Created as IRONMAN’s answer to the question asked by the PTO’s T100 Triathlon World Tour, the IRONMAN Pro Series has been an unmitigated success. Pros were clamoring to enter the designated pro races to the point where waiting lists became the norm at the early season events. On top of that, some of the biggest names in the sport chose to focus on the IRONMAN series rather than sign a T100 contract, including this year’s Kona champ Patrick Lange (GER) and one of the most popular pros in the sport, Canadian Lionel Sanders. British star Kat Matthews chose to both sign a T100 contract and go after the Pro Series title.

Pro Series Standings

With two races left – IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo – Lange and Jackie Hering (USA) sit at the top of the standings. Lange won’t be in Taupo, and it looks like that could be a costly decision. Hering will be in Taupo, but despite being in the lead, it’s going to be really hard for her to take the overall win. After her runner-up finish in Nice, Matthews appears to have the best shot for the overall title.

Points for the Pro Series are based on a total of five eligible races. To push a full-distance race emphasis, three of those can be IRONMAN races, with the final two being 70.3 events. IRONMAN races are worth 5,000 points for the win, with the points decreasing by one for every second an athlete finishes behind the winner. IRONMAN 70.3 races are worth half that. The world championship races are worth a bit more – 6,000 points for Kona and Nice, 3,000 points for Taupo.

With $1.3 million of bonus money on the line, making the trip down under will definitely be worth the effort. Winning the series earns $200,000, with second taking $130,00 and third $85,000. (You can see the full break down here.)

You can see the points standings heading into the final few races here.

Lange’s to lose?

At the press conference after winning in Kona, Lange told us that he wasn’t going to be heading to Taupo in December because it already looked like he’d nailed the Pro Series title. (Turns out he also hadn’t qualified for the 70.3 worlds, so in theory his only chance to up his points total would have been to head to IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia, but the bottom line is he wasn’t heading down under.)

In fact, he hasn’t nailed the Pro Series title. Sure, it doesn’t look like American Matt Hanson, who is currently second in the standings, could earn enough points even with a win in Taupo to move ahead. It’s also a long-shot for South African Bradley Weiss, who currently sits third. A win in Taupo would be enough to put him in front. That’s a tough ask for a guy who finished 16th at 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun and seventh at 70.3 Alcudia-Mallorca.

There are three guys who have a huge opportunity to move to the top of the standings, though. First up is American Matthew Marquardt, who somehow balances med school and pro racing. He’ll be taking time from his studies at Ohio State to take a shot at the IRONMAN Pro Series title. He’s only done one 70.3 race to go along with his three IRONMAN finishes (third in Texas, second in Lake Placid and 15th in Kona), so if he can muster up 2,041 points in Taupo he’d gain enough points to become the Pro Series champ.

Italy’s Gregory Barnaby is in almost as good a position – he’s only 23 points behind Marquardt and also only has one 70.3 race on his list for 2024. Dane Kristian Haugenhaug currently trails Barnaby by 268 points in the standings and also has a race in hand. Here’s the other interesting thing about those two – they’ll both be heading to Ironman 70.3 Western Australia next week and then to Taupo, giving them two shots at earning enough points to move to the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series.

Matthews in the Driver’s Seat

Hering sits at the top of the standings with 18,093 points. Those come from three IRONMAN events (win in Hamburg, second in Lake Placid and ninth in Kona) and two 70.3 races – second in Chattanooga and third in St. George. The problem for Hering is that Matthews is just a few hundred points behind and only has four counting races – second in Nice, wins in Texas and Vitoria-Gasteiz and a second at 70.3 Tallinn. So, pretty much any finish that’s within roughly 45 minutes of the winner in Taupo will get Matthews the title.

Hering can make that a bit more tough with a win in Taupo – that would negate her St. George score and add about 700 points to her total. Matthews would still only need to finish within 30 mins of the winner to take the Pro Series.

It still means that it will come down to one race, which is why I was surprised not to see Matthews’ name on the start list for IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia. A decent finish there would put her in front of the Pro Series, taking the pressure of having to finish in Taupo. That said, if you’re gunning after the world championship and you’ve raced as much as Matthews has this year, resting up before the worlds makes a lot of sense.

Maja Stage Nielsen, who currently sits third in the Pro Series Standings, is on the start list for 70.3 Western Australia. Moving up to first is very much a long shot for the Dane – if she wins in Busselton and Taupo, she’d improve her score by about 1,500 points, which would put her close to Hering’s total. A couple of good races, though, could ensure she stays ahead of American Danielle Lewis, who is only 177 points behind her.

The Netherlands’ Lotte Wilms heads to 70.3 Western Australia with two races in hand for her points total – she hasn’t done a 70.3 race this year. Wins in Taupo and Western Australia would give her enough points to move ahead of Hering, but probably not enough to top Matthews if she has even a decent race at the worlds. Kiwi Hannah Berry also hasn’t done a 70.3 race this year, so she’s heading to Busselton and Taupo with the podium of the IRONMAN Pro Series in mind.

Pro Series Finale

All of which sets up more than a little bit of excitement leading into the final few races of the IRONMAN Pro Series. By only increasing the points values for the world championship events by 1,000 (IRONMAN) and 500 (70.3) points, IRONMAN has ensured that there will be lots to race for right up to the final race of the season. It means that the Kona and Nice champions aren’t likely to be crowned IRONMAN Pro Series champ, but maybe that’s not a bad thing.

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