After an almost completely failed racing year in 2020, 2021 could be a great challenge for some professionals with the two World Championships in Hawaii in February and October as well as two planned Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Particularly with a view to qualifying for the two highlight races in Kailua-Kona on February 6th and October 9th, some athletes may have twelve months ahead of them, in which they have to complete five to six long distances. We spoke to the last three Hawaii winners Jan Frodeno, Patrick Lange and Sebastian Kienle as well as Laura Philipp, Daniela Bleymehl, Franz Löschke and Svenja Thoes about the current situation to find out how they deal with the still uncertain situation during training, which races would be considered for a qualification and, above all, which solution you would like Ironman to provide for a meaningful and also “healthy” qualification for the coming year.
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The three-time world champion Jan Frodeno After the extremely strict measures were relaxed again in Spain, after his first self-created spring highlight in Girona at home – the long distance in the home office – he is good in training again and also with swimming a routine is established again with the new rules. “We have now just decided to train as if there was a race in September,” says Frodeno. As soon as there is a real triathlon that makes sense and is competitive, it will be there. “I am an athlete and I want to compete. I am just happy when it starts again and work, so that I am ready, ”says the 38-year-old. With a view to the coming year, in which he also wants to make up for his start at Challenge Roth, Frodeno is a bit skeptical. Four sporting highlights are already “very, very demanding”. “It won’t be possible to have 100 percent in four races. You have to weigh that carefully, ”he says. This applies above all to athletes who still have to qualify in top form. In order to take the pressure off a little for the coming year, Frodeno would like “that the previous qualification system will be put on hold until October 2021”. As an alternative, Frodeno could imagine, for example, that the top ten of the past three years would be qualified and the rest of the starting field would be filled with athletes “who can recommend themselves by then”. And the race in February could also be a qualifying race for the World Cup in Kailua-Kona in October, said Frodeno. The two competitions in Hawaii have priority for the reigning Ironman world champion in the coming year. “The topic of the 70.3 World Cup is of secondary importance in the 2021 calendar and it’s difficult for me to accommodate,” says Frodeno.
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Also for Sebastian Kienle, the Ironman world champion of 2014 and third place in the world championship last year, it is a matter of “dividing up your motivation and form”. The Ironman Middle Distance World Championships in Taupo, New Zealand were not on his plan anyway. The second 70.3 World Championships in the coming year in St. George, USA, are already very attractive to him, says Kienle. Ironman Frankfurt is still at the top of his list for his validation competition. “I think races in Europe are more realistic than in many other regions of the world. Hamburg, Nice and Carinthia would be other options for Kienle for an Ironman long distance in late summer. In order to start one of the races, two to three weeks of specific preparation would currently be enough for him to go into the competition in good shape, said Kienle. Kienle would lay an important foundation stone in preparation for the upcoming Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in February at the training camp on Fuerteventura. But this is also possible in Germany. “Just turn off the fan at Zwift. There is probably no better heat adaptation, ”says Kienle. Kienle does not see an overly packed racing calendar, which could also be a health hazard for the professionals in too many competitions, because the corona pandemic resulted in a very long phase in which the athletes were able to build an extremely good foundation . After the first World Cup in Hawaii 2021 in February, he will return to the season later, around mid-May or early June. “To be honest, I’m almost looking forward to the fact that the rhythm, which is otherwise always the same, will change a little,” says Kienle. For the qualification of the World Cup races, he could imagine that all athletes who have qualified for 2019 and the professionals who have already been qualified could start. Another option is a qualification via the world rankings of the Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO).
“Just turn off the fan at Zwift. There is probably no better heat adjustment. “
Sebastian Kienle
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For Patrick Lange, the Ironman world champion of 2017 and 2018, would also be able to return to the former point system for a year, through which the professionals secured their starting place for the World Championships in Hawaii for many years. For Lange, the two middle distance world championships in 2021 also play a subordinate role: “Kona is and will remain the all-important race in the triathlon calendar and, in my opinion, it will always stay that way,” he says. He looks forward to 2021 with significantly more competitions – especially over the long distance – with skepticism. “I am sure that the topics of regeneration and prevention will be more important than ever in the coming year.” Especially with the four upcoming long distances, which theoretically wait for a long time in the coming months, it will be a particularly difficult undertaking to be at a top level. This will be a particular challenge, but he does not see a health risk for the top professionals.
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After its premiere at Ironman Hawaii last October, which was not entirely successful, wants Franz Löschke focus primarily on the postponed World Cup date in February. “The February conditions basically play into my cards,” says Löschke. For the qualification, however, he will probably only invest a long distance and if he misses the necessary slot, he will not tackle a second race over the 226-kilometer distance. For any upcoming preparation, he and Sebastian Kienle would “sniff the wind and warmth on Fuerteventura every now and then”. And the Potsdam winter was not so hard in recent years, so that he could train long and a lot outside. Like Patrick Lange, Löschke would welcome a return to the old points system for qualifying for Ironman Hawaii 2021 in October.
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Laura Philipp, who finished fourth in the World Cup last year, should, like Franz Löschke, get a qualification slot for her second competition in Hawaii, which she wants to secure at a German or European Ironman. Similar to Sebastian Kienle, Philipp is in a state of training that enables her to be ready for an Ironman within a few weeks. And a second qualification competition is also quite conceivable for the 33-year-old. “I think, precisely because I haven’t done a race yet and haven’t had the stress of a normal season in my bones, that’s definitely realistic,” says Philipp. In her opinion, for a competitive year 2021 it is important that you prepare well for the season and allow yourself enough relaxation and then maybe forego one or the other middle distance. “Then it will be quite possible,” says Philipp. For them, a start at at least one of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships is realistic – provided that this makes sense with regard to the date, the travel expenses and the current form. When it comes to qualifying for Hawaii, she hopes that Ironman will enable the best athletes to compete in the World Cup, especially in this special phase. For the relaxed qualification, a World Cup ticket award for the top ten of last year or an orientation on the world rankings of the PTO is conceivable.
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For Daniela Bleymehl, who achieved the third-best German result in their second start in Hawaii with ninth place in 2019, Ironman Frankfurt is still at the top of the wish list of their qualifying competitions as long as it has not been finally canceled. Alternatively, she could also imagine starting at Ironman Austria in Klagenfurt or Ironman France in Nice. She doesn’t want to force a second qualifying competition, if she needs it, but of course she wants to tackle all sensible options. The preparation for the Ironman Hawaii in February of the coming year must be done at home anyway, as she would be separated from home and her school-age son for a long time anyway by a trip to Hawaii. Bleymehl sees the organizers as challenged for a race with as many people as possible in February. “If Ironman wants to see a qualitatively as well as quantitatively top-class field at the world championship races, the qualification mode would definitely have to change,” says Bleymehl.
Svenja Thoeswho crossed the finish line in Hawaii last year in 20th place and in Kailua-Kona in 2016 already won the World Cup as an age grouper in her age group, would only make one attempt to qualify for a third start on the island. She is critical of an extended season with four or even more long distances. “In the end, the most stable athletes will be able to get through this,” says Thoes. She is also campaigning for a special solution in the coming months that will enable professionals who have achieved a certain placement in Hawaii last year to be able to start again in Kailua-Kona in February without having to do a long distance .
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