The Ironman World Championship on May 7th in St. George in the American state of Utah will take place without Patrick Lange.

The two-time Ironman Hawaii winner and 2018 Sportsman of the Year injured his shoulder in a wheel fall.

How long he has to pause and how exactly the injury will be treated will be determined in the next few days.

However, it is already certain that Lange, who would have flown to Utah with great ambitions and presented himself in brilliant form at his last appearances in 2021, will have to cancel his planned participation in a preparatory race and the World Cup as the first highlight of the season.

Lange had planned his next appearance at the beginning of April at the Challenge Salou in Spain - a race over half the Ironman distance (1.9 kilometers swimming, 90 kilometers cycling, 21 kilometers running).

The $750,000 World Championships in Utah is the first of two World Championships over the Ironman distance (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42 km run) to be held this year.

The second is scheduled for October 8th via the classic route on Hawaii's Big Island.

At least there, Lange wants to be back at the start in a form that allows him to fight for victory.

"We work with the best experts and hope to return quickly," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.