Published May 17, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Italian Michele Bortolamidi stunned the men’s field at the IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence after emerging from swimming in the front group before presenting an aggressive bike leg that led to an exciting battle on the run. After initially withdrawing, Portolamede was faltered late by 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen (GER), but the Italian responded decisively to take the lead again and break Christian Blumenfelt’s record.
The women’s race was split halfway down the bike, with Marjoleine Pierre (FRA) showcasing her French skills on the climbs and descents to build an unassailable lead that increased throughout the race.
Forty-four men and 34 women lined up to compete for a $50,000 prize in calm conditions, although athletes described the early morning temperatures as “freezing.” Gloves, jackets and even foil stuffed under triathlon suits were common sights at T1 before temperatures soared into the high 60s later in the day.
Attention was focused not only on the prize money and valuable Ironman Pro Series points, but also on the three men’s and women’s qualifying slots available for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice. With the qualifying period closing at the end of June, opportunities were quickly running out for many professionals.
Leading the men’s swimming was, as expected, South African Olympian Jamie Riddell (RSA), who blasted through the water in a record time of 21:48. However, the long 400-meter run and slow transition allowed several athletes to overtake him during T1, including Rudi von Berg (USA), Justus Nieschlag (GER), and Bogin – who was opening the 2026 season.
On the challenging 90km bike course, Bogen (GER) immediately established himself at the front, helping to split the field into a leading group of four comprising Maximilian Sperl (GER), Nathan Gerbour (FRA) and Michel Bortolamede, while a second four-person chasing group attempted to close the gap at the front and a much larger third group at the back.
Eventually, the second and third groups combined, but despite their numerical superiority, they continued to lose time to Bogen and his comrades. The leaders eventually extended their advantage beyond four minutes while everyone was riding under the current bike course record speed to T2. Meanwhile, the top-ranked athletes, including Riedel (RSA) and Von Berg (USA), were left chasing from behind, potentially too far behind to catch the front runners.
On the run, Portolamede immediately looked calm and strong as Bogen passed Maximilian Sperl (GER) in pursuit. Amid being chased across the field, South African Riedel suffered a fall early in the running route and was forced to withdraw.
With about 10km remaining, Bogen finally caught Bortolamede and attempted to go clear. The Italian refused to break down, remaining glued to Bogen’s shoulder before launching another decisive attack a few miles later. This time, Portolamede never looked back, taking the win by more than 30 seconds, breaking Blumenfelt’s record in the process.
“I told myself, ‘Today I’m going to win…’ My legs were perfect, and my mind always believed that.” – Michele Bortolamede
Lasse Priester (GER) nearly overtook Bogen in the closing stages after posting an impressive split of 1:07:05 – a new half marathon best. Brister eventually finished just nine seconds off second place and later admitted that inexperience may have cost him the race after allowing the lead group too much freedom on the bike.
Men’s IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2026 results:
In the women’s race, Fenella Langridge (GBR) led the swim from start to finish as she continued her return to form after a few difficult seasons. Imogen Simmonds (Switzerland), racing for only the third time since her return, was out with a small group of five athletes trying to establish an early advantage over defending champion Marjoleine Pierre (France) and Ironman world champion Laura Philipp (Germany), who trailed by 36 seconds and 1:53 respectively out of the water.
Like the men, many women wore extra layers on the bike, including foils tucked under their suits and gloves. Both Simmonds and Phillip later shared that it’s still not enough to stay warm. Philippe then explained that she was shaking throughout the technical descent, which made handling and braking particularly difficult.
Belgian Han de Wit took advantage of the quick shift to immediately take control of the bike, quickly putting away a six-woman chasing group led by Frenchwoman Audrey Merle (FRA) and Pierre. Meanwhile, Phillip was another minute behind early in the flight, raising questions about whether her form was fully ready to continue. The latest health scare.
With about 25 miles left on the bike, Pierre finally crossed into De Vet before immediately pulling away from the Belgian. By T2, the Frenchwoman held a two-minute advantage over De Wit, 4:30 over Simmonds, and five minutes over Philippe. Symonds later revealed that she had slipped and tripped on the second landing, costing her valuable time.
This advantage continued to grow throughout the race as Pierre absorbed the energy of the home crowd all the way to the finish line. She ultimately clocked a half marathon time of 1:19 to win by nearly four minutes while also lowering her own record from last season by more than three minutes.
Speaking about the upcoming IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice afterwards, Pierre said: “I really wanted to have this place, the race is only a kilometer from my bed, so I really needed to be there.”
Simmonds took second place just ahead of Philippe as both athletes secured the remaining qualifying places for Team Nice. De Vet faded late in the race, eventually falling behind Anne-Sophie Pierré (FRA) in the closing stages.
Notably, three other main contenders for the Nice qualifier – Audrey Merle and the Germans, Tanja Neubert and Daniela Kleiser – all withdrew after the bike match.
The Ironman Pro Series now remains in Europe as it heads alongside Ironman Hamburg on June 7 for the women’s race, in which both Pierre and Philippe are expected to take part again. Next, the North American Championships in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, on June 13 will provide three of the final qualifying spots for the NICE 70.3 World Championships.
