Canadian superstar Lionel Sanders started the year in perfect style as he defended his title at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside and it also marked an ideal opening gambit in the battle for the $200,000 jackpot in the IRONMAN Pro Series.
The original plan had been to head to IRONMAN Texas, the next race in the Pro Series, three weeks later but illness then made the timescales too tight.
Three good full-distance results are pretty much a pre-requisite for whoever wants to be in contention for the end-of-season Pro Series bonuses but ‘No Limits’ has now declared he will likely just stick with two – the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, plus IRONMAN Lake Placid.
And talking through the reasoning in his latest YouTube video, which is embedded below, it sounds like it basically came down to prioritising performance over money.
Not all about the money
He explained: “I don’t want to do good in the Pro Series anymore, I don’t care.
“Don’t get me wrong, would I love to make 200,000 bucks? Absolutely. I have the honour and privilege that I don’t need to chase after that money. I’m chasing performance.
“I think it’s an important part of the training to do one Ironman [before Nice] but two would be chasing money and I don’t think that’s a good idea.
“Originally I thought I wanted to win the Pro Series and it was like a motivation of mine. But then when I really get down to the thick of it, what’s the motivation?
“It’s just purely money. I mean, who do you think of last year? I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, but when you’re thinking about last year, who do you think of? Patrick Lange or Greg Barnaby?
“I would say Patrick Lange winning the [IRONMAN] World Championship. That’s no slight or anything. You know, Greg Barnaby’s probably partying hard on that 200k.”
Barnaby topped the men’s Pro Series standings in 2024, while Lange elected to end his campaign early after his Kona win rather than try and boost his hopes. And every single one of the top 12 in the rankings took in three full-distance Ironmans.
Placid perfect preparation
And having made that call, Sanders then mapped out how the rest of his season is shaping up.
He’ll be back in action at IRONMAN St George in May, another event where he has a great record, and then 70.3 Eagleman, IRONMAN Lake Placid, the IMWC in Nice and the 70.3 Worlds in Marbella.
He added: “We’ll do Lake Placid as it’s got a lot of climbing so it will give me a good check in on my Nice preparation.
“I think it’s important for me to do an Ironman [before Nice] to get a sense of where I’m at because Oceanside gave me a sense of where I’m at relative to good guys and I’m not there yet. I’m not where I need to be.”
