This year’s Roth races promise to be exciting: A strong men’s field with a number of potential winners, and a female field dominated by Daniela Ryf. Hopefully Daniela will be healthy and fit enough to try to make a go at Chrissie Wellington’s fastest time on the Ironman distance as she announced in May. I have written about some of her Advantages and Hurdles for Triathlete (“Can Ryf Break Wellington’s Iron-Distance World Record?“, check out the post here).
Previous Winners
| Year | Male Winner | Time | Female Winner | Time |
| 2005 | Chris McCormack (AUS) | 07:58:45 | Belinda Granger (AUS) | 09:14:06 |
| 2006 | Chris McCormack (AUS) | 08:00:52 | Joanna Lawn (NZL) | 09:01:17 |
| 2007 | Chris McCormack (AUS) | 07:54:23 | Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) | 08:51:55 |
| 2008 | Patrick Vernay (NCL) | 08:09:34 | Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) | 08:45:48 |
| 2009 | Michael Goehner (GER) | 07:55:53 | Chrissie Wellington (GBR) | 08:31:59 |
| 2010 | Rasmus Henning (DEN) | 07:52:36 | Chrissie Wellington (GBR) | 08:19:13 |
| 2011 | Andreas Raelert (GER) | 07:41:33 | Chrissie Wellington (GBR) | 08:18:13 |
| 2012 | James Cunnama (ZAF) | 07:59:59 | Rachel Joyce (GBR) | 08:45:04 |
| 2013 | Dirk Bockel (LUX) | 07:52:01 | Caroline Steffen (SUI) | 08:40:35 |
| 2014 | Timo Bracht (GER) | 07:56:00 | Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) | 08:38:53 |
| 2015 | Nils Frommhold (GER) | 07:51:28 | Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) | 08:50:53 |
| 2016 | Jan Frodeno (GER) | 07:35:39 | Daniela Ryf (SUI) | 08:22:04 |
Last Year’s TOP 3
Male Race Results
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time |
| 1 | Jan Frodeno | GER | 00:45:22 | 04:08:07 | 02:39:18 | 07:35:39 |
| 2 | Joe Skipper | GBR | 00:52:36 | 04:21:12 | 02:38:52 | 07:56:23 |
| 3 | Nils Frommhold | GER | 00:46:59 | 04:17:34 | 02:48:50 | 07:57:49 |
Female Race Results
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time |
| 1 | Daniela Ryf | SUI | 00:49:10 | 04:31:29 | 02:57:40 | 08:22:04 |
| 2 | Carrie Lester | AUS | 00:52:23 | 04:42:50 | 03:03:38 | 08:42:13 |
| 3 | Yvonne Van Vlerken | NED | 00:55:14 | 04:40:29 | 03:10:58 | 08:49:35 |
Course Records
| Leg | Gender | Record | Athlete | Date |
| Total | overall | 07:35:39 | Jan Frodeno | 2016-07-17 |
| Swim | overall | 00:45:22 | Jan Frodeno | 2016-07-17 |
| Bike | overall | 04:08:07 | Jan Frodeno | 2016-07-17 |
| Run | overall | 02:38:52 | Joe Skipper | 2016-07-17 |
| Total | female | 08:18:13 | Chrissie Wellington | 2011-07-10 |
| Swim | female | 00:47:27 | Ute Mueckel | 2005-06-24 |
| Bike | female | 04:31:29 | Daniela Ryf | 2016-07-17 |
| Run | female | 02:44:35 | Chrissie Wellington | 2011-07-10 |
Course Rating
The Course Rating for Challenge Roth is 21:22.
Race Adjustments for Challenge Roth
| Year | Adjustment | Swim Adj. | Bike Adj. | Run Adj. | # of Finishers | Rating | Swim Rating | Bike Rating | Run Rating |
| 2005 | 23:16 | 01:15 | 13:16 | 09:25 | 28 | 23:16 | 01:15 | 13:16 | 09:25 |
| 2006 | 18:53 | 01:44 | 08:33 | 04:19 | 41 | 21:04 | 01:30 | 10:54 | 06:52 |
| 2007 | 29:57 | 01:18 | 12:15 | 08:14 | 35 | 24:02 | 01:26 | 11:21 | 07:19 |
| 2008 | 25:59 | 02:33 | 09:07 | 08:30 | 40 | 24:31 | 01:43 | 10:48 | 07:37 |
| 2009 | 29:11 | 02:32 | 17:28 | 05:18 | 43 | 25:27 | 01:52 | 12:08 | 07:09 |
| 2010 | 20:31 | 01:04 | 06:51 | 04:27 | 43 | 24:38 | 01:44 | 11:15 | 06:42 |
| 2011 | 24:18 | 02:05 | 17:28 | 05:32 | 38 | 24:35 | 01:47 | 12:08 | 06:32 |
| 2012 | 14:09 | 02:41 | 06:42 | 04:12 | 50 | 23:17 | 01:54 | 11:28 | 06:15 |
| 2013 | 22:46 | 01:01 | 15:15 | 04:13 | 41 | 23:13 | 01:48 | 11:53 | 06:01 |
| 2014 | 08:34 | 00:24 | 14:38 | -02:43 | 37 | 21:46 | 01:40 | 12:09 | 05:09 |
| 2015 | 19:22 | 01:35 | 12:35 | 04:24 | 44 of 56 | 21:32 | 01:39 | 12:12 | 05:05 |
| 2016 | 19:24 | 01:23 | 17:02 | 02:43 | 39 of 43 | 21:22 | 01:38 | 12:36 | 04:53 |
Prize Money
Challenge Roth has a total prize purse of 75.000 EUR.
Estimated Time Plan
The following table shows the time plan for the race start and the estimated times for the first athlete in the transition zones or across the finish line. The estimates are based on the start time and my time estimates, these times can change based on how fast or slow the race ends up:
| What | Est. Racetime | Est. Local Time |
| Male Pro Start | 06:30 | |
| Female Pro Start | 06:35 | |
| Age Group Wave Start | 06:40 – 07:55 | |
| First Male in T1 | 00:44:29 | 07:14 |
| First Female in T1 | 00:49:23 | 07:24 |
| First Male in T2 | 05:06:30 | 11:36 |
| First Female in T2 | 05:31:27 | 12:06 |
| Male Winner | 07:52:39 | 14:22 |
| Female Winner | 08:25:54 | 15:00 |
Roth is on Central European Summer Time, 2 hours ahead of UTC. Here are conversions to a few other time zones:
- + 8 hours: Sydney (AEST), race starts at 14:30
- – 1 hour: United Kingdom (BST), race starts at 5:30
- – 6 hours: US East Coast (EDT), race starts at 12:30am
- – 9 hours: US West Coast (PDT), race starts at 9:30pm on Saturday
There is going to be a German and English language live stream on the Challenge Roth homepage.
Male Race Participants
The strength of the field is 14% of a typical Kona field.
| Rank | Bib | Name | Nation | Expected Time | Rating | Exp. Swim | Exp. Bike | Exp. T2 | Exp. Run | Consistency | Overall |
| 1 | 3 | Nils Frommhold | GER | 07:52:39 | 08:16:05 | 00:46:37 | 04:14:53 | 05:06:30 | 02:46:09 | 88% +0% -12% (9) | 3 |
| 2 | 1 | Timo Bracht | GER | 07:58:52 | 08:27:24 | 00:47:31 | 04:22:18 | 05:14:48 | 02:44:04 | 80% +14% -6% (28) | 25 |
| 3 | 14 | Bart Aernouts | BEL | 08:00:31 | 08:20:16 | 00:50:22 | 04:21:13 | 05:16:35 | 02:43:56 | 89% +0% -11% (11) | 9 |
| 4 | 5 | Terenzo Bozzone | NZL | 08:01:19 | 08:24:42 | 00:45:27 | 04:19:20 | 05:09:47 | 02:51:32 | 54% +21% -26% (13) | 20 |
| 5 | 2 | Joe Skipper | GBR | 08:02:43 | 08:36:53 | 00:52:04 | 04:23:05 | 05:20:08 | 02:42:35 | 36% +21% -43% (16) | 59 |
| 6 | 10 | Brad Kahlefeldt | AUS | 08:08:34 | 08:30:57 | 00:44:29 | 04:30:18 | 05:19:47 | 02:48:47 | 68% +0% -32% (3) | (33) |
| 7 | 9 | Dougal Allan | NZL | 08:09:44 | 08:34:10 | 00:55:17 | 04:17:10 | 05:17:27 | 02:52:17 | 85% +7% -8% (9) | 44 |
| 8 | 8 | Per Bittner | GER | 08:15:24 | 08:44:57 | 00:47:49 | 04:27:52 | 05:20:41 | 02:54:43 | 49% +8% -43% (23) | 83 |
| 9 | 6 | Fabian Rahn | GER | 08:18:54 | 08:53:51 | 00:55:00 | 04:34:17 | 05:34:16 | 02:44:38 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (113) |
| 10 | 13 | Chris Fischer | DEN | 08:19:17 | 08:45:15 | 00:53:12 | 04:30:52 | 05:29:04 | 02:50:13 | 71% +11% -18% (7) | 87 |
| 11 | 12 | Herve Faure | FRA | 08:24:33 | 08:51:59 | 00:49:34 | 04:32:00 | 05:26:34 | 02:57:59 | 45% +0% -55% (8) | (107) |
| 12 | 45 | Dirk Wijnalda | NED | 08:25:00 | 08:53:02 | 00:54:17 | 04:34:46 | 05:34:04 | 02:50:56 | 86% +6% -8% (21) | 110 |
| 13 | 15 | Christian Brader | GER | 08:27:04 | 08:49:28 | 00:53:39 | 04:36:44 | 05:35:23 | 02:51:41 | 83% +4% -13% (36) | 100 |
| 14 | 21 | Matthias Knossalla | GER | 08:28:09 | 09:10:06 | 01:02:19 | 04:25:06 | 05:32:24 | 02:55:45 | 16% +39% -44% (3) | (167) |
| 15 | 17 | Roman Deisenhofer | GER | 08:28:56 | 08:57:34 | 00:50:09 | 04:29:23 | 05:24:32 | 03:04:24 | 48% +52% -0% (7) | 128 |
| 16 | 18 | Jose Estrangeiro | POR | 08:29:50 | 09:04:11 | 00:48:07 | 04:37:32 | 05:30:39 | 02:59:11 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (155) |
| 17 | 41 | Jens Frommhold | GER | 08:29:54 | 09:00:45 | 00:54:11 | 04:30:25 | 05:29:36 | 03:00:18 | 20% +36% -44% (4) | 140 |
| 18 | 31 | Guillaume Lecallier | FRA | 08:32:45 | 09:07:19 | 00:54:22 | 04:32:33 | 05:31:54 | 03:00:51 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (163) |
| 19 | 44 | Jaroslav Kovacic | SLO | 08:33:50 | 09:04:23 | 00:47:39 | 04:43:22 | 05:36:01 | 02:57:49 | 22% +78% -0% (3) | (156) |
| 20 | 100 | Sergio Marques | POR | 08:34:10 | 09:02:19 | 00:53:29 | 04:42:07 | 05:40:36 | 02:53:34 | 56% +4% -40% (38) | 145 |
| 21 | 101 | Darby Thomas | FIN | 08:34:15 | 09:03:16 | 00:56:59 | 04:33:49 | 05:35:48 | 02:58:27 | 53% +0% -47% (10) | 151 |
| 22 | 3451 | Teemu Lemmettylae | FIN | 08:36:55 | 08:59:51 | 00:55:31 | 04:39:51 | 05:40:22 | 02:56:33 | 90% +9% -1% (14) | (138) |
| 23 | 46 | Tuukka Miettinen | FIN | 08:37:40 | 09:13:10 | 00:54:17 | 04:42:06 | 05:41:23 | 02:56:17 | 50% +13% -37% (9) | (176) |
| 24 | 11 | Sebastian Neef | GER | 08:43:26 | 09:18:43 | 00:49:43 | 04:34:58 | 05:29:41 | 03:13:45 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (190) |
| 25 | 23 | Thomas Naasz | NED | 08:43:52 | 09:21:29 | 00:54:30 | 04:43:14 | 05:42:44 | 03:01:08 | 69% +31% -0% (6) | 197 |
| 26 | 16 | Till Schramm | GER | 08:49:22 | 09:21:25 | 00:53:38 | 04:40:26 | 05:39:04 | 03:10:18 | 53% +22% -25% (9) | 196 |
| 27 | 20 | Henry Beck | GER | 08:49:41 | 09:50:38 | 00:48:08 | 04:34:05 | 05:27:13 | 03:22:28 | 21% +36% -43% (3) | (260) |
| 28 | 3456 | Sean Donnelly * | GER | 08:51:50 | 09:51:55 | 00:46:23 | 04:37:41 | 05:29:05 | 03:22:45 | 12% +14% -74% (3) | (262) |
| 29 | 22 | Andi Fuchs | AUT | 08:53:52 | 09:24:11 | 00:54:47 | 04:42:23 | 05:42:10 | 03:11:42 | 100% +0% -0% (2) | (203) |
| 30 | 32 | Christian Jais | GER | 08:55:47 | 09:34:50 | 00:54:27 | 04:37:33 | 05:37:00 | 03:18:47 | 37% +63% -0% (2) | (235) |
| 31 | 29 | Stefan Overmars | NED | 08:56:30 | 09:27:15 | 00:53:44 | 04:36:27 | 05:35:12 | 03:21:18 | 100% +0% -0% (2) | (218) |
| 32 | 34 | Michael Louys | BEL | 08:58:04 | 09:44:20 | 01:01:06 | 04:42:33 | 05:48:39 | 03:09:25 | 45% +7% -48% (12) | (252) |
| 33 | 39 | Young Hwan Oh | KOR | 09:03:02 | 09:30:06 | 01:00:49 | 04:52:37 | 05:58:27 | 03:04:35 | 61% +24% -16% (8) | 226 |
| 34 | 27 | Moises Vidal Gil | ESP | 09:11:12 | 09:42:31 | 00:55:43 | 05:03:05 | 06:03:47 | 03:07:25 | 100% +0% -0% (2) | (248) |
| 35 | 35 | Rafael Gomes | POR | 09:13:22 | 09:46:34 | 00:53:47 | 05:02:13 | 06:01:00 | 03:12:22 | 100% +0% -0% (2) | (257) |
| 36 | 40 | Travis Hawkins | USA | 09:14:35 | 09:40:40 | 00:59:59 | 04:51:55 | 05:56:54 | 03:17:41 | 100% +0% -0% (3) | 244 |
| 37 | 38 | Peter Kotland | CZE | 09:21:05 | 09:50:49 | 00:57:06 | 04:53:16 | 05:55:21 | 03:25:44 | 69% +19% -12% (24) | 261 |
| 38 | 25 | Nathan Miller | AUS | 10:04:50 | 10:45:36 | 00:51:54 | 05:20:58 | 06:17:51 | 03:46:59 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (293) |
| 4 | Maurice Clavel | GER | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 19 | Markus Hoermann | GER | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 24 | Michael Smith Larsen | DEN | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 26 | Marcus Woellner | GER | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 28 | Ilkka Utriainen | FIN | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 36 | Jon Albizuri Izaguirre | SPA | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 37 | Simon Schwarz | GER | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) |
Note:Athletes with a ‘*’ are also registered for another race within 8 days.
Female Race Participants
The strength of the field is 21% of a typical Kona field.
| Rank | Bib | Name | Nation | Expected Time | Rating | Exp. Swim | Exp. Bike | Exp. T2 | Exp. Run | Consistency | Overall |
| 1 | 51 | Daniela Ryf | SUI | 08:25:54 | 08:42:49 | 00:49:23 | 04:37:04 | 05:31:27 | 02:54:27 | 88% +0% -12% (10) | 1 |
| 2 | 53 | Yvonne Van Vlerken | NED | 08:50:25 | 09:22:11 | 00:55:19 | 04:44:15 | 05:44:35 | 03:05:50 | 76% +0% -24% (30) | 18 |
| 3 | 54 | Laura Siddall | GBR | 08:57:41 | 09:32:10 | 00:55:14 | 04:49:46 | 05:50:00 | 03:07:41 | 68% +26% -6% (11) | 35 |
| 4 | 52 | Heather Wurtele | CAN | 09:06:56 | 09:28:48 | 00:53:02 | 04:56:10 | 05:54:12 | 03:12:44 | 77% +1% -22% (21) | 30 |
| 5 | 3457 | Lisa Roberts * | USA | 09:09:24 | 09:30:36 | 01:02:05 | 05:03:28 | 06:10:33 | 02:58:51 | 75% +8% -18% (17) | 33 |
| 6 | 55 | Ruth Brennan Morrey | USA | 09:09:40 | 09:35:17 | 01:03:49 | 05:01:36 | 06:10:24 | 02:59:16 | 76% +0% -24% (4) | 37 |
| 7 | 56 | Annah Watkinson | ZAF | 09:14:27 | 09:42:12 | 00:56:47 | 04:58:23 | 06:00:11 | 03:14:16 | 76% +0% -24% (5) | 49 |
| 8 | 58 | Martina Dogana | ITA | 09:24:46 | 09:49:53 | 00:57:06 | 05:11:15 | 06:13:22 | 03:11:24 | 62% +0% -38% (13) | 62 |
| 9 | 59 | Corina Hengartner | SUI | 09:34:33 | 10:07:17 | 01:00:04 | 05:06:58 | 06:12:03 | 03:22:30 | 68% +18% -14% (5) | 93 |
| 10 | 3452 | Anne Jensen | DEN | 09:50:13 | 10:29:32 | 01:05:09 | 05:06:34 | 06:16:43 | 03:33:30 | 44% +21% -35% (6) | (134) |
| 11 | 60 | Steph Corker | CAN | 09:52:19 | 10:32:15 | 00:59:45 | 05:22:48 | 06:27:32 | 03:24:47 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (141) |
| 12 | 57 | Vanessa Pereira | POR | 09:56:40 | 10:36:13 | 01:01:00 | 05:21:38 | 06:27:38 | 03:29:02 | 52% +0% -48% (12) | 145 |
| 61 | Ana Revilla | ESP | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) |
Note:Athletes with a ‘*’ are also registered for another race within 8 days.
Winning Odds
Male Race Participants
- Nils Frommhold: 45% (1-1)
- Terenzo Bozzone: 15% (6-1)
- Timo Bracht: 15% (6-1)
- Joe Skipper: 12% (8-1)
- Bart Aernouts: 11% (8-1)
Female Race Participants
- Daniela Ryf: 78% (1-1)
- Yvonne Van Vlerken: 15% (6-1)
- Laura Siddall: 6% (17-1)