Prelude: Ironman 70.3 World Championship Marbella
Marbella course analysis:
70.3 Marbella arguably has the toughest Championship (bike) course since 70.3 Nice 2019 and winner times are expected to be significantly slower than usual.
FUSION has no less than 12 PRO athletes racing, for dramatic effect we might Call them “The Dirty Dozen”* , only they are not supposed to conquer a castle in the south of France in 1944, but conquer the 70.3 World Championship in the south of Spain 2025!
*”The Dirty Dozen” is a 1967 Hollywood Movie-classic.
With some of the fastest swimmers in the sport toeing the startline, we can expect bigger gaps on the swim than usual. The pace will be extremely high from the gun, but the real carnage begins on the first climb, less than 5 km into the bike course. Here the favorites will have to push huge Power-Numbers (360-400 watts) for 26-30 min. to stay in contention for the win. Time spent in the windtunnel might come in handy for the Long descent that follows. This section (according to feedback from course recon) is super windy and VERY fast, if you have the right mix of guts (to stay aero) and bike-handling skills. After the turning point, it’s mostly “Rolling Hills”, ending with another fast and furious descent, an opportunity to shake the legs and prepare for the run.
FUSION favorites and “wildcards”
Both mens and womens PRO field are very deep, with defending champion Jelle Geens and 3 x defending champion Taylor Knibb as top seeded favorites.
Even though seedings are based on race data, and therefore fairly accurate, it doesn’t show the full picture. Magnus Ditlev for example, has only raced the 70.3 distance once since his 3rd place at 70.3 World Championship in St. George 2022. Despite his primary focus on full distance, Magnus has shown time and again what he is capable of on hard and hilly courses like Marbella
Panagiotis Bitados: The Greek super talent is only 21, swims like a shark and runs like the wind, the pedigree of a future World Champion for sure. He blasted into the PRO scene last year and won every single race he entered, including the 70.3 European Championship. Bitados is now racing his first World Championship and is seen by many as a “dark horse” for the win.
Casper Stornes: The World Championship double? If Ironman World Champion Casper Stornes can dominate in Nice, there is no doubt he can dominate in Marbella too. Also please notice, Stornes probably had his best overall performance this year ON the 70.3 distance (Pays d’Aix) including a crazy fast 1:07:17 half marathon.
Kristian Hogenhaug: at 34, “The Hawk” had the best season of his career, most notable his 2nd place in a STACKED Ironman Frankfurt, out-riding the entire field by 8 min! Kristian has been swimming great all year and we might not even have to wait for him to “catch up” to the front, as he is probably already there.
Robert Kallin: FUSION athletes have been winning titles and smashing course records all year, BUT nobody has gone faster over 90 km than Swedish powerhouse Robert Kallin, who rode 1 54:37 in 70.3 Eagleman.
Emil Holm: Emil is still new to “the game” of non-draft racing, but compared to many athletes who transfers from Olympic/draft legal Triathlon, Emil is an absolute monster in the bike with sub 2h for 90 km to his name + he has got the sub 1.10 leg-speed to back it up.
Mathias Petersen: Like Magnus, Mathias has mostly been racing full dist. Ironman in recent years, but “heavy” Ironman training still didn’t keep him from winning 70.3 Westfriesland this summer.
Anders Toft Nielsen: A big goal for Anders to qualify for - and now race, his first World Championship! The Marbella course is perfect for the former youth national-elite cyclist.
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Solveig Løvseth: There will be no time to rest on her Kona-laurels, as Solveig goes after “The double” this weekend. The distance might be different, but in Kona Solveig (and heat-stroke) took out the 2 top-contenders AND 70.3 World champions (2021-2024) Taylor Knibb and Lucy Charles-Barclay! Before sudden Ironman fame, Solveig was already killing it on the 70.3 distance, and her powerful bike should be perfect for a tough course like this.
Sif Bendix Madsen: A Long awaited comeback to Sif after injury, but everyone who has seen her ride in previous seasons, know what powerful impact she can have EVEN in a Championship field, she will be riding with.. (if not in front of )the best!
Katrine Graesboell Christensen: Katrine comes fresh off an impressive 11th place in Kona and also won her first Ironman title back in August.
Solenne Billouin: The Queen of Xterra (3 X World Champion) never raced “Road Triathlon” before 2025. However, her endurance talent was so obvious that only 3 months after her 70.3 PRO debut Solenne qualified for 70.3 Worlds.
FUSION Run Ranking 2025:
1:07:17 Casper Stornes (5th fastest in 2025)
1:07:59 Bitados
1:09:59 Emil Holm
1:12:43 Mathias Petersen
1:16:28 Solveig Løvseth
1:24:53 Katrine Græsbøll
1:24:54 Solenne Billouin
FUSION Bike Ranking 2025:
1:54:37 Robert Kallin
1:56:21 Høgenhaug
1:57:27 Anders Toft Nielsen
1:57:32 Emil Holm
1:57:53 Bitados
2:04:50 Sif Bendix Madsen (2024 kval)
2:06:59 Solveig Løvseth
2:14:17 Katrine Græsbøll