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Challenge St. P\u00f6lten in 2023. Photo: Jose Luis Hourcade<\/p>\n
From 2007 to 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 St. P\u00f6lten was one of Europes most spectacular and popular 70.3 races. (It was also the first 70.3 race in Austria, put on by \u201cTriangle Events,\u201d the group that began by organizing IRONMAN Austria in 1999, then added France (2002 \u2013 the event would move to Nice in 2005) and South Africa (2003) to their portfolio. Once the 70.3 series started up, Triangle Events would add half-distance races in Monaco, South Africa and St. P\u00f6lten. <\/p>\n
The St. P\u00f6lten race was renowned for its two-lake swim and the scenic course that \u201cencircles the World Heritage Site of \u2018Wachau\u2019 and downtown of one of the oldest cities in Austria.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2019, though, the race organizers announced that the event would join the Challenge Family series after that year\u2019s race. In a release, organizers explained the move:<\/p>\n
\u2018We are Triathlon\u2019 is the chosen motto of Challenge St P\u00f6lten. [Event organiser] BESTZEIT has been providing the best possible event organisation in St P\u00f6lten for the last 13 years. For us, triathlon means more than just sport and above all, more than just business. For us, triathlon stands for \u2018spirit\u2019. That\u2019s just one of the reasons why we switched from IRONMAN to Challenge Family this year. \u2018We are Family\u2019 and we want to continue in this direction<\/p>\n
Although there wasn\u2019t any racing in 2020, before the COVID Pandemic hit cancelling all events, IRONMAN had scheduled a 70.3 event in Graz the same weekend as Challenge St. P\u00f6lten, signalling that the corporation wasn\u2019t going to make things easy for the new Challenge Family event. Once racing did return in 2022, the race never got back to its glory days of entries, which had topped off at over 2,000 finishers of the 70.3 race and about 3,500 athletes competing in all the various events during the weekend. There were under 1,000 finishers in 2022, and in 2025 there were 1,029 athletes who completed the event.<\/p>\n
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The race is returning to the IRONMAN fold, though, in 2027, and, based on the current demand for entries in Europe, should see a boost in participation numbers in 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustria\u00a0has\u00a0been\u00a0one\u00a0of the anchor\u00a0regions for\u00a0IRONMAN\u00a0in Europe\u00a0and\u00a0it has\u00a0been a long-time ambition to\u00a0give\u00a0our Austrian triathlon community\u00a0more\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to race\u00a0with us,\u201d said Thomas Veje Olsen, Managing Director for IRONMAN Europe, Middle East and Africa.\u00a0\u201cWe are\u00a0therefore\u00a0excited\u00a0to return to\u00a0St.\u00a0P\u00f6lten, a region\u00a0that\u00a0is\u00a0a big\u00a0part of our history\u00a0and one\u00a0that\u00a0has\u00a0remained\u00a0close\u00a0to our\u00a0hearts.\u00a0We look\u00a0forward to\u00a0working\u00a0closely\u00a0with the\u00a0passionate\u00a0local\u00a0triathlon\u00a0community\u00a0once again\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0deliver\u00a0a\u00a0fantastic race\u00a0experience\u00a0while\u00a0showcasing\u00a0the\u00a0city\u00a0of\u00a0St.\u00a0P\u00f6lten\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0global\u00a0triathlon\u00a0destination. Another decisive factor in the return to St.\u00a0P\u00f6lten\u00a0was the willingness of the city of St.\u00a0P\u00f6lten\u00a0and the sports region of Lower Austria to provide IRONMAN with the best possible support, as in the past,\u00a0in order to\u00a0build on the successes of previous years. St.\u00a0P\u00f6lten\u00a0also has\u00a0a great team\u00a0of volunteers with years of experience and\u00a0know-how.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Team BMC and BMC Part Ways<\/p>\n
Obviously there will be a new team name coming \u2013 possibly as soon as January 1, 2026, according to today\u2019s social media post<\/a>, but for now we do know that what we knew as the BMC Pro Triathlon Team won\u2019t be partnered with BMC any longer. <\/p>\n The team that began as an all-Belgian affair in 2013 \u2013 the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team \u2013 would become the BMC Pro Triathlon Team in 2014 and has enjoyed some impressive results over the years, including Chelsea Sodaro\u2019s big Kona win in 2024. <\/p>\n Over the years the team has broadened its focus to more than just long-distance racing, adding Olympians Sam Dickinson (bronze medalist in the mixed relay) and Miguel Hidalgo, but the team still had some IRONMAN standouts on the roster, including Antonio Benito Lopez (World Triathlon Long Distance champion and runner up at IRONMAN Texas) and Clement Mignon (last year\u2019s runner-up at IRONMAN Texas and the IRONMAN Nice winner in 2023). The 2025 roster also included another 70.3 and full-distance racer, Thor Bendix Madsen, along with T100 and half-distance specialists Lucy Byram and Laura Madsen.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll look forward to learning what the plans will be for the team in 2026 as they move on from the long-standing relationship with BMC. One thing that will be interesting to track is whether or not the team can come up with a model that will allow athletes to remain on the team once they achieve some greater success. The team has done a great job helping athletes like Chelsea Sodaro, Kat Matthews and Bart Aernouts to achieve some major results, but once they reach a certain status, it doesn\u2019t make sense to continue with the team and be restricted on their sponsorship possibilities. <\/p>\n The End of the Line for Flo Cycling<\/p>\n Photo: Flo Cycling<\/p>\n We\u2019re a bit late to this one, but we just noticed that Flo Cycling will be closing its doors. We caught up with co-founder Jon Thornham, who explains why the company is closing in greater detail in this podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Flo Cycling got started way back in 2009 with a concept, and then a question on the Slowtwitch Forum \u2013 would there be a desire for affordable aero wheels. Needless to say, the answer was an overwhelming \u201cyes.\u201d The first wheels didn\u2019t go on sale until 2012, but almost immediately they were a hit. The company quickly earned a reputation for well-engineered wheels at a much more affordable price than the competition. <\/p>\n \u201cSo many things have changed since we started out,\u201d Thornham said in an interview today. \u201cIt\u2019s a very different world from when we began. We were one of the first direct to consumer brands that were out there, offering an engineered product direct to consumer at a much lower price point.\u201d<\/p>\n While the company had some innovative products in the works, the COVID pandemic hit hard. While the bike industry as a whole was struggling to keep up with demand as people looked to get outside as much as possible, there was no demand for Flo Cycling\u2019s products.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were a race company \u2013 no one was racing,\u201d Thornham said. <\/p>\n The industry has also changed dramatically \u2013 many bike companies now equip their bikes with carbon wheels, reducing the demand for the company\u2019s products. <\/p>\n Northam also points to the changes required to market direct to consumer products these days. For years he had been a prodigious content creator, posting on various forums and with the company\u2019s podcasts. These days that\u2019s not enough to remain competitive. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople are so focused on social media,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re moving away from blogs. A lot of the costs are now in the marketing. We didn\u2019t have the margin to take on the customer acquisition costs.Most of the advertising we had done in the past was free through the content I was creating.\u201d<\/p>\n For now Northam is moving on to a new, engineering-related business he started up a few years ago. <\/p>\n \u201cI did not want to go back on producing an affordable, well engineered product,\u201d he said. \u201cI love this industry \u2013 it\u2019s been a very fun ride. It\u2019s a changing world. We had our time, we had a great run.\u201d<\/p>\n You can check out the company\u2019s \u201cfinal pre-order\u201d here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/shopify_cover_527c00cd-a2b5-4e17-b19a-bc0d36c203c0_800x.jpg.webp.webp\")
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