Daniela Ryf targets additional European Championship title

Daniela Ryf targets additional European Championship title at Ironman Frankfurt, July 8.

Triple Ironman World Champion Daniela Ryf will compete at the Ironman European Championship on Sunday 8 July. The World Champion is aiming to add to her list of titles at the race, which is one of the most competitive on the circuit. This year, Ryf's season started unusually late, but the rest seems to have paid off with a strong win at Ironman 70.3 in Rapperswil on 10 June. "I was very happy with my start to the season," says Ryf, "You never really know how good you're in shape at the first race. I always have the feeling that I could have done even more in the preparation. But that's normal in triathlon."

Ryf is currently in St. Moritz, where she trains for about three months in altitude. "I'm in a group of many talented and experienced athletes. It is motivating to go swimming at seven in the morning when I know that my training colleagues are there, too," she said. After the Ironman 70.3 in Rapperswil, her coach Brett Sutton increased the training intensity with long and hard training sessions back on the schedule. Ryf: "So far everything is going very well and according to plan." However, the 31-year-old will go to the European Championship triathlon in Frankfurt with a score to settle.

In 2016 she had to stop the race because the cold conditions on the day. The year before she ran there and beat the course record in 40 degree heat. Ryf is looking forward to racing some quality competitors on the day, as well as positioning herself some of the male professional athletes. "When Ironman Hawaii winners like the German Jan Frodeno and Patrick Lange are in the field, it is always exciting for me to experience how much time I lose on them. I think that we women still lose too much time, about 45 minutes, to men, and I would like to change that in my career. This goal drives me forward."

Timetable in Frankfurt

Thursday, July 5, 2018: Media conference, tour of the track
Friday, 6 July 2018: Rest and Recreation Day
Saturday, 7 July 2018: Preparation day
Sunday: competition day - swimming over 3.8 km in the calm waters of the Langener Waldsee. The following bike route is hilly and demanding (180km) and the final running route (42.195km) is long and flat and consists of four fast laps.

Further information

Visit Ironman website

After the Ironman, Daniela Ryf will train for a few days in Solothurn, before returning to the training camp in St. Moritz.