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IRONMAN Copenhagen

    KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen: Where the Mermaid Goes to Party


    Copenhagen is a royal capital, and this weekend, it will become a triathlon capital, too.

    by Carola Felchner

    It’s quite simple: Copenhagen rocks. It is fawned over by style magazines for its industrial-chic design and fashion scene. There are 15 Michelin-starred restaurants in this city of 1.2 million inhabitants and Edvard Eriksen’s "Little Mermaid" statue on Copenhagen’s waterside has become an international icon. Of course, Copenhagen is a royal capital, and this weekend, it will become a triathlon capital, too.
    The dimensions of the triathlon craziness that makes up KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen can be best described in numbers: 3,000 athletes from 55 countries will race in the IRONMAN event, an additional 5,000 will race in the popular 4:18:4 event which—surprise, surprise—is itself the biggest fitness triathlon event in all of Denmark consisting of a 400m swim, 18 kilometers of biking and a 4 kilometer run. The icing on the cake: On Sunday almost 200,000 spectators are expected to line the course again.

    "We are ready to make sure that both the participants at the IRONMAN-distance and the 5,000 participants in our 4:18:4 event in the days leading up to August 23 get a great experience. Overall, KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen has grown—in terms of participants and spectators—to be one the world's largest IRONMAN event. It’s a monster—but one to be proud of," says Thomas Veje Olsen, Co-Founder and Managing Director of IRONMAN Denmark.

    The long-distance race leads the swimmers through the lagoon at Amager Beach Park with excellent views from the shores and bridges for the thousands of spectators. The bike leg leads through central Copenhagen and out into the rolling hills of the northern countryside, where the World Road Race Cycling Championship took place in 2011, before heading back for a four-lap run along the city’s harbour lined with 17th and 18th-century row houses and streets lined with cheering fans.

    The scenic location and the unique atmosphere at KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen also attract some high-class pros every year. Also this weekend, the battle for first place will be tough, KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen exhibits a strong line-up of pro-participants just six weeks before the upcoming IRONMAN World Championship presented by GoPro.

    In the men’s line-up, Danish Henrik Hyldelund, Spaniard Victor del Corral and Clemente Alonzo-McKernan, and Germany's Jan Raphael are among the favorites. In the line-up of female professional triathletes, it seems it will be a close race with a Danish favorite: Michelle Vesterby is participating in her first KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen.

    5 things you didn’t know about Copenhagen


    You think Amsterdam is a "bike city," wait until you are in Copenhagen: There are bike lanes everywhere and riders have the right of way. Careful when crossing!

    Opened in 1843 Tivoli is the world’s second-oldest amusement park. Relax and enjoy!

    Home to 1.2 million people (almost 10 percent of Denmark’s population) Copenhagen is the largest city in Scandinavia.

    The Øresund Bridge which connects the cities of Copenhagen and Malmo in Sweden is the longest road/rail bridge in Europe spanning nearly 8 km.

    By 2025 Copenhagen plans to be the world’s first carbon-neutral capital!
    Vesterby and Hyldelund are ready to rock it

    Michelle Vesterby is a Danish legend in IRONMAN and will be the home favorite but will have plenty of competition for the title. Hendrik Hyldelund won last year at home thanks to the race best bike split and was able to hold off strong runners. Read more about the race here.

    Featured men: Henrik Hyldelund, Jan Raphael, Victor del Corral, Jens Petersen-Bach, Clemente Alonso-Mckernan.

    Featured women: Michelle Vesterby (DEN), Sofie Goos (BEL), Lucie Zelenkova (CZE), Kathrin Walther, Sonja Tajsich (GER)
    Pro Startlist Men:

    1 Henrik Hyldelund DEN MPRO 1 07:00 AARHUS C IRONMAN PRO
    2 Jens Petersen-Bach DEN MPRO 1 07:00 KØBENHAVN V IRONMAN PRO
    3 Luca Cozza ITA MPRO 1 07:00 Vicenza IRONMAN PRO
    4 Dejan Patrcevic CRO MPRO 1 07:00 zagreb IRONMAN PRO
    5 Wouter MONCHY BEL MPRO 1 07:00 wichelen IRONMAN PRO
    6 Victor Del Corral ESP MPRO 1 07:00 Teguise IRONMAN PRO
    7 Guilherme Valenza Manocchio BRA MPRO 1 07:00 Curitiba IRONMAN PRO
    8 Mathias Nagel GER MPRO 1 07:00 Leipzig IRONMAN PRO
    9 Harri Sokk EST MPRO 1 07:00 Tabasalu IRONMAN PRO
    10 Evgeniy Nikitin RUS MPRO 1 07:00 Saint-Petersburg IRONMAN PRO
    11 Alberto Jesus Perassi ITA MPRO 1 07:00 oristano IRONMAN PRO
    12 Vincent Depuiset FRA MPRO 1 07:00 Tellancourt IRONMAN PRO
    13 Louys Michael BEL MPRO 1 07:00 Malmedy IRONMAN PRO
    14 Alexander Wulff DEN MPRO 1 07:00 Frederiksberg IRONMAN PRO
    15 Andreas Niedrig GER MPRO 1 07:00 Oer-Erkenschwick IRONMAN PRO
    16 Clemente Alonso-McKernan ESP MPRO 1 07:00 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria IRONMAN PRO
    17 Mike Schifferle SUI MPRO 1 07:00 Luzern IRONMAN PRO
    18 Jan Raphael GER MPRO 1 07:00 Hemmingen IRONMAN PRO
    19 Ivan Kharin RUS MPRO 1 07:00 Saint-Petersburg IRONMAN PRO
    20 Gilian Oriet SUI MPRO 1 07:00 delemont IRONMAN PRO
    21 James Brown GBR MPRO 1 07:00 Kingston Upon Thames IRONMAN PRO
    22 Oriol Gili ESP MPRO 1 07:00 Sant Andreu de Llavaneres IRONMAN PRO
    23 Anders Christensen DEN MPRO 1 07:00 Aalborg IRONMAN PRO
    24 Mike Aigroz SUI MPRO 1 07:00 Châtel-St-Denis IRONMAN PRO
    25 Marek Nemcik SVK MPRO 1 07:00 Udavske IRONMAN PRO
    26 Fraser Cartmell GBR MPRO 1 07:00 Stirling IRONMAN PRO
    27 Kasper Ougaard DEN MPRO 1 07:00 Copenhagen IRONMAN PRO
    28 Pontus Lindberg SWE MPRO 1 07:00 Stockholm IRONMAN PRO
    Pro Startlist Women:

    29 Michelle Vesterby DEN FPRO 1 07:00 ODENSE IRONMAN PRO
    31 Helena Herrero ESP FPRO 1 07:00 Segovia IRONMAN PRO
    32 Kathrin Walther GER FPRO 1 07:00 Bad Boll IRONMAN PRO
    33 Astrid Stienen GER FPRO 1 07:00 Herzogenrath IRONMAN PRO
    34 Lucie Zelenkova CZE FPRO 1 07:00 Sandton IRONMAN PRO
    35 Regula Rohrbach SUI FPRO 1 07:00 Zürich IRONMAN PRO
    37 Alyssa Godesky USA FPRO 1 07:00 Charlottesville IRONMAN PRO
    38 Sofie Goos BEL FPRO 1 07:00 antwerpen IRONMAN PRO
    39 Vicky Gill GBR FPRO 1 07:00 Braunton IRONMAN PRO
    40 Sonja Tajsich GER FPRO 1 07:00 Sinzing IRONMAN PRO
    Welcome at the 2015 KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen!

    We expect a great race coming up tomorrow in the capital of Denmark.

    Follow the KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen race action here on IRONMAN.com and on Twitter at @IRONMANLive. Join the conversation using the hashtag #KDMIMCPH.

    Pro race start time: Sunday, Aug 23 - 7:00 a.m. CEST

    #KMDIronmanCPH

    Goooood morning Copenhagen.... what a fantastic morning - perfect weather for fast raceing!
    Danish IRONMAN legend Thunderbear (Thorbjoern Sindballe) does a great motivation speak for the nerveous athlets.... maybe this will give just a few extra watts to push hard later ;-)
    So 20 minutes to PRO start - what can expect? A lot of Danes will chear for local hero Michelle Vesterby who had her share of bad luck this season... Crash and burn in IRONMAN Frankfurt and then a wrong turn on the bike at IRONMAN UK that lead to a dissapointing DNF - today she´s aiming for the win!
    Henrik Hyldelund simply crushed his competitors at last years KMD IRONMAN - however he became a father in early spring, and his results hasn´t been quite as good, but he has been training hard to come back here and reclaim his title..... will he take the bike record again after amazing 4.16 last year?
    The danes however are looking at tough competition... Sofie Goos need a victory here today to go to BIG ISLAND at IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHPS in HAWAII - Sonja Taisich has done done fantastic in IRONMAN Frankfurt and is a fast runner... so Michelle will have to put the hammer down on the bike

    PRO line up before swim start #KMDIronmanCPH

    Anoher guy to watch is Jan Raphel from Germany - two times runner up at the Eouropean Championship at IRONMAN Frankfurt - his latest victory was at IRONMAN Kalmar back in 2012
    The guy with the best race CV today is Mike Aigroz wiith a 6th place at IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in Hawaii in 2011...
    AAAAAAA LET`s GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUMBLEEEEE - we are off here in Copenhagen
    A true IRONMAN legend who will lead the front pack is Andreas Niedrig 47 years old... his incredible story is famous in the sport - going from junkie to becoming one of the best Triathletes in the late 90´s early 00´s

    SUB 10 Hours swim start #KMDIronmanCPH

    Jens Petersen Bach of Denmark was the 2012 champion here at KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen, he has been suffering from injury for some time but made it to the start line - always nice to se former champions keep coming back.

    #KMDIronmanCPH

    Couldn´t ask for better weather for fast raceing - summer in the city #KMDIronmanCPH
    We expect the fastest pro men to exit the water after 46 minutes.. last year Hyldelund was in the back of the front pack, but sprintet through transition and was leading out on the bike and never looked back again...
    Fun fact... a japanees competitor Tagafumia (race number 1948) brought his own TV crew here today - he is more than just BIG IN JAPAN with more than 1,4 million followers on Twitter, and of cource his own cartoon carakter - how about that...
    An amazing story taking place today is Kasper (race number 1570) as a person with a heart transplant - he will be the very first scandinavian to compete in an IRONMAN!!!
    A pro athlete has made a huge gap to a smaler pack lead by Henrik Hyldelund
    after 2,6 km the pack is about 90 sekunds after the lead swimmer
    and the first swimmer is close to the swim exit
    NIEDRIG 47 yers old lead the race out of the water - what a legend #KMDIronmanCPH
    Hyldelund - rangers lead the way... Preditor the hunt has begun #KMDIronmanCPH

    DER NIEDRIG #KMDIronmanCPH

    Hyldelund game on.. #KMDIronmanCPH

    Danish Triathon and Facebook superstar Michelle Vesterby #KMDIronmanCPH

    FIRST PRO MEN OUT OF THE WATER

    1 15 Andreas Niedrig Germany GER Rückenwind Geckos Dortmund MPRO 0:49:50

    2 1 Henrik Hyldelund Denmark DEN Haderslev TRI2000 MPRO 0:50:26 + 37

    3 rank: -1 24 Mike Aigroz Switzerland SUI MPRO 0:50:39 + 50

    4 rank: -1 18 Jan Raphael Germany GER Triathlon Team SPORT FOR GOOD MPRO 0:50:45 + 56

    5 rank: +2 7 Guilherme Valenza Manocchio Brazil BRA Team Bravo MPRO 0:51:56 + 2:06

    6 rank: -2 28 Pontus Lindberg Sweden SWE CykelCity Triathlon MPRO 0:52:39 +
    7 5 Wouter MONCHY Belgium BEL FTT MPRO 0:52:44 + 2:55

    8 rank: -1 2 Jens Petersen-Bach Denmark DEN KTK86 MPRO 0:53:05 + 3:16

    9 rank: -2 4 Dejan Patrcevic Croatia CRO MPRO 0:53:09 + 3:20

    Swim 3,8 km
    FIRST PRO FEMALES OUT OF THE WATER:
    1 29 Michelle Vesterby Denmark DEN Michelle Vesterby FPRO 0:53:15

    2 34 Lucie Zelenkova Czech Republic CZE FPRO 0:53:35 + 20

    3 rank: -2 38 Sofie Goos Belgium BEL FPRO 0:58:57 + 5:43

    4 35 Regula Rohrbach Switzerland SUI FPRO 0:59:58 + 6:44

    5 rank: -1 32 Kathrin Walther Germany GER FPRO 1:00:48 + 7:34

    6 rank: -1 40 Sonja Tajsich Germany GER Team Erdinger Alkoholfrei FPRO 1:00:49 + 7:35

    Swim 3,8 km
    7 56 Marina Vitko Russia RUS Black Sepia F35-39 0:56:06 + 5:21 1:29 min/100m

    8 31 Helena Herrero Spain ESP FPRO 1:00:28 + 9:43 1:36 min/100m

    9 37 Alyssa Godesky United States USA FPRO 1:00:40 + 9:55 1:36 min/100m
    Vesterby has made her compeitors bite her dust... only Zelenkova can keep up in the swim #KMDIronmanCPH
    Mens race - pre race favorites are togheter - Hyldelund, Raphael, Aigroz - a potential podium group chacing Niedrig down!

    judges are ready - FAIR RACEING #KMDIronmanCPH

    Hyldelund had a breakthrogh race last year setting the cource and danish IRONMAN record of 8.03 hours will he go sub 8 today? #KMDIronmanCPH
    At the ITU long distance championships in Sweden in early July, Andreas Niedrig had a phenomenal swim and bike but fadet on the run - for now he is leading here in Copenhagen
    Mike Aigoz has been in the game for a long time - competing for the national Triathlon team of Switzerland since 1996!! His latest big race was at the South American championship at IRONMAN Brazil where he was 8th in a world class field!

    Zelenkova is chasing Vesterby #KMDIronmanCPH

    At 33 km Hyldelund has almos caught up to Niedrig only 6 sek down
    FIRST 5 MEN AT 33 KM:
    1 15 Andreas Niedrig Germany GER Rückenwind Geckos Dortmund MPRO 1:37:03 41.94 km/h

    2 1 Henrik Hyldelund Denmark DEN Haderslev TRI2000 MPRO 1:37:08 + 6 42.41 km/h

    3 rank: -2 7 Guilherme Valenza Manocchio Brazil BRA Team Bravo MPRO 1:39:10 + 2:08 41.92 km/h

    4 rank: +1 24 Mike Aigroz Switzerland SUI MPRO 1:39:11 + 2:09 40.80 km/h

    5 rank: +1 18 Jan Raphael Germany GER Triathlon Team SPORT FOR GOOD MPRO 1:39:13 + 2:11 40.86 km/h

    Vesterby leading the race #KMDIronmanCPH

    #KMDIronmanCPH

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