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Blummenfelt, Laidlow, Lange, Philipp, and Matthews: The battle of triathlon titans and the fastest women's duel of all time?

The top field for DATEV Challenge Roth is set / “The best professional field in Roth's history”

 

What is in play here is nothing less than a summit meeting of the world's elite. The professional field for DATEV Challenge Roth 2026 is finalised and is setting new standards. Olympic champions, world champions, European champions, defending champions, Roth champions and rising stars will all meet on July 5 at the Home of Triathlon.

 

“Blummenfelt is the top favourite”

The men's field is led by Olympic champion and Ironman world champion Kristian Blummenfelt, defending champion and Ironman world champion Sam Laidlow, and three-time Ironman world champion and 2021 Roth winner Patrick Lange. And so a three-way battle of champions is guaranteed. For the German, the favourite is clear: “The top favourite is not last year's winner, but Kristian Blummenfelt.”

With Ironman 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen in the men's race and Caroline Pohle in the women's race, two exceptional athletes from Leipzig's Erdinger Active Team will also make their long-distance debut in Roth. Both have already made their mark internationally in middle and short distance events and now want to show their calibre over the 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, and 42.2 km run. The addition of these two compounds the excitement. With their unpredictability, there is a high chance they will shake up the field significantly.

Also back in Roth is last year's runner-up Jonas Schomburg, who is looking to attack again after his aggressive race in 2025. Frederic Funk is another top German athlete on the start line who, after his strong debut last year, now wants to take the next step as a true triathlete.

International top class athletes include Denis Chevrot, European champion Will Draper, Kristian Høgenhaug, Arthur Horseau, Menno Koolhaas, and the experienced American Ben Hoffman.

 

An epic duel for the crown?

In the women's race, we could see the fastest duel in long-distance history. Reigning Roth champion, Laura Philipp, and Ironman vice world champion, Kat Matthews, already fought an epic duel for the title at Ironman Hamburg. Then, the Roth winner won in 8:03:13 hours – just over the magic eight-hour mark – exactly two minutes ahead of Matthews. After the world record set by Anne Haug in Roth, these are the fastest times ever achieved in long distance.

The outcome on July 5 between these two world-class athletes is far from guaranteed. The Brit is definitely up for a duel at the top: “Roth deserves great battles at the front of the race, I hope I give it that this year.” She immediately follows up with a challenge: “The German ladies have had it too easy the last couple of years!”

Alanis Siffert and Fenella Langridge already have podium experience in Roth. The two crowd favourites are back. So is Daisy Davies, who won the European long-distance title at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam in her first long-distance race.

The field is not only exceptional at the top, but also stronger than ever before across the board, both in the women's and men's races.

 

“The line-up is exceptional”

Race director Felix Walchshöfer is eagerly anticipating the stacked field: “This line-up is exceptional. We have Olympic champions, world champions, European champions, Roth champions, courageous debutants, and athletes who are known for spectacular races. That's exactly what makes Roth so special. This is the best professional field in Roth's history.”

 

Victory in Roth as valuable as an Olympic victory

The winners in Roth will each receive €30,000. This is exactly the same prize money that will be awarded in Germany for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. This once again demonstrates the importance of the long-distance race in Roth. A total of over €160,000 in prize money will be awarded at DATEV Challenge Roth.

On July 5, 2026, champions and legends will meet in the Roth triathlon district, and triathlon dreams will once again come true, both for the pros and for the 3,500 individual starters and 700 relay teams.

 

The complete list of professional athletes as it stands today:

Laura Philipp
Sam Laidlow
Kristian Blummenfelt
Patrick Lange
Kat Matthews
Jonas Schomburg
Alanis Siffert
Frederic Funk
Rico Bogen
Kristian Høgenhaug
Caroline Pohle
Arthur Horseau
Fenella Langridge
Daisy Davies
Will Draper
Menno Koolhaas
Denis Chevrot
Ben Hoffman

Ben Akin
Michael Boult
Milan Brons
Nicholas Chase
Patrick Cometta
Dieter Comhair
Zack Cooper
Lewis Eccleston
Pascal Franken
Jan Höing
Frederik Holm Wester
Nils Lorenz
Giel Meesen
Hao Miao
Sam Musgrove
Tristan Olij
Matthias Schindler
Morten Schmidt
Olaf van den Bergh
Jesse Van Hulst
Johannes Vogel
Cameron Wilson

Maja Betz
Jasmine Brown
Jeanne Collonge
Lisa-Maria Dornauer
Chloe Hartnett
Denise Hiemann
Carolina Laurentiu Granja
Steffie Le Benezic
Gabrielle Lumkes
Fiona Moriarty
Anna Pabinger
Katie Remond
Chloe Sparrow
Morena Stevens
Rosie Wild
Ewelina Wolos

And many more…