5 Things worth noting from the Ironman races in Frankfurt and Andorra
Sarah True managed to get to the finish line this time and Jan Frodeno took his first win of 2023
The busy summer race season continued last weekend over in Europe with the women’s Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, and a hometown race for three-time Kona champ Jan Frodeno in Andorra. Here are a few insights from the weekend’s racing:
Sarah True finally gets her win in Frankfurt
In 2019 American Sarah True (pictured above) appeared to be on track for a huge win at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, only to collapse within a few hundred metres of the finish line. That left her countrywoman Skye Moench to take the win.
It’s been four years, and along the way True has become a mom and embarked on a graduate program, but she added another Ironman title to her resume by running past Moench with just under 10 km to go to take the win in 8:54:53. Moench would take second in 8:57:30, while Poland’s Agnieszka Jerzyk rounded out the podium in 9:02:53.
After taking second behind True at Ironman Arizona last year, Moench utilized some different tactics this time around. In Arizona the two were together into T2. In Frankfurt Moench managed to break clear alongside Sweden’s Sara Svensk, hitting T2 almost three minutes ahead of True. Moench was still two minutes ahead through two of the four laps of the run, but started to fade during the third lap and was only 15 seconds ahead as she started the final loop along the River Main. True made the pass around 33 km into the marathon and, this time, made it all the way to the line for the win.
Jan Frodeno gets his first win of 2023
When was the last time we got to report that it took three races for Jan Frodeno to get his first win? After losing 2022 to a series of injuries, he returned to racing with a pair of fourth-place finishes at the PTO European Open and at the Ironman European Championship Hamburg. In his final year of pro racing, the 41-year-old is looking to finish off his career with one more Ironman World Championship. Unfortunately for him, that will have to happen in Nice, on a course that isn’t exactly suited to his strengths, unlike the Kona course. (In 2019 Frodeno chose not to try to defend his 70.3 world title because the race was in Nice, a course he didn’t feel suited him.)
Frodeno is looking to change all that in 2023, and is doing all that he can to prepare for the race in the south of France. He is living in Andorra these days and has been climbing up a storm as he looks to improve his climbing skills for the 2,500 m of elevation gain he can expect in Nice. After a tough week of training, he jumped into Ironman 70.3 Andorra, and put all that climbing work to good stead. While Frodeno found himself in chase mode after the bike – he arrived in T2 just over a minute behind countryman Jonas Shomburg, but made quick work of the field on the run, posting the day’s fastest half-marathon (1:14:54) for the win (4:25:47).
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Ashleigh Gentle will be one to watch in Lahti. You heard it here first!
While she might be ranked first in the PTO World Rankings thanks to her pair of wins at the two PTO Open events last year (and runner-up finish at the Collins Cup), Aussie Ashleigh Gentle has been quietly building towards a big month of August. Last year she skipped the Ironman 70.3 World Championship so she could focus on her wedding to fellow pro triathlete Josh Amberger. She’s been over in Europe since April and appears to be on a perfect build towards this year’s worlds.
Gentle finished second at the PTO European Open in Ibiza, second again to a resurgent Daniela Ryf at Ironman 70.3 Switzerland, then took a resounding win at Ironman 70.3 Andorra on the weekend, out-riding Emma Pallant-Browne on the mountainous course by six minutes before running a couple of seconds faster than the duathlon world champ.
Last year, after winning the PTO US Open in Dallas, Texas, Gentle appeared to be ready for a break after a long season of racing. This year she seems to be pacing things really well, setting up for a big day in Lahti, one would imagine.
Add another name to the “draft-legal/ long course” combination game: Jonas Schomburg
It’s not often we see anyone out-swim Jan Frodeno at a race, but the German Olympian was almost a minute up on the 2008 gold medalist, then only lost 21 seconds on the bike. Schomburg wasn’t able to match Frodeno’s pace on the run, but managed an impressive runner-up finish.
Schomburg hasn’t likely spent much time getting ready for a longer run as he’s competed at all of the WTCS races so far in 2023, where speed is what counts and the longest run is 10 km. His first long distance race was at Clash Daytona last year, where he finished seventh. Schomburg definitely has some potential over the longer distances – we’ll no-doubt see him focus on that a bit more after the Paris Games next year.
Is Ironman 70.3 Andorra the hardest on the circuit?
For years we’ve always given the title of the hardest Ironman 70.3 race to the event in Lanzarote, but  we might have to reconsider that after last weekend.
“It’s a hard race,” said Jan Frodeno. “I was told before the start it is the hardest Ironman 70.3 and I knew it was.”
“A great race, but a hard race,” said Ashleigh Gentle. “I knew what I was in to, but still It was hard. I have tried to have fun on the bike. I felt good, only on the run course I kind of lost the rhythm but managed to control and I am happy to be at this finish line, with this beautiful backdrop and ambience.”Â
Considering Frodeno went 4:25:47, and Gentle only just managed to break five hours by 28 seconds (4:59:32), they might be right in calling this the sport’s toughest 70.3 race.
