IRONMAN Lanzarote, Club La Santa Part Ways After 34 Years

A 34-year era will end this year as Club La Santa, the long-time organizer and title sponsor of IRONMAN Lanzarote, will no longer be involved with the race after this year. The popular sports resort on the Canary Island closest to Africa has been organizing the race since its inception in 1992 and, over the years, the race has become one of the sport’s most legendary events. Some of the sport’s biggest names have made the trip to Lanzarote for the race since it began, including eight-time IRONMAN world champion Paula Newby Fraser and numerous other Kona champions including Peter Reid, Luc Van Lierde, Thomas Hellriegel, Jan Frodeno and Lucy Charles-Barclay.

I first covered the race in 1998 and have been to almost every edition since 2001, and, in terms of full disclosure, have been the lead announcer at the event for over a decade. Earlier this year I helped with this video promoting this year’s race:

According to releases put out today by both IRONMAN and Club La Santa, the event will continue in 2027, just without Club La Santa’s involvement. Negotiations between the two organizations have become more and more difficult over the years, and it would appear that a deal for a continued license couldn’t be reached. This follows a similar scenario with IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote, which Club La Santa also organized and sponsored – despite the increasing popularity of the race, the two sides could not come to an agreement and that race hasn’t taken place since 2023.

“We have the deepest appreciation for Club La Santa and the exceptional collaboration and commitment they have provided to this race since 1992,” says Thomas Veje Olsen, IRONMAN Europe, Middle East and Africa Managing Director. “They have been the greatest stewards of IRONMAN Lanzarote, and we could not have asked for a better – or more passionate – partner. Our sincere gratitude goes to the entire Club La Santa team, whose dedication to athletes and our sport has helped shape this event into one of the most iconic races on our global IRONMAN calendar. As we look to the future, we remain committed to honouring and building upon the remarkable legacy Club La Santa has created here in Puerto del Carmen, and to continuing to deliver an outstanding athlete experience at Europe’s oldest IRONMAN race.”

In many ways the event has been a victim of its own success. The race was the brainchild of IRONMAN Hall of Fame member Kenneth Gasque, one of the first employees of Club La Santa. Gasque competed at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona and couldn’t believe how much the Big Island reminded him of his new home in Lanzarote. He came up with the idea to put on the race to promote both Lanzarote and Club La Santa, managed to negotiate getting some qualifying spots for the race from IRONMAN Germany (then held in Roth), and put on the first race on May 30, 1992. There were 148 competitors in the first race who took on the course that would quickly become known as the toughest on the IRONMAN circuit.

“Normal limits do not apply,” was the tag line the race used for many years as it embraced the challenging course that begins with a swim in the Atlantic Ocean off the beach in Puerto del Carmen, then is followed by a challenging bike course that takes athletes through the challenging terrain (and the typically brutal winds) of the island, including climbs up the Fire Mountains in Timanfaya National Park, along with climbs up Mirador de Haria and Mirador del Rio. The day finishes off with a three-loop run along the waterfront’s rolling terrain.

Over the years the IRONMAN race and its notoriety helped solidify Lanzarote’s status as a training destination as athletes descended on the island during the winter months for training camps. The mild climate year round makes for year-round outdoor training. The cycling terrain is stark, beautiful and challenging, with long gradual climbs and the relentless winds. Add to all that Club La Santa’s incredible training facilities (three outdoor 50 m pools, a track, fully equipped weight rooms and much more) and support – everything from instruction to group workouts to mechanics – and you have a perfect training destination. The result is a resort that’s so popular it’s a challenge to find openings in any of the 391 apartments and 96 suites – the occupancy rate is reportedly over 96%.

Club La Santa Events

Events will no-doubt remain an integral part of the Club La Santa experience, though. Earlier this year we interviewed Fabio Cabrera, the IRONMAN race director who is responsible for the events at the resort, and he’s more than ready to fill his plate with new races in 2027.

Club La Santa reaffirms its commitment to promoting sport and its values by organizing national and international events and strengthening Lanzarote’s position as a leading sports tourism destination,” Cabrera says. “We will continue to innovate and create unique experiences for our guests and for sports enthusiasts around the world, while continuing to organize events such as the Vuelta Ciclista a Lanzarote, the Club La Santa Volcano Triathlon (Spain’s oldest triathlon), the 4 Stage MTB Race Lanzarote, and the Lanzarote International Running Challenge, along with other exciting new developments we are preparing for the 2027 calendar.”

IRONMAN Lanzarote’s Future

Is today’s announcement the beginning of the end for one of the most historic races on the IRONMAN circuit? Hopefully not. The race has always been dependent on government and tourism support, and according to IRONMAN, there are “constructive discussions with the local government and relevant institutions regarding the future of the event.”

“We share a collective commitment to this iconic race and are not focused on fixed contract periods or end dates,” IRONMAN told us when we asked about contracts and time periods for any deals with the local governments. “Our shared intention is to secure the long-term future of the event, while allowing the necessary time for formal processes to be concluded.”

Whether or not IRONMAN will be able to make its typical plan work on the island will be one of the deciding factors for the future of the event. One thing that has been a sticking point for IRONMAN in years past with the Lanzarote race has been the number of participants. In 2014 the race had 2,097 competitors, the highest in its history, with numbers hovering between a low of 1,510 and 1,755 over the next five years. Since the COVID pandemic the race has only had over 1,000 competitors once (2022). IRONMAN hasn’t made it any easier with the addition of IRONMAN Barcelona (2014) and IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2019, offering a pair of mainland full-distance options in Spain.

IRONMAN remains optimistic that it can build “on the amazing work that Club La Santa has done over the years and continue to grow this race amongst our athlete community.” Certainly, as an owned race, IRONMAN will be motivated to do just that and will also be able to market the race to a much larger pool of participants than Club La Santa would have had access to.

Regardless, today’s announcement marks the end of a long and storied era. Whether or not its the beginning of the end of IRONMAN racing in Lanzarote remains the big question – hopefully the answer to that is no.

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