2025 Nice Ironman World Championship: The Men’s Pro Contenders

Sam Laidlow

26 years old, France

Who he is

For the last three years, Sam Laidlow went hard as soon as he was on the bike. As he’s also a good swimmer, he quickly took the lead, shaking off anyone trying to go with him and building a solid lead into T2. In Kona 2022, only Gustav Iden was able to catch him in the closing miles of the run. In Nice two years ago, Laidlow ran a 2:41 marathon to win the title. Last year in Kona, he went sub-4 hours on the bike but then shuffled the second half of the run to finish 18th. This season, he won both his long-distance races at Challenge Roth and Ironman Leeds.

Why he could win

There can be little doubt that Laidlow will be one of the strongest athletes in the swim and on the bike. As he demonstrated with his win in 2023, he knows and likes the bike course in Nice, and it would be no surprise at all to see him lead into T2, maybe even with a lead of five minutes or more over the other top favorites. In addition, this season he has continued to improve his run, posting marathons of 2:37 and 2:41, and he won a long run battle in Roth against Schomburg.

Why he might not win

It’s not really clear what caused his problems on the run in Kona 2024 – did something go wrong with his nutrition, or did he just go a bit too hard on the bike? It also seemed that he struggled to get going again at the start of this season, needing some extra rest when he was trying to ramp up the volume. However, his wins in Roth and Leeds showed that he was still in decent shape. Will he have been able to find the right balance between hard work and proper rest in his prep for Nice?

Kristian Blummenfelt

31 years old, Norway

Who he is

Kristian Blummenfelt has won almost every title triathlon has to offer: On the short distance, he was World Champion in 2021 and also won the Olympic Gold Medal in Tokyo 2021. In May 2022, he won the postponed 2021 Ironman World Championships in St. George, Utah, where he also won the 70.3 World title at the end of the season. This season, he won both of his Ironman races with fast times in Texas (7:24) and in Frankfurt (7:25). With two more solid results in the remaining championship races in Nice and Marbella, he’s also in a great position to win the Ironman Pro Series.

Why he could win

When Blummenfelt is in top shape, he’s very hard to beat. He’s among the best swimmers and bikers in the pro field, and he’s able to follow that with strong runs. In St. George 2022 (2:38), Texas (2:34), and Frankfurt (2:30), he had the fastest marathons of the day and quickly caught any athlete who went quicker on the bike. In Frankfurt, he and the rest of the bike group didn’t even let Ditlev ride away on the bike.

He enjoys the hard training in the Norwegian group with Iden and Stornes and seems to thrive in this environment. So far in 2025, only technical problems have denied a win to him: At 70.3 Oceanside, he had a flat on the bike and lost a lot of time before being helped by bike support, only to run a 1:07 half marathon, four minutes quicker than winner Lionel Sanders. Can Blummenfelt even attack the 2:30 barrier for the marathon in Nice?

Why he might not win

Not much went right for Blummenfelt in Kona 2024. He tried to go with Ditlev on the bike but then had to vomit a few times and fell back into the main group. Apparently, he wasn’t able to catch up on calories and was flat on the run, jogging only a 3:32 to finish 35th. He says his problems were not nutrition-related but caused by an irritation in his esophagus, which was taken care of by a small procedure in the off-season. So far, the problems have not resurfaced this season, but his Kona 2024 race shows that a great performance in a big race is always on the razor’s edge. Will everything go right for Blummenfelt in Nice?

Magnus Ditlev

27 years old, Denmark

Who he is

Magnus Ditlev has methodically worked his way up at Ironman World Championships: After an eighth place in Kona 2022, he was third in Nice 2023, then second in Kona 2024. Can he improve by one spot to win it in Nice? His 2025 season started well with a win at the end of March at Ironman South Africa. He didn’t have quite the results he might have been looking for after that, but he’s made it clear that his focus is on Nice and doing well at the World Championships.

Why he could win

Ditlev is one of the strongest Ironman athletes on the bike. Compared to Laidlow, he’s the less stable swimmer, often losing a minute or two to the front group. On a good day, he’s able to close any gap to the front quickly. For example, in Roth 2022, he was almost two minutes behind Jan Frodeno (DEU) in T1, then closed that gap in the first hour of the bike. Ditlev has also become one of the best runners. In Roth 2024, he ran a 2:34. In Kona 2024, he almost didn’t start the marathon after struggling late on the bike, but then ran a strong 2:46, the second-fastest split of the top nine finishers, gaining eight spots on the run.

Why he might not win

To win in Nice, Ditlev has many sub-goals: Swim better than in Kona, ideally with the main group like Patrick Lange was able to do on his way to the 2024 win. Then ride well enough to put time into better runners such as Lange or Blummenfelt without ruining his own run legs. Finally, have a good marathon, allowing him to catch the bike leader (possibly Laidlow) while not allowing the better runners to catch up to him.

In Frankfurt, he seemed to be running well and moved into second place. However, he only finished eighth, probably losing his focus after a back-and-forth penalty and DQ, which was eventually taken back by the head referee after racing 30 minutes in limbo. Will Ditlev execute his race plan and stay in the right mindset to beat everyone in the Nice field?

Patrick Lange

39 years old, Germany

Who he is

Defending champion Patrick Lange is a member of a very exclusive club of three-time winners: On the men’s side, he’s joined by Frodeno, Craig Alexander, and Peter Reid; on the women’s side, there’s Mirinda Carfrae. In his first Kona race in 2016, he broke Mark Allen’s 1989 run course record and then won the following year with a new course record. In 2018, he was the first athlete under eight hours in Kona. After a few ups and downs, he was able to win again in 2024, joining Alexander and Frodeno as the oldest men’s winners at 38 years of age.

Why he could win

Lange typically wins his races with a fast marathon, and Kona 2024 was no exception. After swimming in the front group, he rode with the main group, sometimes almost getting dropped but always working his way back. He then was clearly the fastest runner, putting time into the whole field. After taking the lead on the Queen K, he was able to keep things under control, winning by almost eight minutes. He also had the best run in Nice 2023. His 2:32 was more than nine minutes quicker than the run time by winner Laidlow.

Why he might not win

Even with his great run, Lange often loses too much time in the swim and on the bike. In Nice 2023, Laidlow swam one minute faster and was 12 minutes quicker on the bike – too much to catch Laidlow, who ran well. So far, Lange hasn’t had a good 2025 season: He started with a disappointing 17th place at 70.3 Oceanside, aggravating a run injury that forced him to cancel his planned start at Ironman Texas and ruined his chances for the Ironman Pro Series. He was healthy for Ironman Frankfurt in June but again didn’t have the race he was looking for, getting dropped early in the bike and only finishing seventh, even after a 2:39 marathon. But there almost seem to be two different Langes: One with often so-so results throughout the year, and then a really sharp one for the championship races in the fall. Will he be able to turn things around again for this year’s championship?

Dark Horse 1: Rudy von Berg

31 years old, United States

Even against the strongest competition, Rudy von Berg is almost always at the pointy end of the field, and after a fourth and third place in the last two years’ world champs, he should get a lot more attention. But he’s often underrated and overlooked, even though he has three Ironman wins in his resume. Perhaps that’s because he’s often swimming and biking in the main group, and his run is solid but not yet fast enough to win against the strongest competition. In this year’s races, he was third in Texas and sixth in Frankfurt after 2:42 and 2:45 marathons. He grew up in the Nice area and knows every little turn by heart – maybe he’ll race more aggressively on the bike? Von Berg might be just one run improvement away from a huge result in Nice this year.

Dark Horse 2: Leon Chevalier

28 years old, France

Leon Chevalier might be a slightly slower swimmer; in Kona last year, he lost more than three minutes in the swim to the leaders. However, his bike and mental approach were strong enough to turn things around and put him in a great position in T2. Running well, he was in second place coming into the Energy Lab, but then struggled with overheating to finish fourth. Is he going to continue to improve after finishing fifth in Nice 2023? He’s built his season with a clear focus on Nice, and if his prep has gone well, Chevalier should be at least a solid podium candidate for Nice.

Dark Horse 3: Gustav Iden

29 years old, Norway

The Kona 2022 champion went through a difficult time in the last two years but is definitely on the upswing again this season. After DNF’ing Kona at the end of 2024, he was 13th at Texas (validating his Nice slot with a 2:55 marathon) and then fourth in Frankfurt (with a much improved 2:38 run). Typically, he’s one of the active athletes in the main group, helping to shrink it down, and then relies on his competitive run. If he was able to train well after Frankfurt, his lucky hat might come back. Can Iden fight for the 2025 title?

Dark Horse 4: Jonas Schomburg

31 years old, Germany

Jonas Schomburg is one of the interesting world champs rookies in Nice. After racing in the Olympics in 2021 and 2024, he only started racing the full distance this year. However, his third place in South Africa and his second place at Challenge Roth were very impressive. In addition, he had a DNF early on the bike in Frankfurt when his aero bar snapped off the base bar. In all races, he swam well and was leading on the bike. Schomburg can be expected to race similarly in Nice, and he might be off the front or work with Laidlow to build a lead on the bike. With 2:41 and 2:40 marathons, he was also running well – how much of an impact can he have on the Nice race, and where will he place in the end?

Dark Horse 5: Marten Van Riel

32 years old, Belgium

After the Paris Games, Marten Van Riel stepped up to the half distance and won the 2024 T100 Series. At the start of the 2025 season, he qualified for Nice with a second place behind Ditlev at Ironman South Africa, and he gained some valuable experience on the bike course when he won 70.3 Nice in June. But then he hurt his ankle and needed some time off. The Ironman World Championship will be his first race after the injury, and only the race will show if he’s fully healed and in top shape. Hayden Wilde had an impressive comeback race at London T100; can Van Riel return with a world-class performance as well?