Ironman Weiss

“I have to clean my chimney here”

Michael Weiss starts the Ironman season on Sunday.(Bild: Patrick McDermott, Getty Images for Ironman)

Michi Weiss will start the season with bib number 1 on Sunday at the Ironman 70.3 in Cempeche, Mexico. Austria's most successful triathlete has already won there in 2019, but suffered his biggest setback in 2017 - he broke his collarbone when a child ran into him. However, falls are not the biggest danger in Mexico.

Weiss did not attend a training camp in the sunny south this winter, instead using the snow at home for cross-country skiing, the warmer start to the year for cycling and the southern city for swimming. The eight-time Ironman winner has been in his "second home" Cozumel, a Mexican island, for a few days now.

To get used to 30 degrees and more. "The heat will be the biggest competitor in Cempeche," Weiss knows, "because it's 35 degrees Celsius and 80 percent humidity, and it's the only Ironman where the start isn't until 1 pm." The reason for the postponement from 7 a.m. to the afternoon? The slower runners then only run in the evening when it cools down.

Michi Weiss warmed up for the Ironman 70.3 in Cempeche on Cozumel.(Bild: Benni Schön)

Pro Weiss, however, is not spared the sweltering heat. "It's extreme for us pros, you simply can't cycle the same watts as in normal conditions." However, the 43-year-old from Gumpoldskirchen, who has already qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, does not have to force anything in the first race.

Aerodynamics tested in Augsburg

"I will take a strong but controlled approach on the bike. I did an aero test in Augsburg and got a few more watts out of it, my swimming form has been very good recently, I've been swimming 20 km a week. And I've done four running races and finished in the top 3 a few times. I'm not stressed now. It's all about cleaning out my chimney in the heat."

Michi Weiss has once again improved the aerodynamics.(Bild: Benni Schön)

Things won't get really serious until the beginning of May at the Ironman St. George in Utah. It's all about points for the new pro series. And that's where Weiss celebrated his first long-distance victory in 2010.