Ironman 70.3 St Polten Results Analysis

At the 2013 edition of Ironman 70.3 St. Polten, converted to a bike and run duathlon after harsh conditions led to the decision to cancel the swim, 1,686 athletes (after 16% DNS and 2% DNF rates) finished in an average time of 4 hours, 50 minutes.

The 2012 Ironman 70.3 St. Polten event saw 1600 finishers cross the line in an average time of 5 hours, 38 minutes (a relatively fast time compared to the average Ironman 70.3 finish time of 6:00). The difference between 2012 and 2013: a 43 minute average swim and savings of about 5 minutes due to only one transition.

Here's the fun question: how much difference is there bike and run splits in an event with a full swim (2012) and one without (2013)? 

The Answer: about 5 minutes on the St. Polten course --  the average bike split was actually 1-2 minutes slower in 2013, but the run split was 6-7 minutes faster.

We ran the St. Polten 2012 and 2013 numbers to review, compare and contrast performance by year, by swim, bike, run, and by division. Here are the results. 

[For more comparisons, see our similar analysis when Ironman 70.3 Steelhead 2011 also had a cancelled swim, our ranking of Toughest Ironman 70.3 Events, our complete archive of Stats/Results/Analysis or visit our site map]