The Ironman 70.3 European Championships take place in Wiesbaden, Germany tomorrow and our man Karsten Täschner captured some bike check-in impressions. The pro field is strong, but several high profile athletes originally listed will not be at the start. Among them apparently are Daniela Ryf, Julia Gajer, Ritchie Nicholls and Brad Kahlefeldt. Based on the water temperatures of 23 degrees in the Raunheimer Waldsee, the pros will not be allowed to wear wetsuits.

Bikes are racked and ready for action tomorrow.

Maurice Clavel always has a smile for the media and fans.

Clavel will be one of the first to ride the new Schwalbe First Ride.

Horst Reichel's Giant Trinity Advanced SL.

The man with his machine.

Richie Cunningham came a long way to race here, and he is bib #3.

Michelle Vesterby hard at work setting up her bike in transition.

German Kristin Möller is always dangerous.

It's good to know who we are dealing with.

German Matthias Knossalla is somewhat of an unknown quantity in North America.

Bib #2 is Italian Alessandro Degasperi, and his bike setup is Italian, too.

Peter Robertson retired a few years back but he is racing hard again.

And the race face is ON.

Many eyes will be on Andreas Dreitz tomorrow.

Anja Beranek is a favorite, but there's plenty of tough competition.

Ruedi Wild rolled his bike in with a new DT Swiss wheel, previously only available to IAM Cycling.

Autographs are always welcome and usually granted.

All images © Karsten Täschner / slowtwitch.com