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Andrea Salvisberg (SUI) has set a new course record of 45:11 at the men's 2025 Ironman World Championship. Tune in to our live updates from Nice, France. (Photo: Travis Mundell/Triathlete)
It’s race day in Nice, France! Today’s Ironman world championship race features 51 of the top pro men in long-course triathlon, including four past Ironman world champions, 11 world championship podium finishers, and 17 of the top 20 men in the 2025 Ironman Pro Series standings. The historically deep field should make for one of the finest showdowns triathlon fans have ever seen – a fitting end to three years of world-championship racing in Nice. Next year, the men’s and women’s races will reunite in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii to share the spotlight for triathlon’s Super Bowl. (For 2025, women will still have their own race in Kona on October 11.)
You can watch today’s race play out on the free Ironman world championship livestream, hosted by Outside TV, starting at 6:00 a.m. CEST – Stateside, that’s midnight on Sunday ET, 9:00 p.m. Saturday Pacific. Not a night owl? Don’t worry – we’ll be providing play-by-play updates and results on our 2025 Ironman world championship live blog, so you can catch up when you wake up (hopefully, just in time to see the victor take the finish-line tape!).
Watch the 2025 Ironman World Championship Livestream
Visit our Nice Central hub for news, analysis, history, photo galleries, and so much more – new stories added daily from our team on the ground at the men’s 2025 Ironman World Championship.
There’s plenty of action going in the pro race, but let’s not forget they’re sharing the course with 2,500 age-group men, all vying for their own podiums in their respective age groups. There are a lot of loud cheers at the swim exit and through transition as friends and family spot their athletes – we love when the fan club comes along.
Though the swim was a blazing-fast one, there’s no time to rest. As athletes take to the bike course, they encounter three short but steep climbs at 10% grade, plus several sections that are twisty and technical.
We’re already seeing this effort hit the front swimmers, and strong cyclists like Rudy von Berg (USA), Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), Magnus Ditlev (DNK) are making quick work of the initial miles in the quest to reach the front of the race and overtake the swim leaders. Who will be the first to get there?
Sam Laidlow is plugging away – in fact, we just saw him make a pass on Patrick Lange, who did a double take and looked utterly confused at seeing the super-swimmer behind him for once.
What a swim! Andrea Salvisberg (SUI) has set a new course record of 45:11 as he exits the water with Jonas Schomburg (DEU) only one second behind. In total, 11 men exited the water in the front pack in very close proximity.
30 seconds down was another pack, led by Rudy von Berg (USA), Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), Kaspar Stepniak (TK), Matthew Marquardt (USA), Jason West (USA), and Magnus Ditlev (DNK).
A slow and steady trickle of athletes followed behind, including Sam Laidlow, who exited the water with an uncharacteristic 1:15 deficit and took the time to stretch in transition; Patrick Lange (DEU) Gustav Iden (NOR), 2:00 and 2:02 down, respectively; and Kristian Hogenhaug (DNK) at 2:19 down.
Six minutes behind, we saw the the final group of swimmers, containing Leon Chevalier (FRA), Matt Hanson (USA), Sam Long (USA), and Joe Skipper (GBR).
Five minutes out from the swim exit, swell and chop is building in the bay. We’re seeing the swim break into three packs, spaced out by about 30 seconds. Jonas Schomburg (DEU) is now in the lead, with Jamie Riddle (ZAF), Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), and Marten Van Riel (BEL) making up the pointy end of the lead pack of 12.
In a surprising move, swim leader Jamie Riddle (ZAF) took a moment to…backstroke? He’s let Marten Van Riel (BEL) take the front position for pulling the full men’s pro field, which is now swimming behind in single file. Riddle slotted back into that line behind Jonas Schomburg (DEU), Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), and Laidlow (FRA), with Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) on his feet.
Then, we saw Riddle re-take the front, where he’s setting a blistering swim pace. Smart racing, or something else? In the words of the great philosopher Pepper Brooks: “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him.”
We also saw Sam Laidlow make a full stop in the swim, and for a moment it looked as if he was looking to swim back to shore before deciding to re-join the pack on the feet of Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN). The reason for the stop is unclear – perhaps a cramp?
Minor wind and swell in the water are making for a fast swim. Currently, Jamie Riddle (ZAF) is currently leading a long arrowhead formation of athletes, with Andrea Salvisberg (SUI) on his feet, and Jonas Schomburg (DEU) in third. We also see Marten Van Riel (BEL) in the pointy end of the mix, and though Sam Laidlow (FRA) was initially up in the fifth spot, he’s drifted back to 11th next to Wilhelm Hirsch (DEU).
Magnus Ditlev (DNK) had a bit of a hiccup – we spotted him swimming to a support kayak to briefly adjust his goggles. Though he fell slighty fell behind, he is still within the full pack.
Here. We. GO! The start horn has fired, and the men’s pro race has officially begun with a 2.4-mile swim in the Baie des Anges. As always, there’s an immediate scrum, though we’ll likely see some anticipated frontrunners pull away at some point. To help with navigation, Ironman has assigned distinct swim cap colors to those frontrunners:
The swim course in front of downtown Nice is an “M” shape, starting with a deep-water start (as in Kona). It’s two out-and-backs, each leg about 900 meters long. The middle turn will be close to the beach, but athletes will stay in the water, and there won’t be an “Aussie Exit” or an intermediate timing mat to check the leaders (and those stuck behind).
The pros are warming up in the water, getting ready for what will be one of the most competitive men’s races in Ironman world championship history.
In our pre-race preview, Trirating expert Thorsten Radde predicted a few strong swimmers out front from the gun: Sam Laidlow (FRA), who won in 2023, along with Jonas Schomburg (DEU) or Marten Van Riel (BEL), who will be prepared to take over when the pace slows down. How will it play out – and will the rest of the gang be able to hold on?
Each pro has its own pre-race ritual, be it stretching, jogging, or simply finding Zen (we see you, Sam Laidlow).
Or, if you’re Patrick Lange, you roll up to warm-ups in a leopard-print coat.
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Good morning from Nice, France, where 2,500 athletes are ready to take on the ultimate challenge at the men’s 2025 Ironman world championship! Body marking and final preparations are currently underway in transition, and there’s a definite buzz in the air.
Also in the air: lots of humidity. As the sun prepares to emerge, air temperatures are currently 65 degrees F with 71% humidity; the forecast calls for 79-degree temperatures and similar high humidity.
Today’s swim will take place in 73-degree temperatures, making it a non-wetsuit swim. Many athletes are donning swim skins.
The nerves are building, but so is the excitement. It’s a great day to have a great day – let’s get it!
Susan Lacke