After a three-year hiatus, the Netherlands is welcoming back a full-distance IRONMAN triathlon event with the re-introduction of IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg.
Postponed due to the pandemic in 2020, and 2021, the event is now scheduled to make its return on Sunday, August 7, 2022, marking its fifth edition of racing after the inaugural event in 2015.
‘IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg will feature an all-new course promising an exciting addition to the IRONMAN triathlon racing calendar in Europe.’
The community in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands hosted the Maastricht Multisport Festival in 2019 – consisting of IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg, a 5150 Triathlon Series Event, a 4:18:4 Short Course Triathlon and an IRONKIDS race.
The addition of IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg to the weekend of triathlon festivities aims to position the weekend as ‘the country’s pinnacle triathlon event’.
“We are delighted to be further growing the IRONMAN brand in the Netherlands with the announcement of IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg,” said Stefan Petschnig, Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa for The IRONMAN Group.
“After announcing a return to the country last year with IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg and IRONMAN 70.3 Westfriesland, which was well received by both the community and our athletes, we believe adding a full-distance IRONMAN event to be the marquee of the Maastricht Multisport Festival further bolsters a great weekend of racing.”
Athletes joining IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg will start their race at ‘St. Servaasbrug’, The Netherlands’ oldest street bridge, as they set out on a 3.8 km (2.4-mile) spectator-friendly swim course in the Maas River.
Athletes then transition onto the newly designed 180 km (112-mile) bike course that leads along various hotspots in the South of Limburg. The final 42.2 km (26-mile) run course runs through the historic city centre and passes Maastricht city sites such as ‘Onze Lieve Vrouweplein’ and the cobblestones streets of ‘het Vrijthof’.
Finally, athletes will be greeted by a red-carpet finish line moment as they cross the line in the city’s historic square, ‘de Markt’.
Rob Frambach of Extra Leisure BV and Race Director of IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg, said “We are truly delighted by the return of the full-distance triathlon in the city where it all started for The Netherlands.
“Since 2019, we have been building on the concept ‘sporting your entire life’ by offering the Multisport Festivals and of course the IRONKIDS races, with many of our athletes stepping up to do IRONMAN 70.3 events. We are incredibly grateful to the athletes, municipality of Maastricht and the Province of Limburg for the trust over the last few years.”
General registration for IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg opened at 16:00 CEST on Monday, August 2, 2021.
The 2022 IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg event will offer 40 age-group qualifying slots to the 2022 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.
