Great Britain’s Cat Matthews redeemed her Kona disappointment with a world-class performance at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the Belgian veteran Marten van Riel won the men’s race alistair brownlee (GBR) returned a DNF.
The race hosted the 70.3 Middle East Championship and was intriguing with a mixed field of short course and long course pros.
Brownlee, a two-time Olympic champion, was at the start line looking to make up for a season lost to injury, while Matthews, who had intended to race here again this year, was hoping to end the year on a high.
Joining them on the flat and fast course were regulars at this distance, including Ellie Salthouse (Australia). lucy buckingham (Great Britain), short-course athletes such as British Dan Dixon and Max Stapley, as well as van Riel and henry schoeman (RSA).
What happened in the Ironman 70.3 Bahrain men’s race?
The race started at a blistering pace on Reef Island, thanks to the high swimming ability of the participating short course swimmers.
However, Brownlee was never far behind and stuck with the lead pack, coming out of the bay with them at the end of the 1.9km.
On his bike, Van Riel, wearing his famous fluorescent trisuit, took to the front of the pack and began setting a tempo that only Brownlee and Wilhelm Hirsch (GER) could match.
The tempo set by the Belgian appeared to prove difficult for some of the short-course athletes in the lead group.
As the first three cars entered the Bahrain International Circuit, they looked almost as aerodynamic as the F1 cars that race there.
However, only Brownlee, Hirsch and Van Riel escaped through T2.
The Brit reportedly suffered a further setback when he suffered a puncture towards the end of his bike.
When Van Riel started running, he looked comfortable and pulled away from Hirsch early on, creating a small gap in the first few kilometers. The gap widened further, with Van Riel averaging 3:19/km.
Further back, Schoeman started T2 90 seconds behind Van Riel, but slowly made up time and was now within a minute of the leader.
The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic bronze medalist was about a minute behind Van Riel, but was unable to close the gap further.
The Belgian veteran continued his transformation from reliable short-course pro to middle-distance ace by winning the half marathon in sunny Bahrain in 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Schoeman finished second, with Stapley putting in a great performance to round out the podium in third.
Ironman 70.3 Top 10 men’s results in Bahrain
- Marten van Riel (Belgium) – 3:31:21
- Henri Schoeman (RSA) – 3:32:50
- Max Stapley (GBR) – 3:34:20
- Emil Holm (DEN) – 3:34:46
- Gregory Barnaby (ITA) – 3:34:53
- Wilhelm Hirsch (GER) – 3:35:12
- Nicholas Kenet (RSA) – 3:35:40
- Thor Bendix Madsen (NOR) – 3:37:39
- Daniel Dixon (GBR) – 3:37:55
- Matthias Petersen (NOR) – 3:38:31
What happened in the Ironman 70.3 Bahrain women’s race?
During the 1.2-mile swim around the reef, Buckingham, who is always in the lead, was the first to emerge from the water, more than 20 seconds ahead of her closest pursuer, Germany’s Caroline Paule.
Matthews, a race favorite, came out of the water in about three minutes to Buckingham, doing a lot of work on the bike and run.
The Brit, known for her bike and running skills, had hoped to be closer to the front, but the reef’s warm waters and swimming without a wetsuit worked against her strengths.
Buckingham did not rest on his laurels and pushed his bike hard, increasing his lead over Paule by over a minute.
Meanwhile, Matthews and Amelia Wilkinson (New Zealand), who ended up collaborating on the bike, came out more than five and a half minutes behind T2.
Buckingham got off to a strong start and maintained a gap with his immediate pursuers, but as the 10km mark approached his pace began to drop to almost 5 minutes/km.
Despite getting back on her feet and eventually regaining her speed, Cat Matthews was already riding high.
By 12km, Matthews had Buckingham in his sights, and with just over 13km to go, he had narrowed the gap to the leaders by nearly five and a half minutes.
Wilkinson chased Matthews, but the latter held a gap of around a minute over the Kiwi.
The Briton won the half marathon in 1 hour 19 minutes, finishing in a total time of 3 hours 59 minutes 07 seconds.
Wilkinson had a strong performance on the bike and run, finishing second, with Paul third.
Ironman 70.3 Top 10 women’s results in Bahrain
- Cat Matthews (GBR) – 3:59:07
- Amelia Watkinson (NZL) – 3:59:43
- Caroline Paul (GER) – 4:00:17
- Ellie Salthouse (Australia) – 4:00:50
- Anna Bergsten (SWE) – 4:01:03
- Kaidi Kivioja (EST) – 4:02:20
- Lucy Buckingham (UK) – 4:04:06
- Laura Madsen (DEN) – 4:04:51
- Kate Curran (GBR) – 4:08:34
- Giorgia Purialone (ITA) 4:09:55
Top image credit: ironman 70.3 middle east