On 25 June 2023, five Hawaii champions – Patrick Lange, Anne Haug, Sebastian Kienle, Daniela Ryf and Chelsea Sodaro – will compete at DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep. Add Magnus Ditlev, Andi Dreitz and Nils Frommhold into the mix and you’ve got seven athletes who have already topped the Roth podium heading up the world-class field. In addition, Laura Philipp will make her debut at the triathlon mecca. This will be one race you don’t want to miss this year with a record-breaking race looking likely in both the women’s and men’s fields!
All world champions since 2015 to start at Roth / Anne Haug, Daniela Ryf and Laura Philipp challenge Hawaii champion Chelsea Sodaro
There has never been such a top field at a long distance race outside Hawaii. With Anne Haug, Daniela Ryf and the reigning Kona winner Chelsea Sodaro, three world champions and two Roth winners will fight for the title at DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep 2023. Laura Philipp will also make her debut at the Home of Triathlon. In addition, Fenella Langridge, Laura Siddall, Lisa Norden and Ruth Astle will ensure an exciting race at an absolute world-class level on 25 June.
Title hat-trick for Anne Haug?
The two-time Roth winner and 2019 world champion will enjoy a home turf in the battle of the world’s best female triathletes. The Bayreuth native won DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep in impressive style in both 2021 and 2022. It was her success in Roth as her best long-distance race that secured Anne Haug the number one spot on the Professional Triathletes Organisation world ranking list. She recently showed her outstanding skills again at the IM World Championships with her fourth podium in a row.
Roth debut for reigning world champion
Anne Haug will face the strongest possible competition as the exceptional women’s talent meets on the start line. The competition is led by none other than the reigning Hawaii winner, Chelsea Sodaro. Her start in Roth will be only her third long-distance race. The 33-year-old mother won Kona in October with the second-fastest time in history in 8:33:46. Triathlon fans around the world will be curious to see whether the American can repeat her coup in the Home of Triathlon.
World best time in danger?
Of course, the triathlon series winner of the last few years would not want to miss such a race. With five world championship titles over the long distance, two Roth victories and the double award as Swiss Sportswoman of the Year, Daniela Ryf is considered by many to be the best triathlete of all time. After 2016 and 2017, the 35-year-old will be on the start line at the world’s biggest long-distance triathlon for the third time. She also set her personal best of 8:22:04 in Roth in 2016. After finishing eighth in Hawaii, she certainly wants to attack the top seeds again in a major race in 2023. Behind Anne Haug, Daniela Ryf is currently ranked second in the PTO world rankings.
Like Chelsea Sodaro, Laura Philipp will make her debut at DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep in 2023 after having to cancel her start in 2019 at short notice due to injury. Of all the current female athletes, Philipp has the fastest personal best time with 8:18:20. This was only seven seconds slower at IM Hamburg 2022 than Chrissie Wellington’s world best time in Roth set in 2011.
Wide range of favourites
Much can also be expected from Fenella Langridge, Laura Siddall, Lisa Norden and Ruth Astle.
Fenella Langridge showed she loves racing in Roth, not least with her enthusiastic ride over Solarer Berg – one of the triathlon moments of last year. On her Roth debut in 2021, she headed straight to the podium. In 2022, she came second only to Anne Haug. The fans in Roth can also look forward to watching crowd favourite Laura Siddall. This will be her sixth start in Franconia. After securing second place in 2021 in a thrilling duel with Langridge and a phenomenal chase, she narrowly missed the podium last year, finishing in fourth place.
Even closer than the race between Langridge and Siddall in 2021 was the finish at the 2012 Olympics, where Lisa Norden secured the silver medal. Norden finished fifth in Hawaii and sixth at the IM World Championships in Utah in May 2022 and could certainly cause a surprise at her first race in Roth.
Ruth Astle already pulled off a surprise in 2019 when she finished eighth in Roth as the fastest non-professional athlete. After her victory at IM Israel in November 2022, she will return as a professional to DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep 2023.
Close race also expected in the men’s race
It will also be difficult to identify a clear favourite in the men’s race. As TEAMCHALLENGE announced on Tuesday, the best male athletes in the world will also line up. Among the favourites are last year’s winner Magnus Ditlev, Patrick Lange, Hawaii silver medallist Sam Laidlow, Daniel Bækkegård and Ben Kanute.
At DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep on 25 June 2023, hundreds of thousands of spectators are again expected along the course. In 2023, title sponsor DATEV will celebrate its tenth anniversary as a partner of Challenge Roth.
An overview of the elite women’s starting list:
- Anne Haug
- Chelsea Sodaro
- Daniela Ryf
- Laura Philipp
- Laura Siddall
- Fenella Langridge
- Ruth Astle
- Lisa Norden
- Debbie Greig
- Janien Lubben
- Camille Deligny
- Vanessa Pereira
- Margie Santimaria
- Margrit Elfers
- Maja Betz
- Lina-Kristin Schink
- Elisabetta Curridori
- Annika Timm
- Elena Illeditsch
- Johanna Ahrens
- Henrike Güber
- Hannah Arlom
- Line Borsinski
- Leonie Zumhasch
- Jamie Albert
- Katrine Græsbøll Christensen
- Magda Nieuwoudt
Epic Men’s Field for Roth 2023 Announced
Epic men’s field with two German Hawaii champions and five Roth winnersThe duel between generations for the Roth crown / Exciting record-breaking racing on order / Announcement of the women’s field on ThursdayThe signal for the greatest race in Roth history is on green. The best athletes in the world will once again compete at DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep 2023. Leading the men’s field, previous years’ winners will meet the young guns of the sport.
A furious race is in the offing
Magnus Elbæk Ditlev has already shown what he is capable of at a young age. With an exceptional performance, the 25-year-old left all competitors behind at last year’s DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep and will line up in 2023 as the defending champion. Ditlev missed Jan Frodeno’s course record by just nine seconds and he is currently ranked third in the Professional Triathletes Organisation world ranking.One of the big German favourites for victory in the Roth triathlon mecca is undoubtedly Patrick Lange after winning at his Roth debut in 2021. At the last edition of DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep, the two-time Hawaii winner finished second behind Ditlev. Lange proved the 36-year-old is in peak form at IM Israel in November where he set an impressive marathon record of 2:30.
Is the young guard taking over triathlon?
At the age of 24, Frenchman Sam Laidlow is still at the beginning of his triathlon career. He caused a sensation at in Hawaii in 2022 and was crowned a surprise world runner-up – with the second-fastest time in the history of Hawaii to boot. With 4:04:36 he even set an all-time bike course record, something he can also be relied on to do on the fast and fan-lined course in Roth.Hep-Sportsteam athlete, Daniel Bækkegård, will also be a force to be reckoned with in Roth. He is travelling to Franconia for the first time with a personal best of 7:43:40. At 26 years old and only two years older than Laidlow, the Dane has collected prestigious trophies, especially over the middle distance. He is the reigning IM 70.3 European Champion and finished third at the 70.3 World Championships. In the PTO Collins Cup, he won in Šamorín with Team Europe in 2021.
Old friends in Roth with top chances
Only about 30km from his home in Nuremberg, Andi Dreitz can once again ensure a top Franconian ranking. His triumph at his home race in Roth 2019 will never be forgotten and in this, his fifth time at DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep, another top ranking is possible.The same applies to Joe Skipper. The Brit has caused quite a stir on the triathlon circuit after his two second places in Roth in 2016 and 2017. With a total of seven Ironman titles and several course records, the 34-year-old is one of the most successful triathletes of recent years. His personal best of 7:41:07 gives an idea of what Skipper is capable of in top form in Roth.In 2015, Nils Frommhold stood at the top of the podium and was able to record his greatest career success at the time, taking the German Championship title in Roth. The 36-year-old Berliner from the Erdinger Active Team has already stood on every step of the Roth podium, finishing second behind Patrick Lange in his last appearance in 2021. Frommhold certainly wouldn’t mind another podium finish in 2023.
First American winner in Roth?
A candidate for a first US men’s victory in Roth in 2023 is Ben Kanute. He has celebrated his greatest successes so far in the middle distance and was runner-up at the IM 70.3 World Championships in October. In his first start over the 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike and 42.2 km run, he finished third at IM Arizona in a time of 7:51:2.
Farewell to a global career
Sebastian Kienle has come full circle. The crowd favourite announced his retirement from professional triathlon many months ago. His long-distance career began in Roth in 2010. After the Hawaii victory in 2014, the victory at the IM 70.3 World Championship in 2012, the Roth victory in 2018 and countless other titles, Sebi will celebrate the farewell of his glorious professional career on 25 June 2023 at his last long-distance race in Germany. What more fitting setting for this than a start in the place that creates goosebumps?
Predicting unpredictability in the top field
There has never been so much quality across the board in a Roth professional field. Further evidence is the young Frenchman, Clément Mignon, who is making his Roth debut. As a 23-year-old, he delivered a compelling race in Hawaii last October, similar to Sam Laidlow, and finished ninth in his second long-distance race. In the heat of Hawaii, he finished well under the magic eight-hour mark with a time of 7:56:58.Bradley Weiss could also be a candidate for the podium in Roth. Last year, the South African missed the podium by only 80 seconds and finished fourth. Another prominent name on the start list is Reece Barclay. In 2022, he crossed the finish line in Roth overjoyed in 16th place after a difficult year.
Equal appreciation of the women’s field
All triathlon fans should definitely mark 25 June 2023 in bold in their calendars. To give due recognition to both the men’s and women’s field, TEAMCHALLENGE will announce the women’s field on a separate day. The publication of the world-class women’s start list will take place on Thursday, 9 February on the DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep channels.This year, Challenge Roth celebrates 10 years of partnership with title sponsor DATEV.The men’s elite at the DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep 2023 at a glance:– Magnus Ditlev– Patrick Lange– Sam Laidlow– Sebastian Kienle– Daniel Baekkegard– Andreas Dreitz– Joe Skipper– Ben Canute– Nils Frommhold– Clement Mignon– Bradley Weiss– Reece Barclay– Victor Arroyo– Silas Köhn– Simon Billeau– Erik-Simon Strijk– Jason Pohl– Andrew Horsfall-Turner– Hannes Wolpert– Jesse Vondracek– Markus Thomschke– Jean-Claude Besse– Nicolas Quenette– Alberto Casillas– Chris Dells– Ernest Mantell