Kristian Blummenfelt has won the Ironman Frankfurt – a victory that was not necessarily expected. There were also one or two surprises behind the Norwegian.
After a controlled race on the bike and a not entirely smooth but dominant performance in the run, Kristian Blummenfelt has won the Ironman Frankfurt. The Norwegian has thus exceeded his goal of validating a slot for the Ironman World Championship. Second and third places went to Brit Kieran Lindars and Italian Gregory Barnaby. Favorite Patrick Lange fell short of expectations due to muscular problems but fought for every position during the run.
Large Leading Group after Swimming
At 26.2 degrees Celsius water temperature on this Sunday morning, there was a neoprene ban for professionals and age-groupers. As expected, a large group with almost 20 athletes reached the Australian Exit after about 18 minutes and 1,500 meters. The group was led by Wilhelm Hirsch, closely followed by Swiss Andrea Salvisberg and Dutchman Menno Koolhaas. Also among them were Braden Currie (NZL), Kristian Blummenfelt, Maurice Clavel, Florian Angert, Finn Große-Freese, and Ruben Zepuntke. After 45:51 minutes, Hirsch emerged from the Langener Waldsee first, with 16 other athletes following at intervals of up to 37 seconds. Pole Robert Wilkowiecki and Paul Schuster led the first chase group out of the water with over two minutes behind. At that time, Patrick Lange was already in the third group in 30th position and had to take a good four minutes deficit onto the bike course. As would later become clear, the 37-year-old had received another kick or hit, just as he had at the Challenge Roth. Co-favorites Sam Long and Trevor Foley (both USA) incurred a swimming deficit of over seven minutes.
Hirsch Takes Initiative at Long-Distance Debut, Høgenhaug Pulls Away
Wilhelm Hirsch immediately sought to escape on the bike and managed to gain ground on his pursuers. However, from behind, Danish Kristian Høgenhaug came rushing up. At kilometer 45.5, he finally caught up to Hirsch, and the two took turns leading. However, Høgenhaug soon seemed to lose interest in this alliance and gradually pulled away after about 70 kilometers. Even a fall on a wet road in a curve did not stop him from expanding his lead. His lead was just over a minute when entering the second bike lap. Until that point, Patrick Lange had been able to gain several positions, but the gap to the front widened and was already at eight minutes after 112 kilometers. Florian Angert’s fall had more severe consequences as he ended his race after about 100 kilometers on the bike.
In the second round, things finally changed in the chase. Ruben Zepuntke began to demonstrate his cycling strength, moved to the front and did not allow the other athletes to follow. The gap to Høgenhaug was still 2:10 minutes after 127 kilometers. However, he steadily extended his lead to almost 2:30 minutes before the last 40 kilometers. In the chase (about +3:15 minutes) were still Kristian Blummenfelt and the fast-running Italian Gregory Barnaby, Finn Große-Freese, and Maurice Clavel.
At the start of the final 20 kilometers, Høgenhaug’s lead had not changed significantly; however, Zepuntke was putting more and more asphalt between himself and the first larger chase group of seven athletes (+4:16 to +4:28 minutes). For the group around Patrick Lange, the gap to the Dane grew to about eleven minutes.
Zepuntke at the Forefront of the Pursuers
Høgenhaug could still make up some time; after 3:57:09 and just under 177 kilometers, he was the first to push his bike into the second transition area. About 2:45 minutes later, Ruben Zepuntke followed. The cycling split of the Düsseldorfer: 4:00:53 hours. His strong discipline did not go according to plan, he explained in an interview with Hessian Broadcasting in the transition tent. “Lost nutrition, lost bike computer, missed the front,” was the summary. The seven-man chase group, led by Kristian Blummenfelt, followed with a deficit of just under five minutes. Also present: Gregory Barnaby, Wilhelm Hirsch, Mattia Ceccarelli, Kieran Lindars, Finn Große-Freese, and Maurice Clavel.
Large Deficit for Lange and Long
Patrick Lange ultimately led a larger group into the second transition area with a deficit of nearly twelve minutes – with a promising lineup for the final marathon. Among others, top runner Matt Hanson was among Lange’s entourage. The American Sam Long seemed not to have made his usual rapid catch-up, intentionally or not. The deficit was more than 17 minutes in the second transition area, but the aimed Kona slot was still within reach.
Only a Finish? No Thanks
Meanwhile, it did not look like Kristian Blummenfelt’s plan was just to validate by finishing. Minute by minute, the Norwegian made up ground on Kristian Høgenhaug, and just before the ten-kilometer mark, Blummenfelt took the lead. Høgenhaug was also overtaken by British Kieran Lindars. The latter came dangerously close to Blummenfelt at first. The Norwegian apparently did not want to expose himself to this danger and increased his pace again. With an average speed of 3:28 minutes per kilometer, the forecast indicated a marathon under 2:30 hours. Patrick Lange soon had to definitively say goodbye to that goal. Due to issues in the lumbar area, he could not tap into his potential while running and struggled for a long time to fight his way forward. On the third of four running laps, he seemed to have overcome the low point and picked off one athlete after the other. While he was no longer contesting the victory, he was keen on the points in the Ironman Pro Series, thus every second counted.
Exciting Position Battles in the Chase
It remained exciting both at the front and in the chase. The pursuit of Jonas Hoffmann drew attention as he pushed further ahead in his strong discipline. Blummenfelt had to make a Dixi stop and was sick multiple times while running, but he did not slow down and showed no sign of weakness – even in the last ten kilometers? Yes. The Norwegian managed to further extend his lead to almost five minutes.
Two More Germans Qualify for Hawaii
After 7:27:21 hours, Kristian Blummenfelt held the finish banner at the Römer as the new Ironman European Champion. Kieran Lindars followed after 7:32:14 hours in second place, securing the first of the six slots for the Ironman World Championship. Gregory Barnaby completed the podium after 7:33:44 hours, also earning a ticket to Hawaii. The remaining slots for the World Championship qualification were filled by Kristian Høgenhaug, Menno Koolhaas, and Jonas Hoffmann in fourth to sixth place. Patrick Lange ended up eighth (7:39:10 hours) behind Pole Kasper Stepniak (7:38:47 hours). Since both athletes are already qualified, Finn Große-Freese rejoiced as ninth over the last Hawaii slot. Felix Hentschel and Wilhelm Hirsch also made it into the top 20. For Sam Long, the spontaneous project “Kona 2024” did not succeed, as he finished in 22nd place.
Ironman Frankfurt 2024 | Pro Men
August 18, 2024 | Frankfurt am Main
| Place | Name | Country | Total | 3.8 km Swim | 177 km Bike | 42.195 km Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristian Blummenfelt | NOR | 7:27:21 | 46:06 | 4:03:14 | 2:32:29 |
| 2 | Kieran Lindars | GBR | 7:32:14 | 46:29 | 4:03:26 | 2:37:05 |
| 3 | Gregory Barnaby | ITA | 7:33:44 | 46:15 | 4:03:33 | 2:38:53 |
| 4 | Kristian Høgenhaug | DEN | 7:35:32 | 47:57 | 3:57:09 | 2:45:13 |
| 5 | Menno Koolhaas | NED | 7:35:51 | 45:55 | 4:08:36 | 2:35:54 |
| 6 | Jonas Hoffmann | GER | 7:27:39 | 50:00 | 4:07:29 | 2:34:43 |
| 7 | Kacper Stepniak | POL | 7:38:47 | 45:56 | 4:06:08 | 2:41:18 |
| 8 | Patrick Lange | GER | 7:39:10 | 49:59 | 4:07:02 | 2:36:43 |
| 9 | Finn Große-Freese | GER | 7:39:42 | 46:11 | 4:03:49 | 2:44:17 |
| 10 | Henrik Goesch | FIN | 7:42:44 | 50:07 | 4:07:35 | 2:39:49 |
| 16 | Felix Hentschel | GER | 7:48:13 | 52:58 | 4:10:09 | 2:38:53 |
| 20 | Wilhelm Hirsch | GER | 7:50:08 | 45:51 | 4:04:03 | 2:54:56 |
| 26 | Ruben Zepuntke | GER | 7:55:00 | 46:26 | 4:00:53 | 3:01:39 |
| 28 | Marc Eggeling | GER | 7:55:18 | 50:10 | 4:06:53 | 2:52:50 |
| 31 | Lukas Stahl | GER | 8:02:53 | 55:17 | 4:13:12 | 2:48:14 |
| 32 | Fabian Reuter | GER | 8:03:10 | 48:01 | 4:09:47 | 2:59:36 |
| 33 | Paul Schuster | GER | 8:03:34 | 47:53 | 4:09:17 | 3:01:12 |
| 38 | Maurice Clavel | GER | 8:10:51 | 46:05 | 4:03:53 | 3:15:40 |
| 41 | Timo Schaffeld | GER | 8:14:43 | 55:17 | 4:20:34 | 2:53:47 |
| 45 | Christian Trunk | GER | 8:24:26 | 1:00:12 | 4:20:52 | 2:56:56 |
| 46 | Fabian Günther | GER | 8:25:02 | 52:29 | 4:18:24 | 3:07:49 |
| 49 | Jonas Weller | GER | 8:32:50 | 52:54 | 4:10:12 | 3:23:43 |
| 57 | Franz Löschke | GER | 8:52:05 | 47:58 | 4:57:48 | 2:59:38 |
| 58 | Matti Weitz | GER | 8:52:53 | 52:59 | 4:29:31 | 3:24:17 |