After competing in the Challenge Almere Amsterdam triathlon race on 13 September, I was able to train hard for another couple of weeks to get more into the topfit shape. Many hours swimming (pool and open water), cycling and running, got me into the physical condition I was looking for! On 2 October, with a car full of all my triathlon gear, spares and tools, clothes and sports nutrition (Carborange powder and gels, and Whey protein and electrolytes), I started driving towards Portugal and with two overnight stops (France and northern Spain) I arrived on Saturday 4 October at my rental apartment in Cascais. The apartment was in the same building as where I stayed in 2023 (less than 15 minutes walk from the transition, free parking and a rooftop swimming pool) when I competed in the full distance Ironman Cascais. This time, I was going to compete in the middle distance: Ironman 70.3 Cascais!

The next week was only to continue training hard, exploring the bike course, swim in the Bay of Cascais, and run along the waterfront with its constant uphill and downhill slopes. Longer endurance trainings but also tempo and intervals, and a double brick training. Next to training and resting, I was able to do a little bit of sightseeing in Cascais and enjoy the late-summer weather in Portugal. Every day it was sunny, high temperatures and blue skies. Sometimes strong winds but most of the time it was very pleasant! I could get used to these kind of weather conditions (compared to the lousy weather we had in the Netherlands in September and October with a lot of rain and wind).

The race week arrived and so did many athletes. Every day there were more athletes training on the courses and sightseeing in town. On Wednesday the whole Ironman village was build up and I was able to register myself for the race. Received my start number, the transitions bags, swim cap, event backpack and T-shirt, and some goodies. Start number 83.

On Friday was carbo-loading day, the athletes briefing and bike check-in. Nothing exciting at the briefing and the bike check-in was done quickly as well. To my surprise was the technical check of the bike very minimalistic (i.e. not done) and unfortunately nobody was able to answer a question I had. There was plenty of volunteers but no-one of the technical referees was present. At least my question was noted and I was asked to check with the head referee on race morning… The carbo-loading went pretty fine, even without a kitchen weight scale to know exactly how much I was eating. Remember for next time to bring my own kitchen scale.

Race Day

My alarm went off on Saturday 18 October 2025 at 04:00 hrs… Eating my normal breakfast (cereal with milk and fruits) but this time a lot more cereals. A coffee later, some relaxing, and at 06:00 hrs, I left the apartment and walked to the transition zone. Placed my stuff in the Red (Run) and Blue (Bike) bags, and placed the two bidons with Carborange nutrition and my bike shoes on my Ku Cycle triathlon bike. Found the head referee who answered my questions positively. All set for the race!

A short walk to the swim start and waiting a bit longer in the tent. It was still a bit chilly and my hoodie was keeping me comfortable. Around 07:00 hrs, I started to make myself ready for the race. My calf sleeves, heart rate monitor, and finally my Huub wetsuit. Taking my time, everything needs to fit well and tight, and I had plenty of time. When I was completely done, I placed the rest of my clothes in the White bag (and walking barefoot) to the White bags drop-off and back to the swim start. Half an hour before the race start, I took my Carborange energy boost (one sachet in 300ml water).

Swim

The traditional Ironman start music with the commentator trying to pump up the energy of the supporters and athletes. At 07:37 hrs the Female Pros dove into the water and just over 10 minutes later the Age Groupers started.

Shortly after, I was in the water as well. The 1900 meters of the middle-distance swim course had 4 turning buoys and a lot of “in-between” buoys to easy sighting and navigating to the swim exit.

From the beach it was only a short distance to the first buoy with a sharp turn left. A lot of chaos and hectic with athletes trying to round the buoy.

Not something I like and find very tough to deal with. I struggled but finally managed to pass the turning point. My heart rate was sky high and I decided to stay away from the whole mass in order to swim at my own pace and in my own peace. Unfortunately, this meant that I passed the other turning buoys at a lot more space which resulted in swimming a longer distance of course… At the end I swam at least an extra 150 meters, which is almost 10% of the total swim distance… At hindsight was this a smart move of did this just costed me the first place?!?

I came out of the water in 35m14s, which ranked me 25th in my Age Group of 167 athletes. The official swim pace was 1:51/100m but considering the extra distance, my Strava swim pace was 1:41/100m. If only I could have swam in straight lines, I would have saved a couple of minutes! Or I need to learn how to swim (faster) or how to deal with these hectic situations…

Bike

From the swim exit it was a fair distance to the transition zone. Running over the red carpet with supporters cheering on the sides was a good feeling. At the Blue bag, I quickly got out of my Huub wetsuit, put on my Kask aero helmet and ran to the bike. My Ku Cycle was waiting for me to fire up! Another run with the bike to the transition exit and once of the mount line I got on my bike and took off.

The first part of the bike course was flattish (didn’t think that during the run though) along the coastline until we arrived at Praia do Guincho where the hilly part started. The total of the climb was about 10 kilometers but in general it wasn’t crazy steep. Except for maybe 2 short sections of the climb where I was happy to have two chainrings at the front! Then the decent, which was broken off halfway to make a loop on the Estoril motorsports circuit. This is a nice break and cool experience.

Then the decent went further back to the main road along the coastline between Cascais and Lisbon. The main road section was constantly going uphill and downhill, with two short inland sections to make it to the total of 90 kilometers. At the turn around point in Lisbon, I noticed a group not far in front of me and after the turn around, another large group a decent distance behind me. On the bike I was overtaking quite a few single athletes and only overtaken by a couple of faster athletes. Until then, I didn’t notice any drafters. But I couldn’t get any closer to the drafting group in front of me and at about 10 kilometers before the Cascais, I was finally caught up by the group behind me. It was frustrating that they were all drafting and therefore going faster with less effort than me. Just after being caught up, I tried to ride away a couple of times but this was unsuccessful. In the end, for the last few kilometers of the bike section, I gave in and peddled along… During the whole bike ride, I didn’t notice any jury motors or anyone that stood still at the penalty tents.

My nutrition worked out well on the bike. I had 2x 750ml bidons with each 1 sachet of Carborange Intermix Caffeine + half a sachet of normal Intermix. Every 15 minutes, I took 2 large sips which resulted in drinking every hour 500ml. During the bike ride, I almost drank the full 2 bidons.

After 2h25m02s, I arrived back at the transition zone. This ranked me 3rd in my Age Group and 44th of all men (of 1951 male athletes). My average speed was 37.3 km/h and the bike course had about 770 meters of elevation.

Run

After mounting my Ku Cycle back in its spot on the bike racks, I quickly changed to the running setup: Hoka Rocket X running shoes, my cap, sunglasses and 4 Carborange gels. The socks took a bit longer but without them, it would become very painful to run!

The first 2 kilometers of the run course were slightly uphill and then the course was slightly downhill, uphill, downhill, etc etc. I don’t think there were any flat sections on this course. Together with the high temperatures between 27-29 degrees Celsius, it was a tough half a marathon run! Luckily I was able to cool off at every aid station with the small water cups and running through the two temporarily showers that were placed along the course.

For the middle-distance race, we had to run two loops of each just over 10 kilometers, making a total of 21.1 kilometers. My run pace was quite consistent, taking in account the constant up/downhill sections. In the last few kilometers, I was able to push the last bit of energy out of my body for the final sprint…

Also on the run the nutrition worked out well. Every 5 kilometers, I took a Carborange gel, starting at kilometer 3, and then at km 8, 13 and 18. This gave me the energy for the tough run without having stomach issues (like many times before).

After 1h35m31s I completed the half marathon run. This ranked me 4th in my AG with an average pace of 4:33/1km. Not my best half marathon time, but considering the course and conditions, I’m pretty pleased with the result.

Finish

The total time for the Ironman 70.3 Cascais was 4h43m51s.

A little bit to my surprise, this ranked me as 2nd in my Age Group at less than 1 minute from the winner… If only I could have gone a bit faster, loose less time somewhere or swim in a straight lines…. Maybe next time!

The price giving ceremony was the following day, where I received my 2nd place trophy.

Ironman 70.3 World Championship

Because of my 2nd place in my Age Group, I was able to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship for the race in Nice, France, on 13 September 2026! Still a very long way to go, and this changes some of my plans for 2026, but I’m extremely looking forward to my 2nd World Championship! After Ironman 70.3 WC in Taupo New Zealand in December 2025, the upcoming race in Nice should become fantastic as well. The bike course will be extremely challenging with a lot of elevation to conquer….