Ironman Arizona
IRONMAN ARIZONA
After Nice, I was in a hole. My entire season had been built around the World Championships, and I simply didn’t deliver on the day. But I learned a lot—especially about my body—and most importantly, I saw that my mind is still fully committed to this comeback to the top of Ironman racing.
Arizona was another chance to see whether I could squeeze everything out of myself and finally show my true fitness. I knew I was fast, but nutrition was still my Achilles heel.
Swim
I arrived in Arizona three days before the race, adjusted quickly to the time zone and weather, and felt better than I had before Nice. Race morning in Tempe was pitch-dark; the river was black and unpleasant, but I was ready. As always, I was hyped on the start line—I know I’m one of the best swimmers in almost every field.
After a few meters I was leading with two others, but instead of burning matches, I slid into third and conserved. After a long, dark swim I exited the water in second. Transition was fast—as expected from someone with an Olympic background—even with socks.
Bike
From the first pedal strokes I knew I had the legs. The tapering work Ben Reszel and I have refined over the last years finally clicked. Frankfurt 2024 and earlier races like Ibiza or Aix had all felt limited around 280–290 W. Not today. I was pushing big watts without even hurting.
I led for about 20 minutes before Menno came through, giving me a short chance to reset, but I was so excited about the good legs that I completely ignored pacing. We planned 290–310 W. After 30 minutes I was averaging 321 W—far too high to run off well.
For the first time I was fueling properly at 120 g carbs per hour, and it was working. Usually I start fading around 120 km, but I was still averaging 305 W. At that point I had to let Menno and Ben Kanute go—too strong, too risky—and settle in.
After 3h30 at 45 km/h, all my bottles were gone and I started feeling dizzy. I was lucky to grab a gel at the next aid station; the caffeine hit immediately and I came back to life. Even now I’m shocked that 510 g of carbs wasn’t enough for that ride—but then again, I saw the power file. It was the best Ironman bike performance of my career. Finally a bike split worthy of the training and of Ben’s coaching.
Run
Out of T2, in my ON shoes, I immediately reached for nutrition I had planned to take later—I was already in a deficit. Still, I felt strong, controlled, running 3:35/km with confidence.
At 5 km I took another squeezy, and I was closing the gap to Ben Kanute. At 10 km I could see him. Then after the first gel the stomach cramp hit—hard. I slowed to control breathing, tried to settle things, but lost time. At 15 km I needed more carbs but couldn’t take any in without worsening the cramps.
Special needs saved me: one bottle + one liquid-carb squeezy. Slowly the cramps eased and energy returned. I set the sails again and went hunting. I had the Kona slot in sight.
At 21 km I caught Kanute… and then ran out of special needs fuel. I grabbed another gel, and the same problem returned. No fuel was getting through. The next 10 km were survival: tiny sips of gel so the cramps didn’t explode. After 35 km the muscular pain finally kicked in. Ironman racing—beautiful and brutal.
I crossed the line in 7th. At first I wasn’t satisfied—until Sam Long congratulated me. I saw in his eyes that he had some respect, that I held him off on the bike. And then it hit me: this was one of the best performances of my career.
And I’m not done yet.
Right now, I’m heading home on my own “mission”—my fiancée is pregnant and due in three weeks. So yes, the next big event is not a race; it’s becoming a father.
