Racing a 40km virtual portion of the IRONMAN Canada-Penticton course during a live broadcast, the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR21 Pro Challenge featured an all Canadian field.
Mel McQuaid of Victoria, British Columbia, and Nathan Killam of Vancouver, British Columbia, took titles in the professional women’s and men’s races, respectively.
The weekend of racing saw eight Canadian athletes going head-to-head-to-head-to-head in a 500m swim at locations in their home communities, before taking on a 40km ride on a portion of the IRONMAN Canada-Penticton bike course, utilizing the ROUVY virtual cycling platform.
The athletes finished off the virtual race with a 3km run recorded at multiple training locations showcasing the three disciplines of the virtual triathlon on the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR21 Pro Challenge broadcast.
Age group athlete participation ran alongside the pros, with IRONMAN VR21, a 5150 Olympic distance simulation. This required participants to complete three segments – 3km run, 40km ride, and 10km run – by race close at 19:59 ET (23:59 GMT) on Sunday, August 30.
IRONMAN VR21 was the fourth and final race in the last instalment of the season of the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR Championship Series.
By the numbers
There have now been over 175,000 finishes across all IRONMAN virtual races (VR1 to VR21).
IRONMAN VR3, a Sprint distance simulation, was the most popular event, with over 20,000 finishers.
From IRONMAN VR8 to VR9, athletes who wanted to compete in IRONMAN VR races with officially monitored times could sign up for the Challenger Division. Since VR10, the event organiser has introduced the Championship Series division. Here, activities must be completed outdoors or on the ROUVY indoor cycling platform to log an official result (results as at time of writing):
IRONMAN VR21
Championship – 475 finishers (816 registered); 5150 simulation
Challenger – 1,165 finishers (2,136 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 2,182 finishers (4,028 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR20
Championship – 370 finishers (685 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
Challenger – 663 finishers (1,365 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
Classic – 1,142 finishers (2,449 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
IRONMAN VR19
Championship – 528 finishers (894 registered); 5150 simulation
Challenger – 1,232 finishers (2,160 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 2,267 finishers (4,084 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR18
Championship – 457 finishers (1,090 registered); 5150 simulation
Challenger – 1,329 finishers (2,153 registered); Sprint simulation
Classic – 3,465 finishers (5,627 registered); Sprint simulation
IRONMAN VR17
Championship – 572 finishers (1,109 registered); 5150 simulation
Challenger – 1,101 finishers (1,984 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 2,762 finishers (5,409 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR16
Championship – 385 finishers (881 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
Challenger – 625 finishers (1,810 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
Classic – 1,018 finishers (3,375 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
IRONMAN VR15
Championship – 851 finishers (1,684 registered); 5150 simulation
Challenger – 1,384 finishers (2,253 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 3,175 finishers (5,750 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR14
Championship – 543 finishers (1,246 registered); 5150 simulation
Challenger – 1,867 finishers (3,229 registered); Sprint simulation
Classic – 4,466 finishers (7,421 registered); Sprint simulation
IRONMAN VR13
Championship – 1,450 finishers (2,915 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 4,485 finishers (7,819 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR12
Championship – 1,144 finishers (1,932 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
Classic – 2,806 finishers (5,856 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
IRONMAN VR11
Championship – 1,511 finishers (3,154 registered); Sprint simulation
Classic – 7,975 finishers (12,668 registered); Sprint simulation
IRONMAN VR10
Championship – 2,055 finishers (3,639 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 7,312 finishers (12,538 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR9
Challenger – 2,148 finishers (3,830 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
Classic – 3,574 finishers (7,275 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
IRONMAN VR8
Challenger – 3,560 finishers (6,113 registered); 5150 simulation
Classic – 7,909 finishers (13,635 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR7 – 17,085 finishers (25,014 registered); Sprint simulation
IRONMAN VR6 – 12,744 finishers (21,238 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR5 – 8,257 finishers (14,881 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
IRONMAN VR4 – 14,549 finishers (23,743 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR3 – 20,264 finishers (33,203 registered); Sprint simulation
IRONMAN VR2 –16,375 finishers (22,983 registered); 5150 simulation
IRONMAN VR1 – 6,695 finishers (11,039 registered); IM 70.3 simulation
www.ironmanvirtualclub.com
www.ironman.com
