the capital of both Álava province and the Basque Country was honoured with the title of European Green Capital in 2012 The city is designed in a series of concentric circles with the urban centre at its heart a semi-natural green area that has been partially reclaimed from previously degraded land effectively integrating nature into the urban landscape the outermost circle is characterised by forests and mountains further emphasising the city’s connection to nature Vitoria-Gasteiz boasts a high proportion of public green spaces ensuring that all residents live within 300 metres of open green areas To support biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services the city has implemented numerous tangible measures reducing habitat fragmentation and minimising light pollution These green spaces serve not only as recreational areas and natural habitats but also as educational resources community gardens provide residents with hands-on opportunities to learn about horticulture Vitoria-Gasteiz has also set an ambitious goal of reducing domestic water consumption to less than 100 litres per person per day the city steadily decreased its water consumption reflecting its commitment to sustainability Investments in water management have been made under the framework of the ‘Agenda 21’ environmental action plan These efforts focus on improving water supply systems promoting sustainable consumption and enhancing water quality the city has established a citizen information office dedicated to raising awareness about water consumption and efficiency encouraging the community to engage in more sustainable water use practices The information provided in this page reflects the context and circumstances at the time of applying for the EU Green Capital Award and may not fully align with current developments or standards citizens recognise the huge impact their environment has on their health who is responsible for the Environmental Plan in Álava Brian Webster grew up in Great Britain before moving to Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1974 After many years teaching English and working as a translator Brian has recently taken on a new role as a Citizen Science Scheme Volunteer in Vitoria-Gasteiz Strategy: Maximise – strategically increasing tree canopies The city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain exemplifies the transformative power of urban greening. Named the 2012 European Green Capital and having received the UN’s Global Green City award in 2019, VitoriaGasteiz has integrated extensive green infrastructure into the urban fabric, designed with accessibility as a priority to encourage active and healthy lifestyles, and boost social interaction. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. We develop and promote the idea of a circular economy, and work with business, academia, policymakers, and institutions to mobilise systems solutions at scale, globally. Charity Registration No. (England and Wales): 1130306 OSCR Registration No. (Scotland): SC043120 Ellen MacArthur Foundation ANBI RSIN (Netherlands): 8257 45 925 Diego Paredes (ESP) and Brooke Brown (CAN) won the 9th edition of the Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz long course race and here are images from that stunning area in Spain Brooke Brown took charge on the bike and never looked back The early morning water was churned by hundreds of starters The Triathlon Vitoria-Gasteiz offers both a long course and a half distance Hunting for those turn buoys in relatively smooth waters The first athletes are already on the scenic bike course others are still working on the swim segment Brooke Brown had a good ride on her Argon18 bike Diego Paredes and Alejandro Santamaria dominated the bike leg A quick transition from the bike to the run Paredes and Santamaria battled hard all day What an amazing venue to finish a long day © Slowtwitch - Built with Federated Computer we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads may adversely affect certain features and functions Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen Be one of the first to try our new activity feed A Pro Triathlete’s Insight on Long-Course Speed (and Drama) at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz After the euphoria of Challenge Roth and fast times, the hype continues as we hit another quick weekend of racing: Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz (Ironman Pro Series) There were Nice and Kona slots up for grabs, Pro Series points on the line, final tune ups before Paris as we saw world champions being DQ’d and potentially a sneak preview of the Paris podium Missed the action in Spain? Outside+ members can replay the entire race at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz (and all races in the Ironman Pro Series) on demand with Outside TV Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz is one of the jewels in the crown of the Ironman portfolio In a town with a classic European culture and vibe this is an area that loves sport and triathlon and comes out in force to support the event has not hidden the fact her priority is the Ironman World Championships first to make it two for two (with a victory in Ironman Texas) Kat’s goal was to take the win and collect a maximum 5,000 points for the Pro Series: Mission accomplished I’m sure Kat wasn’t happy with her swim which saw her in the chase pack (4:30 back) She said she had fun on the bike with some fair racing and was the fastest runner on the day breaking the race record by over twenty minutes Kat jumps from 22nd to fourth in the overall series but she’ll need to add some good points at European 70.3 Championships and it will remain to be seen if she can stay healthy A post shared by Kat Matthews (@katr_matthews) Els Visser once again adds another podium to her massive 2024 She’s raced well as a wild card in the T100 but is also performing well over the full distance in the Ironman Series (where she now sits in 10th) She’s getting plenty of racing and so in theory great rewards without having to focus specifically on a series She may not feature highly at the end of the year in the rankings We also saw a great return to racing for Ruth Astle sat in the chase pack with the key players and took control with a new bike course record considering her training has been hampered this year with a calf niggle The men’s race was all about changes on the run Spain’s Antonio Benito Lopez put in a blistering 2:37:57 to run through from fifth and 13 minutes down to set a run and overall course record (previously took third at Ironman Portugal in 2023 He was also second at the World Triathlon Long Distance Championships in 2023 and has actually never finished lower than fourth in any of his races since 2021 David McNamee locked up his Kona slot by running himself to second McNamee and Lopez were locked stride for stride for much of the run but McNamee ended up just dropping off the Lopez pace in the second half but still ran well to take second Cam Wurf made a last minute bid for the podium and surprised himself With 7 kilometers to go he was still in fifth but Wurf made the pass in the final stages to claim third but it shows how biking in the male field has improved (probably thanks initially to Wurf) of all things that brought him to the podium A post shared by Cameron Wurf (@cjwurf) The drama came from current Ironman world champion Laidlow was issued a drafting penalty in the first half of the bike and failed to stop at the next penalty tent His appeal was declined and the DQ remained as Laidlow still needs to validate his Kona slot by August 19 This would leave only Ironman Frankfurt (August 18) as an option See the latest standings in the Ironman Pro Series here At World Triathlon Series Hamburg we saw the final tune up for many athletes before the Olympic Games in just two-and-a-half weeks Or perhaps it was a moment of redemption for some The event in Hamburg is a favorite with many of the athletes as the Germans really do love triathlon (both long course and short) Though those three had also been in Cagliari and finished further back I still wouldn’t write off any of that group for gold in Pari—knowing they are all big day racers and performers immediately distancing herself on the run and looking effortless showing she’s confident in her form and run heading into Paris but she’ll also have to manage the pressure Tertsch also confirmed her Cagliari second place by outsprinting Potter the Australians are like public buses—nothing comes and then two come along at once—as Matt Hauser and Luke Willian now sit second and first respectively in the World Triathlon Championship ranking The Australian men have failed to perform in the Olympic Games over the years—never winning a medal—compared to the Australian women who have won five medals since triathlon’s inception in Sydney 2000 The highest Australian male was Greg Bennett who finished fourth in Athens 2004 now Australian men have the potential to take two medals in Paris Hauser ran away with the win in Hamburg ahead of Vasco Vilaca (POR) and Pierre Le Corre finding form to represent the French and round out the podium Germany won the mixed team relay ahead of Switzerland and New Zealand it’s worth noting that most countries didn’t feature their Olympic roster so it’s hard to see if this is a form guide or not I think the Germans will be one of the favorites going into Paris however the French did not race in Hamburg Quebec was stop five on the XTERRA World Cup Series and it was a double header with short-track and full-distance events France’s Solenne Billouin looks pretty good to secure the series title Billouin has won three of the five stops and has never finished out of the top two in any of the races (short track or full She will likely now turn her attention to the World Championships in September and aim to become the first woman to win this series and the XTERRA World Championships The only other athlete to win a series event this year and doesn’t have enough races to challenge for the series title The race for the World Cup Series is a lot closer on the men’s side as Jens Sloth Nielsen is fighting with the Forissier brothers But it was current world champion Arthur Serrieres who took the win in Quebec sitting at the front of the race throughout and accelerating away on the run Serrieres is probably a long shot to take the series title but will be aiming to defend his world champion status come September Just 100 points separate the top three in the overall series – with Felix Forissier in the lead This battle for the series title is likely to go to the wire American Tim O’Donnell also raced in Quebec, having “kinda” retired from triathlon but couldn’t match the technical skills of the XTERRA boys on the bike but still had a solid run to finish in 20th We take a quick flyby video tour of the 2024 Ironman World Championship Kona course By 2025-01-02T14:32:00+00:00 SPAIN: Euskotren has awarded CAF a €20m contract to supply three more trams to Vitoria-Gasteiz in the second half of 2027 CAF said the additional vehicles would be same length as the seven-section Urbos trams it previously supplied to the city They will incorporate new features for accessibility colours to highlight priority spaces and no tip-up seats SPAIN: A extension of the Vitoria-Gasteiz tramway has opened to serve a developing suburban area A day of free travel marked the start of passenger services on April 11 and operator Euskotren is holding information and familiarisation events throughout the month SPAIN: The first seven-section CAF Series 600 Urbos tram was presented at Ibaionso depot in Vitoría-Gasteiz on December 10 ahead of the start of overnight testing the following week Three more were scheduled to be delivered from CAF’s Irún factory by the end of 2019 Site powered by Webvision Cloud the public transport company in Vitoria-Gasteiz (north of Spain) took delivery of ten new zero-emission buses from Irizar This includes six 18-meter articulated buses and four 12-meter articulated buses which are now housed at the city’s Electromobility Centre which began arriving at a rate of one per week A first fleet of Irizar electric buses started operation in the city back in 2020, following an order achieved in 2019 These new buses are part of a broader effort to modernize TUVISA’s fleet The average age of the fleet has dropped from 12.79 years in 2023 to 11.44 years Charging of e-buses is done at night in the depots on Avenida del Zadorra They also have the possibility of fast charging via pantograph if necessary and passenger-friendly features like synoptic screens and intelligent driving assistance 128 passengers can be welcomed on board of the 18-meter vehicles The delivery comes at a time of strong growth for TUVISA the company had already exceeded 16.2 million journeys on track to break its all-time record with more than 17.5 million passengers by year’s end This growth is partly attributed to the successful introduction of electric buses which have been widely used by local commuters “Since 2017 we have purchased 43 new buses starting with the ten articulated buses that arrived that year 13 electric for the EIB between 2021 and 2022 and now 10 more electric Our commitment to the modernisation and decarbonisation of the fleet is undeniable and cannot stop here” recalling that the draft budget for next year envisages the purchase of 10 more buses through commitment appropriations © Copyright 2012 - 2025 | Vado e Torno Edizioni | All rights reserved | P.I 2024) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The IRONMAN Pro Series™ remains in Europe for its next stop with the Basque Country of Spain hosting IRONMAN® Vitoria-Gasteiz and fourth full distance IRONMAN® triathlon of the series Approximately 80 of the top male and female triathletes are currently expected to race next Sunday 14 July and will be battling it out for a maximum of 5,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points a prize purse of $125,000 and 3 slots per gender for the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons in Nice As with all IRONMAN Pro Series events, the race can be seen live in person and will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for viewers around the world including proseries.ironman.com Making their IRONMAN Pro Series debuts will be David McNamee (GBR) Frades Larralde currently sits in 58th place in the IRONMAN Pro Series after two top 10 finishes at the Intermountain Health IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship St Geroge and Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside Her main rival will be Great Britain’s Kat Matthews, who announced on Instagram this week that her aim is to win. Matthews currently has a total of 5,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points following her win at the 2024 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas triathlon who currently sits in 13th in the IRONMAN Pro Standings following a third-place finish at the IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg triathlon and ninth position at this past weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée is also due to race could catapult her to the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series standings who came third in the 2023 edition of the race will also be looking to repeat a strong performance Following a fifth place position at the IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg triathlon Visser currently sits in 27th place in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings with 4,189 points Ruth Astle (GBR) who has been battling injury since the start of the year will also take to the start in her IRONMAN Pro Series debut will be 1,700 registered age-group participants who will be competing with the hope of securing one of the age-group qualifying slots to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons in Nice which takes place in the cultural capital of northern Spain’s Basque Country offers beautiful natural landscapes rich Basque culture and gastronomy and one of the most passionate and lively crowds on the circuit Athletes will take on a 3.8km (2.4 mile) long ROKA swim course in beautiful Ulibarri-Gamboa lake athletes will then embark on the 190km (112 mile) bike course passing by some of most scenic towns of the Álava region and even shares a section with the “Camino de Santiago” – the famous ancient pilgrim route The four-loop 42.2 km (26.2 mile) HOKA run course is a flat course along the wonderful city centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz completely crowded with triathlon fans cheering on every athlete The finish line is located in Plaza España (central square in Vitoria) Female Professional Start List (subject to change): Male Professional Start List (subject to change): For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series visit Here For more information on the 2024 IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon, visit: ironman.com/im-vitoria To learn more about the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and series of events, please visit  www.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to emeapress@ironman.com Media credentials can be requested: HERE  View all Releases by Submit Press Release Address: 4010 Sorrento Valley Blvd #400, San Diego, CA 92121   Phone: (858) 876-4705 (c) 2025 Address: 4010 Sorrento Valley Blvd #400, San Diego, CA 92121   Phone: (858) 876-4705 Sam Laidlow will make his Ironman Pro Series debut and Kat Matthews is going for the W (and 5,000 points) - check out the start lists and race updates for Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz here plus how to watch the free livestream on race day About 80 of the top male and female pros in triathlon will take on the course in the Basque Country of Spain The pro races start at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, July 14 – that’s 2 a.m. Sunday Eastern and 11 p.m. Saturday Pacific. The Ironman Vitoria livestream will be free to watch live on Outside TV, and Outside+ members can view the race on demand after the finish anytime WATCH THE IRONMAN VITORIA LIVESTREAM Reigning IRONMAN World Champion Sam Laidlow has had his place on the start line for this year’s race in Kona confirmed – despite his disqualification from IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz on Sunday The Frenchman was using that race to validate his spot in Hawaii – by “racing competitively” and “finishing” But having been removed from the results – and not receiving any prize money or IRONMAN Pro Series points – the big question was whether he had ticked both of those boxes And if the answer was ‘no’ then he faced a race against time to find an alternative route Here’s how the whole process has played out… IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz was Laidlow’s first full-distance race of the season but things didn’t go to plan He was disqualified towards the end of the bike leg after failing to serve a drafting penalty but – as he was allowed to do – continued to race under protest seemingly making sure he didn’t interfere with the race dynamics as Antonio Benito Lopez took a memorable win in the Basque Country That potentially meant that Laidlow might have to race another full-distance event before the big dance in Hawaii Laidlow receives a five-year exemption to the IMWC – so 2024 through to 2028 in his case However there is a catch to that as the following document from IRONMAN explains: Former Pro Athlete IRONMAN® World Champions using the Five-Year Exemption to enter the 2024 Championship Race will be required to validate their entry by completing a Validation Race “Validation Race” means racing competitively (as determined by IRONMAN in IRONMAN’s sole discretion) and finishing at least one Qualifying IRONMAN (excluding the 2023 IRONMAN World Championship) OR two Qualifying IRONMAN 70.3 (excluding the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship) events that offers Pro qualifying slots during the 2024 IRONMAN Qualifying Year for IRONMAN events and period ending June 30 the two 70.3 races isn’t now an option given we are already well past June 30 And it’s a rapidly-closing window for the full-distance races as only two male pro ones are scheduled between now and August 19 – IRONMAN Lake Placid this weekend and IRONMAN Frankfurt on August 18 the registration deadline for both has now closed So whether Laidlow met the validation criteria on Sunday became all-important… We reached out to IRONMAN to find out exactly what the situation was – and it was good news for Laidlow as a spokesperson told TRI247: “At Sunday’s IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon Sam Laidlow was disqualified for failing to serve a drafting penalty but in line with the IRONMAN Competition Rules chose to continue the race and exercise his right to protest after his finish “Sam raced competitively until the end and was the second professional male to cross the finish line “Sam proceeded to follow the protest process on site but the competition jury upheld the disqualification meaning Sam was not eligible for IRONMAN Pro Series points or prize money.” But crucially they added the following: “Sam Laidlow’s completion of the IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon meets IRONMAN’s written 2024 policy on the IRONMAN World Championship validation which stipulates that an athlete must race competitively and finish an IRONMAN triathlon (or two IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon races) within the qualifying period “Sam followed the onsite protest process showed respect to the process and his fellow competitors all of which is in the spirit of the sport and reflective of Sam’s professionalism “Sam’s completion of the event matches the fulfilment of other validation eligible athletes and the spirit of the policy extended accordingly “We look forward to welcoming him back to Kona for the 2024 edition of the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship.” Not surprisingly that was met with relief by Laidlow who said the following on his Instagram page: “Sunday was a very tough day for me both mentally and physically “This was my first ever experience getting a penalty Some miscommunication led to my decision to not take the penalty during the race “I would like to thank @ironmantri for hearing me out and taking @race.ranger data into account to validate my start at the IRONMAN WC.” Follow the madness of the 'Race that eats its young' on RUN247 The City of Vitoria-Gasteiz reported last week that it will expedite the procedure for the expulsion of the 124 municipal houses in Olarizu to Vitorian citizens The government of the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz (PNV-PSE) has reached an agreement with pp to enable a new step The ownership of the buildings will move from the municipal agency Ensanche 21 to the city hall and the people living in the houses will be informed of their intention to evict the houses Citizens shall have 10 days from the notification to submit their claims on the fire situation The initiative for housing and against social exclusion in Vitoria-Gasteiz which brings together several associations and citizens’ movements has denounced the City Council’s last “irresponsible” step dozens of people have been living in the houses of Olarizu Avenue without electricity or water since the City Hall cut them in 2019 in the opinion of the citizens' initiative worsen the situation: “We consider it very serious that in view of the emergency situation of the housing that we have denounced on many occasions the City Hall will take only the steps necessary to aggravate the problem.” The initiative considers that the municipal government uses housing "to boost the business of private companies" in the area that in March the public agency Vitalquiler sold 500 Official Protection homes to a vulture fund Similar interests are found behind the eviction project of the houses of Olarizu: “We are facing a process of privatization of housing and land that should have social purposes in Vitoria-Gasteiz.” IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz hosts the next round of the IRONMAN Pro Series this weekend with a stellar international field taking to the start line in Spain On the men’s side, reigning IRONMAN World Champion Sam Laidlow leads the lineup, whilst on the women’s side, IRONMAN Texas winner Kat Matthews heads a stacked field you can find all the information you need on start times and how to watch live plus a full rundown of the professional men and women’s fields IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz takes place on Sunday July 14 with the gun going off at 08:00 local time 02:00 on the East Coast and 23:00 on Saturday July 13 on the West Coast 02:07 on the East Coast and 23:07 on Saturday on the West Coast You can watch live via the YouTube embed below: In the US and Canada, the race can be streamed live on Outside TV, with coverage in the rest of the world available via the IRONMAN Pro Series website here or DAZN.  the ever reliable IRONMAN Tracker is the perfect data addition to support your viewing If you haven’t got it on your phone already world champion Laidlow is the stand out name but the Frenchman will have some world class company with the likes of Polish athlete Robert Wilkowiecki and Danish pro Kristian Hogenhaug toeing the start line Spaniard Antonio Benito Lopez will be looking to impress in front of a home crowd another athlete capable of finishing on the podium on Sunday Mathias Petersen of Denmark and Laidlow’s compatriot and training partner Arthur Horseau both won full distance events last season in Austria and Lanzarote respectively and will be amongst the outside contenders to make the podium the Swedish pro who recently finished fifth at IRONMAN Texas better known for their middle distance exploits Defending champion Gurutze Frades of Spain will wear #1 on race day but all eyes will be on PTO World #4 Matthews who has two podiums to her name so far this season Her rivals for the win in Vitoria will potentially include Els Visser, who just finished on the podium at Challenge Roth who finished third on home turf a month ago in Hamburg Other names to watch out for include Chilean pro Barbara Riveros Britain’s Ruth Astle who is returning from injury who has two Top 10 Pro Series performances to her name so far this season The prize purse on offer this weekend is $125,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $18,000 share of that total athletes will also earn points as they seek to become the IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and win a share of the $1.7 million bonus prize purse.  the maximum possible score will be 5,000 points for 1st place with points for all remaining professional finishers diminishing based on the time deficit to first place at a rate of 1 point per 1 second deficit to the winner’s finishing time.  there will be a total of six qualifying slots (three MPRO/three FPRO) for the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice and Kona later this season Antonio Benito Lopez and Kat Matthews were victorious at IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz this weekend as the pair bagged major IRONMAN Pro Series points in the Basque Country David McNamee and Cameron Wurf were second and third in the men’s race, with Els Visser, just one week after finishing third at Challenge Roth finished second ahead of Ruth Astle in the women’s race The race was not without drama either, as reigning IRONMAN World Champion Sam Laidlow was disqualified after failing to stop and serve a penalty late on in the bike leg, though IRONMAN later confirmed he had done enough to validate his Kona spot Olympian Richard Varga was the first athlete out of the water just ahead of Laidlow Robert Kallin and Bradley Weiss around 70 seconds down on the pair coming into transition leaving himself a lot of work to do on the bike and run was +5:05 down on the front of the race out of the water and the Australian was back in 22nd position coming through transition who quickly moved to the front of the race with the pair also joined by German Ruben Zepuntke the former pro cyclist who recently finished second at IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland The trio had a gap of close to three and a half minutes over Team BMC athlete Kristian Hogenhaug by the halfway mark with the rest of the field more than five minutes behind as the pace at the front continued to ramp up The small lead group continued to build on their lead in the closing stages and he was handed a drafting penalty by the race officials the Frenchman was disqualified from the race who set the fastest ever IRONMAN bike split of 3:54:33 had a +5:35 lead over Hogenhaug at the start of the run with Mathias Petersen +12:05 down in third and Wurf Kallin appeared to be doing a good job of holding firm with his lead hovering right around five minutes with Hogenhaug taking four minutes out of the long time leader and finally making the pass at the 25km mark Benito Lopez and McNamee then moved up into second and third with Benito Lopez taking the lead at the 29km mark as Hogenhaug started to run into problems and couldn’t follow in the footsteps of the fast moving Spaniard Getting stronger and stronger with every passing kilometre Benito Lopez gapped McNamee and co in the final ten kilometres to claim his first full distance win taking the tape in an emotional finish to also secure his place at a first IRONMAN World Championship in Kona this October McNamee marked his first full distance race since IRONMAN Italy in 2023 with a podium Wurf put together a brilliant run to hold off Weiss in the closing kilometres and finish on his third podium of the season so far Great Britain’s Stephanie Clutterbuck was the first athlete out of the water in the women’s race Astle and former Challenge Roth winner Daniela Bleymehl into T1 Visser and Bleymehl were able to break away from the rest of the chasers and started to chip away at Clutterbuck’s lead with the gap down to less than two minutes by 90km the front group of (now) five athletes had 10 minutes over Elisabetta Curridori in sixth and over the final third of the bike dropped Clutterbuck to leave just four within a minute of each other into T2 who started the run with around a minute over Visser and Bleymehl with IRONMAN Texas winner Matthews starting to edge away from her compatriot from the first kilometre Matthews had a gap of +2:43 back to Visser who had reeled in Astle and moved into second place had six minutes over fourth placed Bleymehl with 21km to go Consolidating her victory over the latter stages of the run taking her second full distance win of the season in Vitoria-Gasteiz and cementing her status as a favourite for the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice In second, Visser capped off incredible back-to-back weekends, with Astle clinching third place, a spot at the IRONMAN World Championship and a first podium in almost 18 months after recently battling with several injury setbacks While some thought the launch of the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s T100 Triathlon Pro Series was supposed to signal the death-knell of Ironman pro racing the large and impressive fields that have been lining up at the Ironman Pro Series events this year have proved those predictions wrong The next two weekends of racing certainly prove that as some of the biggest names in the sport are set to line up at Ironman events in Spain and the United States with the next PTO event scheduled for London at the end of the month Ironman takes on the PTO with new Pro Series Reigning Ironman world champion Sam Laidlow (FRA) looks to validate his Kona slot this weekend (the race starts at 8 AM local time) in Spain’s Basque Country and no-doubt hopes to start rounding into form as he prepares for another top finish at the Ironman worlds then won in Nice last year.) It’s been a slow start for the Frenchman who took ninth at T100 Miami and then didn’t finish at T100 Singapore He’ll take on some speedy competition on the weekend including Poland’s Robert Wilkowiecki Great Britain’s David McNamee and his countryman and training partner Arthur Horseau Nice world champ Sam Laidlow to race PTO T100 series, but still focused on defending Ironman world title in Kona You can see the full men’s and women’s Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz field here Great Britain’s Kat Matthews has had some ups and downs through the season (a calf injury at T100 Miami then a DQ at Ironman Hamburg after a mis-timed pass in a no-pass zone at Ironman Hamburg) but her impressive race at T100 San Francisco put her back on track to pursue her ambitious goal of finishing at the top of both the T100 and Ironman series She’ll get a second chance to add an Ironman win to her Pro Series tally and we’re not going to be surprised to see her bounce back for another big race in London in a few weeks Another comeback win for Kat Matthews at Ironman Texas the Netherlands’ Els Visser is registered for Vitoria-Gasteiz just a week after a third-place finish at Challenge Roth Others to watch in the field include Great Britain’s Ruth Astle and Germany’s Daniela Bleymehl An incredible men’s field is set to line up at the 25th anniversary event in Lake Placid the week after the Vitoria-Gasteiz race Defending men’s champion Joe Skipper (Great Britain) is back but he’ll have some company blasting at the front of the race in the Adirondacks Canadian Lionel Sanders has been impressive in his two victories so far this year (70.3 Oceanside and 70.3 Mont-Tremblant) and is looking to continue his winning ways fresh off a runner-up finish at Ironman Cairns (Skipper was sixth at the Australian race) arrives as another of the pre-race favourites The list of potential champions and podium finishers continues with names like Matt Hanson Sam Appleton … there are 66 pro men registered for the race Despite two big 70.3 wins, Lionel Sanders is “still afraid to go to the Ironman” The women’s race also sees the returning champion taking on a top field that includes multiple Ironman champion Kyle Simpson (AUS) fellow Americans Jackie Hering and Sarah True The podium contenders are numerous as well Lauren Brandon and many more … there are 33 pro women registered for the race As part of the Ironman Pro Series, both races will feature live coverage on proseries.ironman.com, YouTube and DAZN, for international audiences; L’Équipe in France; and on Outside TV for U.S Get the digital edition of Triathlon for your chosen platform: The IRONMAN Pro Series remains in Europe for its next stop, with the Basque Country of Spain hosting IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz and fourth full distance IRONMAN triathlon of the series Approximately 80 top male and female triathletes are currently expected to race next Sunday a prize purse of US$125,000 and three slots per gender for the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons in Nice the race can be seen live in person and will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for viewers around the world including proseries.ironman.com which takes place in the cultural capital of northern Spain’s Basque Country offers natural landscapes rich Basque culture and gastronomy and passionate and lively crowds Athletes will take on a 3.8km (2.4 mile) long ROKA swim course in Ulibarri-Gamboa lake passing by some of most scenic towns of the Álava region and even shares a section with ancient pilgrim route ‘Camino de Santiago The four-loop 42.2 km (26.2 mile) HOKA run course is a flat course through the city centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Professional start lists (subject to change) www.ironman.com Sam Laidlow, the reigning men’s IRONMAN World Champion will bid to validate his slot for this year’s race in Kona at IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain’s Basque Country on Sunday 14 July It’s the 11th and latest race in the IRONMAN Pro Series with 5,000 points up for grabs for the winner as well as three places per gender for the IMWC in Nice (women) and Kona (men) Laidlow just has to finish the race to book his Kona ticket But speaking on his Instagram channel he said: “I’m very excited to start my IRONMAN season at Vitoria-Gasteiz “I’m looking forward to discover what I think is a rolling bike course and I think the run course will be particularly special with it being in the centre of town “I’m expecting to kind of just confirm my numbers from training I believe everything is going in the right direction “Of course I want to come away with a win but Kona is still quite a long way away “So [it’s about] making sure I’m going in the right direction and just have a solid race So to be able to validate that is what I’m there for – and of course to validate my slot for Kona.” It’s been a mixed first half of the year for Laidlow with ninth place at T100 in Miami in March before he exited T100 Singapore on the bike leg and he hasn’t raced since that April event This will be his first full-distance race of 2024 and he’s by far the highest ranked athlete on the current start list with Brit David McNamee the only other inside the top 20 One interesting rival for Laidlow will be his training partner and fellow Frenchman Arthur Horseau who progressed rapidly last year to finish sixth behind him at the IMWC in Nice and was runner-up at IRONMAN Austria last time out The headline name on the women’s start list is world #4 Kat Matthews The Brit has already won IRONMAN Texas this season and was a superb second to Taylor Knibb at the T100 San Francisco last month That Texas win gave her the maximum 5,000 Pro Series points and she said on her Instagram page: “I’m aiming to win IM Vitoria-Gasteiz (for +5000 points) head home and prepare the body for T100 London!” But wearing the #1 bib will be reigning Vitoria-Gasteiz champion who has been battling injury since the start of the year will also take to the start in her IRONMAN Pro Series debut Kat Matthews continued her fine form over the full distance on Sunday, as the British star took the win ahead of a top field at IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz the 33-year-old also broke the course record on her way to taking the tape finishing in a time of 8:24:23 after running a phenomenal 2:54:40 marathon Matthews admitted that she struggled on the swim but then had a great bike to set herself up for the win on the run but I felt like I was having fun on the bike My peers Els [Visser] and Daniela Bleymehl were taking turns it was just a ‘get through it’ kind of day and I was just thinking about seeing the crowd.” Gunning for the IRONMAN Pro Series title this season Matthews said her goal for the race had been to secure the maximum 5,000 points “I came here to get the 5,000 points in the Pro Series that was honestly the only goal and I found it quite hard to go into a race with that as the goal With two wins from two so far on the Pro Series Matthews is next set to race at the London T100 on July 27 before turning her attention back to IRONMAN racing “I’m really chuffed to have done two Ironmans picked up 10,000 points and now I have a IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship coming up in Tallinn next.”  As the reigning world champion, France’s Sam Laidlow (pictured above winning in Nice last year) will receive a five year champion exemption to the Ironman World Championship. He does, however, have to validate his starting spot at the race. Here’s what that means, according to the Ironman rules: “Validation Race” means racing competitively (as determined by Ironman in Ironman’s sole discretion) and finishing at least one (1) Qualifying Ironman (excluding the 2023 Ironman World Championship) OR two (2) Qualifying Ironman 70.3 (excluding the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship) events that offers Pro qualifying slots during the 2024 Ironman Qualifying Year for Ironman events and period ending June 30 You’ll likely notice the “racing competitively” component to the definition That was put in place to ensure pro athletes didn’t just validate their slots by going and finishing a race (for example World champ DQ’d, record-setting bike split … and lots more drama at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz! In the crazy world of pro triathlon we live in right now Laidlow has signed a contract with the Professional Triathletes Organisation to compete at the T100 World Triathlon Series That doesn’t give him a lot of room to nail that validation slot – he had just one race on his schedule to do that After failing to stop at the penalty tent after he was given a drafting penalty Laidlow was disqualified at the event in Spain Laidlow chose to complete the race and appeal the penalty It’s uncertain why Laidlow was even given that option – a drafting penalty is not an appealable offence Ironman has made it official now – Laidlow has validated his spot for Kona At Sunday’s Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon in line with the Ironman Competition Rules Sam raced competitively until the end and was the second professional male to cross the finish line Sam proceeded to follow the protest process on site meaning Sam was not eligible for Ironman Pro Series points or prize money Sam Laidlow’s completion of the Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon meets Ironman’s written 2024 policy on the Ironman World Championship validation which stipulates that an athlete must race competitively and finish an Ironman triathlon (or two Ironman 70.3 triathlon races) within the qualifying period Sam’s completion of the event matches the fulfilment of other validation eligible athletes and the spirit of the policy extended accordingly We look forward to welcoming him back to Kona for the 2024 edition of the VinFast Ironman World Championship From its own modern art museum to its magnificent cathedral here are our top ten things to do in the city It also hosts a rotating schedule of temporary exhibitions and is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year saiko3p / Shutterstock Vitoria’s imposing María Inmaculada Cathedral is quite a sight to behold. It was first constructed in 1907; however, it was stopped soon after, due to financial problems. The building work was abandoned for many years and only continued in after the Spanish Civil War Even though it was consecrated as a cathedral in 1969 the building work even today has still not been fully completed Dine at the Michelin-starred Zaldiaran restaurant Its modern interior serves beautifully presented dishes such as roasted and flambéed lobster stuffed snails and seafood salad with spider crab and prawns import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_2"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(window.canRunAmazon) { const amazonService = new AmazonBidService(); promises.push(amazonService.fetchBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Discover the Museo de Armería Museum Petrychenko Anton / Shutterstock Vitoria’s armoury museum is a must-visit for all those interested in medieval warfare It details the evolution of offensive and defensive weaponry throughout history and displays everything from weapons to armour Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy Stroll down the Paseo de los Arquillos Bridge saiko3p / Shutterstock The Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel is located in Vitoria’s Casco Viejo it was constructed during the 14th century Here you’ll find the chapel of the Virgen Blanca the patron saint of the city and a polychrome carving of her See Spanish art at the Museo de Bellas Artes Museum Sidney Pearce / Unsplash Housed in the Palacio de Augusti the Museum of Fine Arts is dedicated to Spanish art from the 18th to the 19th centuries import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_4"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Check out the Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro Museum archduk3 / Unsplash Vitoria-Gasteiz is a very green town and around its outside is a a green belt known as the Anillo Verde Vitoria was actually named the European Green Capital in 2012 because of its green commitment Architecture Spain’s Most Impressive Bullrings Guides & Tips How to Spend the Perfect 24 Hours in Santander See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October Sports The Most Epic Hiking Trails in Spain's Sierra Nevada Food & Drink The 5 Best Food Markets in Madrid See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November Guides & Tips How to Attend a Bullfight in Spain US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd It’s been an up and down season for Great Britain’s Kat Matthews but things are definitely more on the “up” side of things after a big win at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz today At the start of the year Matthews (pictured above on her way to a second-place finish at T100 San Francisco) said she would go after top finishes in both the T100 Triathlon World Tour and the Ironman Pro Series While she’ll still have lots of work to do on the T100 front she now has two Ironman wins to take into Nice which puts her ahead of any other women at this point with Matthews a whopping 4:27 back with Els Visser (NED) bouncing back from her third-place finish at Challenge Roth last weekend in style coming out of the water right behind Matthews another British athlete!) who would lead the way off the bike with Matthews just a few seconds behind and Germany’s Daniela Bleymehl 49 seconds back Out on the run course it quickly became apparent that no one would touch Matthews as she cruised through an impressive 2:54:40 marathon to win in 8:24:23 That put her over eight minutes up on Visser (8:32:29) with Astle making a comeback after over a year of injury issues with a solid third-place finish (8:38:07) just a few seconds of a fast charging Simone Mitchell (GBR) who’s 2:56:35 marathon split got her across the line in 8:41:39 Today’s win will move Matthews way up in the Ironman Pro Series standings an amazing achievement considering she tore her calf at T100 Miami to start her season then was DQ’d at Ironman Hamburg for passing in a non-passing zone