Michele Bortolamedi and Marjolaine Pierré win the IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2026
Michele Bortolamedi and Marjolaine Pierré won the HOMBRE DE HIERRO 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2026 after two very different races, with a close finish in the men's race and French dominance in the women's.
El IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2026 It once again delivered a high-level day in European middle-distance running. The French race, included in the IRONMAN Pro Series, awarded important points in a race with 1,9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling and 21,1 km of running.
The day confirmed Marjolaine Pierre as one of the leading figures in middle-distance running. The Frenchwoman had already won in Aix-en-Provence in 2025 and repeated her victory with a very solid performance against formidable rivals such as Imogen Simmonds y Laura Philipp.
In the male category, Michele Bortolamedi He took the victory after a hard-fought duel with Rich BogenThe Italian, who finished second a few weeks ago in Challenge Gran Canaria, took another step forward and achieved one of the most important victories of his career.
Marjolaine Pierre repeats victory at home
The women's race began with Fenella Langridge setting the benchmark in swimming. Pierré came out of the water in eighth position, 31 seconds behind the leader, so he had to build his victory from behind.
In the first few kilometers of cycling it was Hanne de Vet who took the lead. The Belgian opened up a small gap and Pierré saw his deficit approach a minute, but the situation changed in the middle part of the cycling segment.
The Frenchwoman caught up with De Vet around the halfway point of the bike leg and, from that moment on, began to pull away. First, she left the rest of the favorites behind and then dropped the Belgian as well, arriving at T2 with a significant advantage.
Pierré started the half marathon with 1:38 minutes about De VetFrom behind, Solemn Billouin He was already down by nearly four minutes, while Imogen Simmonds y Laura Philipp They entered the footrace with a loss of more than four minutes.
The half marathon didn't change the script for the victory. Pierré maintained a steady pace and controlled the race to the finish line to win. 4:08:27Behind them, Simmonds and Philipp gradually improved and eventually overtook De Vet in the fight for the podium.
The victory reinforces Pierré's connection with Aix-en-Provence, a race he also won in 2025 ahead of Lizzie Rayner and Lisa Meißner. You can find more information about that edition in the [link to relevant section]. IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2025 results.
Michele Bortolamedi wins after a duel with Rico Bogen
The men's race was much more open. The swim saw more than twenty triathletes separated by less than a minute, with Jamie riddle leading the exit from the water in 21:48.
That first group included important names such as Sven Thalmann, Justus Nieschlag, Pierre Dupuy, Rich Bogen, Michele Bortolamedi, Anthony Benito Lopez, Rudy von berg, Nathan Guerber y Lasse Priester.
The cycling segment whittled down the field. As the kilometers passed, the leading group was reduced to four men: Bogen, Guerbeur, Bortolamedi and Maximillian SperlThe four worked together for much of the bike leg and opened up a gap of several minutes on the pursuers.
In the final part of the cycling leg, Bortolamedi changed the pace. The Italian reached T2 first, with Sperl four seconds behind, Bogen thirteen seconds back, and Guerbeur already 39 seconds behind.
The run started with Bortolamedi very strong. In the first eight kilometers he opened up a gap of nearly half a minute over Bogen, while Sperl and Guerbeur began to lose contact with the leaders.
Bogen rallied in the middle of the half marathon. The German chipped away at the lead second by second until he caught up with Bortolamedi around kilometer 13, at which point the race entered a phase of maximum tension.
For several kilometers, Bortolamedi and Bogen ran together, alternating small changes of pace and keeping a close eye on each other. The decisive move came after kilometer 17, when the Italian began to open up a gap that Bogen could no longer close.
Bortolamedi crossed the finish line in 3:38:54Bogen finished second with 3:39:26 y Lasse Priester completed the podium in 3:39:35, very close to the German in the final kilometers.
IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2026 Results
Male classification
| Job title | Triathlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michele Bortolamedi | ITA | 3:38:54 |
| 2 | Rich Bogen | GER | 3:39:26 |
| 3 | Lasse Priester | GER | 3:39:35 |
Female classification
| Job title | Triathlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marjolaine Pierre | From | 4:08:27 |
| 2 | Imogen Simmonds | SUI | 4:12:10 |
| 3 | Laura Philipp | GER | 4:12:46 |
A key race within the IRONMAN Pro Series
El IRONMAN Pro Series It's the professional IRONMAN circuit that awards points in IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 races throughout the season. Every result counts in a ranking where the margin can be very small, especially in middle-distance races with demanding courses.
Aix-en-Provence arrived as one of the first major European events on the calendar, with a strong start list and several big names in both draws. IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence 2026 preview The weight of Pierré, Philipp, Bogen and Antonio Benito was already being noted within a test marked by the demanding nature of the course.
With these victories, Pierré confirms his recent dominance in Aix-en-Provence and Bortolamedi consolidates himself as one of the names to watch in European middle distance.
