LIVE: Challenge Roth 2026 – watch all the swim, bike, run action in real time here!

One of the triathlon’s biggest races is underway and you can watch all the action LIVE here! Don’t miss a second of coverage from Challenge Roth with a star-studded line-up as Lucy Charles-Barclay, Kristian Blummenfelt and more take on the course.

Challenge Roth is one of the most iconic races in triathlon and you can watch all the action live here:

In the meantime if you need a little more information about the race as it gets underway, here’s a little background on how to enjoy the action as it unfolds.

Key timings

Challenge Roth takes place on Sunday, 5 July 2026 in Roth, Bavaria, Germany. The race distances are the same as in a full Ironman – a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a 42.2km run. The race will be live streamed from 6:05 AM CEST and athletes will start at 6:30 AM CEST (an hour ahead of UK time).

If you’re keen to take in a key part of the race, we can look at previous race records as a guide. Roth’s organisers are expecting us to see the winners at these times:

• 13.53 CEST: First male crosses the line

• 14.39 CEST: First female crosses the line        

The race course records athletes will be hoping to beat (as well as taking that hallowed spot on the top of the podium) are:

• Men’s record: Magnus Ditlev, 2024: 7:23:24
  • Swim time: 46:23
  • Bike time: 3:59:25
  • Run time: 2:34:18
• Women’s record: Anne Haug 2024: 8:02:35
  • Swim time: 52:37
  • Bike time: 4:27:28
  • Run time: 2:38:55

Ones to watch

Maybe the best professional field in Roth’s history is set to compete this year with early and late additions to the roster set to make for a stunning race.

The men’s field is led by Olympic champion and Ironman world champion Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), defending Champion and Ironman World Champion Sam Laidlow from France, and three-time Ironman World Champion and 2021 Roth winner Patrick Lange from Germany. Another exciting addition will be Ironman 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen (GER), who will make his long-distance debut in Roth.

In the women’s race, we could see the fastest duel in long-distance history: Reigning Roth champion, Germany’s Laura Philipp, and Ironman Vice-World Champion, Kat Matthews from Great Britain, already fought an epic duel for the title at Ironman Hamburg. Then, Philipp 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.

A late addition announced only this week was 2019 Challenge Roth champion Lucy Charles-Barclay, who will be keen to regain the title. Switzerland’s Alanis Siffert and Fenella Langridge (GBR) also have podium experience in Roth already. Additionally, Daisy Davies (GBR), who won the European long-distance title at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam in her first long-distance race, will be another name to watch out for in the women’s category.