TRIATHLON – SUPERSTAR triathletes Taylor Knibb and Marten Van Riel scored a double podium for Bahrain Victorious 13 in the Ironman Texas North American Championship in the US.
Knibb finished as runner-up amongst the pro women’s competitors while Van Riel claimed the same finishing position in the pro men’s race. They both put in strong challenges for the victory but were overcome late on.
The meeting was the latest stop on the 2026 Ironman Pro Series, which continues with events all around the world until October, when the season’s overall champions will be crowned at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
“I think it was really fun to do a race where last year I wasn’t in a great headspace the whole time – it’s a long day when you’re in a great headspace and it’s an awful day when you’re not,” said Knibb after finishing a little under four minutes behind women’s winner Solveig Lovseth of Norway.
“It was like, my expectation was exceeding the reality, so it was nice,” the American added. “It definitely got hard, but it was fun to see improvement as I was five minutes faster this year – really on the run – which was my focus for this race.”
Commented Van Riel, who finished just a minute-and-a-half from pro men’s winner Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway, who is a former Bahrain Victorious 13 athlete: “I had the feeling that I trained quite well for this, but I didn’t have the block I completely wanted, so I think I can still grow into this season.
“That’s an exciting perspective for me and I’m already looking forward to our next races.”
Another Bahrain Victorious 13 superstar triathlete, Vincent Luis, narrowly missed out on the men’s podium after placing fourth.
Knibb was running in her second event on this year’s Ironman Pro Series, after taking an impressive victory in the Ironman 70.3 Oceanside event in California last month. Van Riel and Luis, on the other hand, were making their 2026 debuts on the circuit.
The Ironman Texas North American Championship began with a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and concluding with a 26.2-mile run.
Knibb was the leader amongst the pro women for much of the day and she completed the swim leg in 53 minutes 36 seconds. She then clocked a time of four hours 22 minutes and 26 seconds in her bike ride, before going for 2:54:06 in the marathon – a new personal best mark for the 28-year-old American.
It was during the run, however, that Knibb lost her lead to Lovseth, who triumphed in a total time of 8:11:09 – close to the current course record of 8:10:34 held by Bahrain Victorious 13 superstar Kat Matthews, which she set last year.
Knibb followed in 8:14:48, and the lead pair were well ahead of the rest of the pro women’s field, which saw Marta Sanchez of Spain take third more than a quarter-hour behind Knibb in 8:31:06.
“My bike was very good, I had great power to start and then I really didn’t,” explained Knibb. “It’s step by step, still a long way to go and a lot to learn. I made it to the finish line and I’m very relieved.”
She added: “I tried a new kit for the first time in four years, and that was a big thing for me.”
In the pro men’s race, Van Riel was also in a good position to take the victory. He completed his swim in 48:17, and then went 3:58:02 on the bike. He then had a time of 2:32:41 in the run, but – like Knibb – it was where he lost his lead to Blummenfelt, who crossed the finish line in 7:21:24.
Van Riel followed not far back in 7:22:56, while Norwegian Casper Stornes was third in 7:23:50. Frenchman Luis took fourth place in 7:25:29, with swim-bike-run splits of 48:18, 3:58:10, and 2:34:52.
“I knew Kristian was there the whole time, almost breathing down my neck,” said Van Riel of their tight finish. “I could keep [the lead] to like 10 to 15 seconds for a really long time, but I felt that if I kept doing that a little bit longer, I might completely explode, and I knew Casper and Vince weren’t that far behind. So I had to be careful for that explosion.
“Unfortunately, I had to let him go quite quickly in the end once he passed me. But it’s definitely a progression from the last time I battled him over the Ironman distance, so who knows what happens next time.”
With their results, Knibb secured 4,781 points and climbed six places on this season’s Ironman Pro Series standings to fifth with 7,281 points. Matthews dropped one place from the top to second and remained on 7,500 points.
Amongst the pro men, Van Riel won 4,908 points to move up 79 positions to 13th this season, while Luis improved 75 places to 17th after scoring 4,755 points.
The next event on the 2026 Ironman Pro Series is in France next month.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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