TRIATHLON – Bahrain Victorious 13 superstar Kat Matthews narrowly missed out on the podium on her much-anticipated debut at Challenge Roth – one of triathlon’s most iconic long-distance races, held in Germany.
The Briton delivered another strong performance against a world-class field to finish fourth overall amongst the elite pro women.
After a DNF at Ironman Texas in April following a rear-tyre puncture, Matthews arrived at Challenge Roth looking to fine-tune her race execution against one of the strongest fields of the season.
Warm water temperatures made for a non-wetsuit swim in the Main-Donau Canal, favouring the strongest swimmers over the 3.8-kilometre opening leg.
Matthews exited the water in eighth, six minutes behind the leader, before methodically working her way through the field on the bike.
On her 180km ride, which included two ascents of the iconic Solar Hill lined with thousands of spectators, Matthews moved into fifth before beginning the marathon.
Despite battling illness on the run, she rallied in the closing stages to overtake one more competitor and secure fourth place in a gruelling eight hours 31 minutes 35 seconds.
Her swim-bike-run splits were 56:31, 4:37:27, and 2:54:42.
Alanis Siffert of Switzerland won amongst the elite pro women in 8:09:09, followed by the British pair of Lucy Charles-Barclay in 8:16:41 and Daisy Davies in 8:27:19.
Matthews used her participation in Challenge Roth as a key stepping stone towards the Ironman World Championship in October.
Bahrain Victorious 13 next shift their focus to the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Hamburg this weekend, where Vasco Vilaca will contest both the elite men’s individual race and the mixed relay.
Fresh off two WTCS victories and a runner-up finish this season, the series leader will be looking to strengthen his bid for the world title.
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