Roth announces stacked men’s field

We’ll find out who is racing in the women’s race on Thursday, but today we got a preview of the stacked men’s field set for Challenge Roth in June. While Dane Magnus Ditlev will be back to defend his title (and maybe see if he can get that course record – he missed Jan Frodeno’s record by nine seconds last year), he’ll have his work cut out for him on June 25 thanks to the big names the event has secured.

Here’s a list of some of the favourites Ditlev will face:

• Two-time Kona champ and last year’s runner-up in Roth, Patrick Lange (GER), will be back, fresh off his 2:30 marathon run at Ironman Israel last November.
• France’s Sam Laidlow, last year’s Kona runner-up, will also be competing – his 4:04 bike course record from Kona will do him well on the fast Roth course.
• Another Dane, Daniel Baekkegard, took third at the 70.3 worlds in St. George last year and has a PB of 7:43 over the full distance.
• American Ben Kanute finished second at the 70.3 worlds, then took third in his Ironman debut in Arizona last November.
• Joe Skipper (GBR)is a two-time runner up in Roth, and is a seven-time Ironman champ. He had an impressive 2022 that included pushing Kristian Blummenfelt to the limit at the Sub7 Project.
• Sebastian Kienle (GER) did his first full-distance race in Roth in 2010. In his final year of pro racing, this will likely be his last long-distance race in Germany.
• Germany’s Nils Frommhold took the Roth title in 2015 and finished second to Lange in 2021.
• France’s Clement Mignon took ninth in Kona last October in just his second full-distance race.
• South Africa’s Bradley Weiss was fourth in Roth last summer. The two-time Xterra world champ and a four-time 70.3 champion looking to add a big full-distance race to his resume.

Related: Challenge Roth and Ironman collaborate for mutually agreed dates

Men’s pro field: