Das Duell!

Now entering its fifth year, the Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship has become a classic race on the Ironman calendar.

There’s a lot that this event has going for it. There are thousands of spectators … OK, that should probably read hundreds of thousands of spectators who line both the bike and run course to watch the incredible day of racing.

The race somehow manages to mix big city excitement with Germany countryside. There's a bike course that has everything from climbs to cobblestones, and a run course along the River Main that provides lots of great spectator viewing and opportunities for the athletes to keep track of their competition.

Then there’s the finish line in the famed Romer Platz. There simply isn’t another finish line like it in the sport. For hundreds of years it was the site where German emperor’s were crowned. It remains the spot where the country’s greatest athletes are honored. On Sunday we’ll see an incredible day of racing come to an end in that famous Platz.