015. General registration for Ironman 70.3 Vineman will open on Monday November 9.
