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It’s safe to say that Rudy von Berg’s career has had a very upward trajectory, pointing to a big finish at the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Nice. On this same course, back in 2023 when the men last raced here, the American—who spent a large part of his life living and training in the Nice area—had a major breakthrough, finishing one step off the podium in fourth. A year later, von Berg proved it wasn’t just a matter of local knowledge by leaping onto the podium at the 2024 Ironman World Championship in Kona.
This year, again based in his family’s chateau less than an hour outside of Nice, von Berg seems poised for another podium finish, potentially with an upgrade—depending on how the race plays out. He’s already had a strong start to the season with a podium at the hyper-competitive Oceanside 70.3 in April, followed shortly by another podium at Ironman Texas.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s race, expect to see von Berg with some serious TV time, based on the strength of his swim and bike. With that in mind, we braved the windy roads of the Maritime Alps in the French countryside to check out his family’s incredible country “cottage” and get a close look at the Factor Hanzo he’ll be riding on Sunday.
Visit our Nice Central hub for news, analysis, history, photo galleries, and so much more – new stories added daily from our team on the ground at the men’s 2025 Ironman World Championship.
Rudy von Berg’s 2025 Ironman World Championship bike
Scroll below to see exactly what he’s chosen for the intense (and integral) bike course.
For race day, Rudy von Berg will continue to ride with longtime sponsor, Factor, on their flagship Hanzo in size XL.
Like the vast majority of the field, von Berg is using 12-speed Sram Red eTap AXS wireless shifting. He’ll also be riding a 1x system up front with a wide-ranging cassette on the back.
To help with aerodynamics on the flat middle section of the course, von Breg has chosen to upgrade his pulley cover with a Ceramic Speed OSPW system.
Here we see von Berg’s Cadex Ultra 50 rear wheel, though he may choose a different depth on race day.
Though pedals don’t often steal the show on a pro bike gallery, von Berg’s Ekoi PW8 pedal system is new for 2025 and isn’t even available in the U.S. yet.
The system is integrated with Ekoi’s new PW8 C12 carbon cycling shoes for a super-low stack height, light weight, and reduced aerodynamic drag.
Up front, von Berg’s setup pictured here also has a Cadex Ultra 50, but that could change depending on conditions. He’s using Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TRs for both wheels.
Von Berg’s cockpit has very interesting new Speebar extensions, seen here from the side. He tells us the upgrade to full carbon saves 300g from the last version.
Here we get a close look at the full-carbon Speedbar setup with a very minimal hydration bridge.
Von Berg’s aerobar grip system melds gracefully into the extensions.
For nutrition storage, von Berg has mounted a Profile Design ATTK XL to the top tube of his Hanzo.
Like many pros, von Berg is using a Wove saddle with integrated behind-the-saddle hydration mounts.
Here we see the nearly ubiquitous Wove bottle retention loop to keep the rear-facing bottle from ejecting on the technical bike course.